May the grace of Jesus Christ be with your spirit

It took us five months, but we did it. It took us five months, when really it could have been done in twenty minutes.

Why is it that when we try to read the Bible on our own we read a few verses or a chapter? Wouldn't it make sense to read it like we read other books? Think about this. Take your favorite book and read it for two minutes every week. You would be so lost, having to go back to see what you read, and you would get next to nothing out of it. Why do we do that to the Bible?

In order to get the entire story, the big picture, the whole enchilada we need to take the extra time to read the whole book all at once. Why not? Depending on the book it only takes 20 minutes (for a short book like Philippians or Gatatians), 60 minutes (Romans and Hebrews) or even 90 minutes (Matthew and Acts). One more thing to try. Read it out loud. Yeah, you read slower and more "dramatically" out loud. Try these two things and it will enhance your love for the Bible.

We tried these last night. I reached a personal goal that someone challenged me to do a long time ago, I finally memorized the book of Philippians. It really only took a couple of days, but it has been on my heart for 7 years or so. Last night we got to see the whole book in its entirety with a dramatic recitation. And hopefully God brought to mind the major themes of the book that we took five months to cover.

Themes like Joy in unity, in suffering, in contentment. Joy in dwelling, in relationship with God, in others. Joy in putting the past behind, in pressing on, in anxiety. God has taught us and will continue to teach us through this tiny book to a church in Philippi. I can't wait to study it again.

So as in Paul's final words to the Philippians...may the grace of Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

much Love,
johnny