2012 is here. It’s a clean sheet waiting to be filled.
May you fill your everyday business with that which will profit your health, wallet, and friends, church, the government…activities that will further your education, family life and generally stuff that you will be proud of to read as a newspaper headline after doing them!
Like you I have set my new year’s goals. They are small and simple. They are actually personal habits which when I get a hang on them, I will set some grand goals for the year.
If you have set a goal to read through the bible this year I am excited for you. If you haven’t, this is a great resolution to make. Perhaps you once made this resolve, tried and failed. You are therefore probably skeptical with such talk. Or you just don’t want to read the bible.
I want to share with you how you can read through the bible in one year and read the new testament (NT) twice doing so by December.
Here is a key. If you have made this resolution, read the bible like a story book.
I was told at one time not to read the bible like a story book. You probably have been told the same thing. As a result, you probably ended up reading the some sections of the bible eg the book of Revelation like reading a horoscope. You read some books like proverbs by cramming them as if you were memorizing for exams. You have probably never read books like Zephaniah or Nahum for you don’t know which technique to use. Cramming is not cool, and horoscope reading doesn’t help.
This year, read the bible like a story book. The bible is a story of God’s love for people. Let’s remind ourselves how the bible is arranged.
Books of the law
The first five books from Genesis…to Deuteronomy contain the story of creation and the many laws the Jews were to keep. They explain why the people were to be holy and pure. Remember ODM and “the pentagon”? Well the books are sometimes called the Pentateuch because they are five books. I know, not earth shattering info *slumps in seat*!
Books of History
The next twelve books from Joshua…to Esther tell the history stories of God’s people. If you are an epics fun, you will love these books. They are full of swords, scandals and rays of hope. They have tales like of how one man killed a whole army! Makes Troy look like a joke! But even if you are not a sucker for epics like me, but you feel chivalry or just want to know what it’s like when people obeyed God and when others don’t, they promise to be a great read.
Books of poetry
These are five books after the books of history. They are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. If you are an artist or melancholic in personality, these scriptures you will love. If you want to know words to use to express your praise and honor for God, these are the books to ruminate on. That’s what the Jews used them for; party songs
Books of prophecy
In most government offices in Kenya there are people called messengers. I don’t know their relevance in our generation of IM, twitter, facebook, text…but I understand they provide employment for some families which we celebrate. God’s special messengers are called Prophets. The last seventeen books of the Old Testament from Isaiah…to Malachi are books of prophecy. Some books are really long, while others are short. If you are into the back story, investigative journalism, detective stuff, mysteries…you will not put down these books. Even if you don’t like the stuff, reading the books and comparing with historical accounts of the fulfillment of the messages, is really cool.
The gospels
In Kenya, many artists brand their songs gospel *shaking my head*- story for another day. The first four books of the NT are called the gospels. They are narratives of the life of Jesus told from four different perspectives. When you read them, you will understand the meaning of the word gospel, which is “too good to be true news, but its true”
History of the church
Acts is the fifth book of NT. It gives the history of how churches began to be planted. These accounts will fuel your passion for the church for your story to be Acts29
The letters
The next 21 books of the NT from Romans…to Jude are letters. They were written to guys who were confused to what it means to live as a Christian and were generally passed from one church to another. These letters are very important yardsticks especially in Kenya where people call themselves Christians but live contrary to the epistles (that’s the jisty word for them).
Revelation
This is the last book of the bible. It is a book of hope. Spoiler alert, when you are to read it, you will see the book tells Christians they will share in the victory with Jesus in life.
So read it like a storybook. You will find it really refreshing. You will be amazed that you know things you would have struggled to remember before. I want to share with you a method how you can start reading the bible as a narrative.
Bookmarks
Get 8 bookmarks. Put one book mark at the beginning of each eight book categories listed above eg. One bookmark at the beginning of the book of Genesis, the next one at the beginning of the book of Joshua, the next one at the beginning of the book of Job…up to the beginning of the book of Revelation
Commit to read three chapters a day of the bible.
Start with the first three chapters of Genesis then move your bookmark after these three chapters. The following day, read the first three chapters from the book of Joshua and move your Joshua bookmark to where you’ve reached. The day after this, read the first three chapters of Isaiah and move your bookmark here, do this until you get to Revelation.
After reading the first three chapters of Revelation, the next day, go ahead and read Genesis chapters four to six where your bookmark was and put it where you’ve reached. I think you get the idea.
Give yourself one day off. Don’t read the bible every day. I recommend you skip Sunday but maintain the three chapters a day pattern. With this reading plan, you will read through the entire bible and the NT twice this year.
Go ahead. Get yourself eight bookmarks each @ ksh15 and fill your 2012 clean bill with good stuff.
