Challenges and Expectations

I have been a Christ-follower for nearly 60 years. Having grown up in a well-known, "fundamental" mainstream denomination, I spent much of my childhood into my adolescent years checking off all the boxes every week that somehow charted my progress toward spiritual maturity. (Or some such thing.) To this day, I am still not quite sure what was accomplished by all that, other than to foster a misconception that by somehow checking off a to-do list you can become a better Christian - but I did it anyway for all those years.

• Attendance? Check!
• Bible Brought? Check!
• Lesson Studied? Check!
• Giving? Check!
• Worship Attendance? Check!
• Daily Bible Reading and Prayer? Check!

Sadly (and this is sobering to admit, given my personal conviction for the importance of reading scripture), one thing I never have done in all that time even until today was to read all the way through the Book that I claim to believe is Truth, that I claim to follow. Oh to be sure, I have read a lot (most) of the parts of the Book. Like any other book that is a compilation of various authors, we all have our favorite bits that we become familiar with and read over and over again.

But I am talking about starting at Page 1 and going straight through to the end. I have never done that, and knowing me, am not likely to ever achieve that specific goal, if for no other reason than we are talking about a lot of different stories and lessons spread out over the course of an estimated 1,200 pages and over 4,500 years. I'm not saying I have ADHD, but I am saying this is not a novel. (War and Peace is a novel - I have not read those 1,225 pages, either. So, there is that.)

I have, however, accepted the challenge to read the entire Bible this year, and to that end, have made myself a chart to track the different books and/or chapters that I have finished... because I know me and I know how my brain works, and I know that unless it is a mystery novel or something, I am likely to skip around from history to prophecy to poetry and back again and probably end up overlooking a couple of chapters unless I have another - you guessed it - checklist!

Over the past several years, I have made several attempts to come up with a system to help me along. I purchased a Chronological Bible. I thought maybe that would help by putting everything in order according to a timeline that would help keep me on track. Nope - it was too distracting for me to have a Psalm or ten thrown into the middle of the story of David in the books of Kings and Samuel. So I am back to reading one book at a time from start to finish, and checking the chapters off as I go. So far, so good and I am making a lot of progress. (Partly because my brain seems to love a checklist.) Even so, I still find that it works better for me to read one book in the morning, and some Psalms or Proverbs in the evening, just to mix it up.

Try it, see what works for you. The bonus is, you will also get the blessing of reading the WHOLE word of God. And that in itself is going to do immeasurably more than checking off a to-do list.

The opening up of Your words gives light, Giving understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119:130
For the Word of Elohim is living, and working, and sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting through even to the dividing of being and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

All scriptures quoted are from The Scriptures 2009, Institute for Scripture Research. You can read it at www.bible.com.