by Pastor Ryan and Don Whitney
Below are 4 suggestions on how to read the Bible. The first is written by Pastor Ryan and the last 3 come from Don Whitney’s book Spiritual Disciplines.
1. Commune With Your Father
Since God is, before all things, a Father, and not primarily Creator or Ruler, all his ways are beautifully fatherly.
So don’t look at prayer or bible reading to grow in prayer and bible reading. Look through them to the Father.
We can open our Bibles and pray for all sorts of odd reasons—as a religious duty, an attempt to earn God’s favor, or thinking that it serves as a moral self-help guide, a manual of handy tips for effective spirituality. That idea is one main reason so many of you feel discouraged in your spiritual disciplines. Hoping to find quick lessons in the bible for how you should spend the day, you find instead a genealogy or a list of various sacrifices. And how could page after page of histories, descriptions of the temple, instructions to priests, affect how we rest, work and pray today?
But when you see that Christ is the subject of all the Scriptures—The Father is revealing who he is and who the Son is through the Scriptures. That Jesus is the Word, the Lord, the promised Hope, the true Temple, the true Sacrifice, the great High Priest, the ultimate King. Then you can read, not so much asking, “What does this mean for me, right now?” but “What do I learn here of Christ?”
Knowing that the Bible is about him and not me means that, instead of reading the Bible obsessing about me, I can gaze on him. And as through the pages you get caught up in the wonder of his story, you find your heart strangely pounding for him in a way you never would have if you had treated the Bible as a book about you.
Relating to God as Father changes how and when and why we read the Bible. We read the Bible as the Father’s words about himself. We get to kick it with our dad and talk with him. We read it to know him and enjoy him and understand his love and to know how the Son relates to him. This means we run to it regularly because he speaks and his words are better than any other voice or words available. Our relationship with him is the most important of all because he is our Father and so we spend a lot of time with him. Listening to what he is saying to us. Reflecting on what he has said.
Think back to the phrases or statements that your dad said that has stuck with you for life. Maybe it was defining. Or you use it to orient you, to find refuge. Or maybe it fuels your fire to work hard because you want to prove him wrong. Or you believe the world works based upon your dad’s views and words. Words are powerful. They stick with us. They return to us in times of desperation or neediness. They keep us cautious of celebrating too much or enjoying certain items. Why can you open the bible and look to the Father? And enjoy the Father? And listen to the Father? Because the Father speaks a better word than anything or anyone else.
Here’s what I mean:
Your parents might have given you good advice but the Father’s words are in themselves life-giving. That’s a better word.
People try to define you or put you in a box. God’s word of you is true and better. You are his child. He is your father. That’s a better word.
The world’s system and culture tell us many things but they keep changing and are contradictory. The Father’s words do not change. They are enduring and true. The very words of the Bible are the words of the Father. The whole Bible. They are true.
The enemy speaks lies and deceit. The Father speaks the truth in love. He does not manipulate. That’s a better word.
Friends are kind and helpful or might gossip and hurt you. The Father speaks gently and kindly and his kindness leads you to repentance—to joy.
Commercials tell you how you need something in your life. You must have this product to be satisfied. The Father’s words are satisfying and have declared you are secure and provided for.
Your spouse may cut you down in the heat of a conflict but the Father speaks to build you up. To make you more into the image of Jesus.
Authors paint pictures with their words but the Father paints, as in creates, the world with his word.
Preachers may speak truth and be convincing but The Father spoke the first gospel in Genesis 3 and reveals himself to us through his written word.
The Father’s words are better than anyone else’s.
Perfect. Loving. Gracious. Challenging. True. Deep. Intimate.
Run to your Father through the Bible. Commune with him.
Three most practical suggestions for consistent success in Bible reading (from Spiritual Disciplines by Don Whitney)
1. Find the time
Perhaps one of the main reasons Christians never read through the entire Bible is discouragement. Many people have never read a thousand-page book before and get discouraged at the sheer length of the Bible. Do you realize that recorded readings of the Bible have proven that you can read through the entire Book in seventy-one hours? That’s less time than the average American spends in front of the television every month.
In other words, if most people would exchange their TV time for Scripture reading, they’d finish reading the entire Bible in four weeks or less. If that sounds unworkable, consider this: In no more than fifteen minutes a day you can read through the Bible in less than a year’s time. Only five minutes a day takes you through the Bible in less than three years. And yet the majority of Christians never read God’s Word all the way through in a lifetime of decades. So we’re back to the idea that it’s primarily a matter of discipline and motivation. Discipline yourself to find the time. Try to make it the same time every day. If possible, read the Bible at a time other than just before you go to sleep. There’s value in reading the Bible just before you drop off, but if this is the only part of your day when you read Scripture then you should try to find another time. There are at least two reasons for this. First, you will retain very little of what you read when you’re so tired and sleepy. And second, you probably do very little evil in your sleep. You need to encounter Christ in the Scriptures when it will still have an impact on your day.
2. Find a Bible-reading plan
The second practical suggestion is to find a Bible-reading plan. It’s no wonder that those who simply open the Bible at random each day soon drop the discipline. Bible-reading plans abound on the Internet. Many study Bibles contain a reading schedule somewhere within the pages. Most local churches can provide you with a daily reading guide also. Apart from a specific plan, reading three chapters every day and five on Sundays will take you through the Bible in a year’s time. Read three in the Old Testament and three in the New Testament every day, and you will finish the Old Testament once and the New Testament four times in a twelve-month span. My favorite plan involves reading in five places in the Bible each day. I begin in Genesis, Joshua, Job, Isaiah, and Matthew and read an equal number of chapters in each section. A variation of this plan is to read in three places daily, starting in Genesis, Job, and Matthew, respectively. The three sections are roughly the same in length, so you will finish them all about the same time. The great advantage of such a design is its variety. Many who intend to read straight through the Bible become confused in Leviticus, discouraged in Numbers, and give up completely by Deuteronomy. But when you are reading in more than one place each day, the variety makes it easier to keep up the momentum. Even if you don’t read through the Bible in a year’s time, keep a record of which books you have read. Put a mark beside a chapter when you read it or by the title of a book in the table of contents when you’ve completed it. That way, regardless of how long it takes, or in what order they’re read, you’ll know when you’ve read every book in the Bible.
3. Meditate
The third suggestion is to find at least one word, phrase, or verse to meditate on each time you read. We’ll look at meditation more closely in the next chapter, but you should recognize now that without meditation you may close your Bible and not be able to remember a single thing you’ve read. And if that happens, your Bible reading is not likely to change you. Even with a good plan, it can become a mundane chore instead of a Discipline of joy. Take at least one thing you’ve read and think deeply about it for a few moments. Your insight into Scripture will deepen, and you’ll better understand how it applies to your life. And the more you apply the truth of Scripture, the more you’ll become like Jesus."