Category: reading tips

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Most Read Books

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Thought this was a little interesting. It shows the projected most read books of the last 50 years. You’ll see that we are in good company in reading the Bible. But the challenging question is have more people finished books from this list like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings than have read the whole Bible?

The graphic is misleading since the books are not to scale (do you see the millions more f Harry Potter than Anne frank?). But even with the staggering lead that the Bible has, how many have read Leviticus? Let that be a challenge to press on.

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Welcome to Week 7 and Leviticus

Well done for making it so far. Or if you’re just joining Year in the Bible, welcome along. In the New Testament we continue in Luke and we’ll keep reading psalms most weeks. But things are shifting in the Old Testament. We’ve finished Genesis and Exodus and that brings us to Leviticus.

Maybe you’ve planned your vacation to coincide with this week because the thought of reading through Leviticus is too much to bear. But I want to slow you down at jumping to such conclusions. (And worst case scenario, if it is that tough, it’ll be done in two weeks!)

I found an article at bible.org that I think is helpful and it addresses directly some of our objections to reading Leviticus. Ever thought that Leviticus is too hard to understand, that it is too dull, or that is has nothing to do with the world after Christ? If so, then read the article.

He makes some challenging points, such as in response to feelings that Leviticus is too boring, he says “our culture has concluded that anything which is not entertaining is not worth listening to.” Leviticus may not jump off the page like some of the passages from Genesis and Exodus, which are full of action, but that does not mean it is irrelevant for us now or that we shouldn’t study it. Speaking of relevance he makes a good point that we’re too interested in what is pragmatic for us in the immediate, lacking the patience to read in obedience to God’s invitation and trust that God has value in every word–even if it is not practical in the here and now.

Read this week with patience and perseverance, and I hope you can approach with renewed interest a book that is too often overlooked.

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Give TV the Night Off

Last night my wife and I didn’t turn the TV on. It wasn’t some deliberate act on our part, it just happened that way. But it doesn’t happen all that often. We enjoy sitting together on the couch relaxing in the evening watching shows that we both like. The problem with TV, though, is that it is habit forming and it is sneaky in how it causes time to fly by.

More days go by when the tv goes on than when it doesn’t–and we don’t even have cable. It came on all the more when we did, especially since you may feel like you need to watch more in order to justify the high price of cable.

I don’t mention this primarily as some inquisition of television, but to compare its place in our lives compared to reading. Do days go by that you don’t pick up a book? When they do, does it stand out the same way the absence of TV does? Why isn’t reading the go-to activity for more people? For me?

This week, if you don’t already, spend a night away from the TV. Make more room for family, for quiet, for games, for crafts, and for reading. If you’re having a hard time keeping up with the readings, maybe television can be dialed down a bit. It should give us pause If we have a hard time keeping up with the readings but we are able to keep up with all our favorite shows.

I like TV. But I don’t like how much time of my life it takes. At least one night a week, take your time back.

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Week 6 is here

This week we finish Exodus, seeing the completion of the numerous pieces of the sanctuary that God instructs his people to build.

Luke has so much it is hard to preview it for the week. How about this–Jesus continues to wow and amaze.

What has been a joy for me in the last weeks is seeing and hearing all the number of ways God has used these readings to influence you. If you have some experience in which the Year in the Bible texts have come up in your life and how the Spirit is using them, let me know. It would make my week to hear from you about it.*

*Unless our baby is born this week. That would then make my week.

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Picture It: The Tabernacle

Soon after the flight from Egypt, the book of Exodus describes in great detail the size, shape, material, color, and number of the parts of God’s sanctuary among the people. It can be easy to skim through these chapters and miss their significance. I found that having a visual can help piece it all together.

This is an illustration that was made by Tim Challies, who has done a number of visuals for passages of Scripture or doctrines of theology. Click on the image to see it full-sized and I’d encourage you to click here to see more from him on his site (you’ll see other links to other posts near the bottom).

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Week 5

We start today another week and in the Old Testament we follow along to see what the people of God do having been freed from the slavery of Egypt. God guides them in setting up life around the worship of the one, true God and in this section God reveals his ten commandments to Moses.

Jesus calls his disciples in Luke and continues his public ministry with amazing signs and wonders, as well powerful teachings, like Luke’s account of the beatitudes in chapter six. Our focus passage this week comes from chapter eight when Jesus is confronted with a man possessed by many demons, so pay close attention to that section.

Enjoy these passages and the Psalms as well. As always, send your questions my way.

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Listening to the Word

I’ve spent some time today listening to the Bible using the YouVersion Bible app. Several of you have told me that you’ve been doing this and you’ve liked it. I thought it was a good experience, as long as I didn’t treat it like music.

When I listen to music I am typically doing other things, many of which take more of my attention. As long as my mind didn’t wander or I didn’t try to read while listen (which is just about impossible), I followed along well. I took notes along with the audio and that helped me to be a better listener and gives me some food for thought to look at later.

If you’ve used an audio Bible, what have been your experiences?

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According to Luke

We are a few days into the week, and if you’ve started with Luke, what have you noticed about it in comparison to John? What is the same and what is different? Are there different tones, different emphases?

Right away you see that their “beginnings” are very different. John starts in the very beginning and Luke starts with the forerunner to Jesus, John the Baptist.

Try to pay attention to what stands out in Luke that is different and ask yourself, why?

Here is a bit of further information to help you along your way. Luke is believed to be a physician, as Paul says in Colossians 4:14. He was not one of the 12 disciples (nor was Mark). His gospel brings attention to the fringes of society and to the international appeal of Jesus’ message. Luke also wrote the book of Acts, which will be next in our readings. We’ll notice then how the two books flow together.