On Sunday, my pastor told our church that less than 20% of all regular churchgoers read the bible on a daily basis. This seems a surprising statistic. He asked:
Why don’t more Christians read the bible?
Did you know that William Tyndale risked his life in 1534 to translate the bible from Latin into his native language, English? He had to print it in secret in Germany, then ship this “contraband” from Germany into England wrapped in bales of cotton. Anyone who owned one of these bibles also risked their life. Later, Tyndale was executed for this “heresy”.
Think this doesn’t happen these days? The bible is banned in 52 countries TODAY. Yep, the bible that we can access on our smartphones, and evangelists hand out on street corners can still get you killed in some parts of the world today.
Which brings us back to my pastor’s original question – why don’t we read it? Do we find the bible boring? Do we feel it has nothing to say to our lives today?
According to 1 Timothy 3:16 every word of the bible is God-breathed. And God’s breath is powerful. He breathed and Adam (made of dust) came to life, (Genesis 2:7). He also breathes life into the pages of the bible. I don’t know about you but I could use a little more of God’s breath and power in my life!
My pastor challenged us to read two chapters of the bible every day for the next 30 days. He asked us to come to the bible expecting God to share something new with us. Maybe it will be one sentence, or just a phrase we need to hear that day.
I decided I’m willing. I will try this for the next 30 days. When I saw the reading plan, my heart sank. The first several days we are to read the book of Luke. Good grief! I have studied this book so many times! What can I possibly find new there?
I guess I’ll find out, and so will you, if you check in with me tomorrow. Until then, I pray God will bless you friends!
Caroline
P.S. If you would like to join me, and see if God will breathe into your life, I’m enclosing the first week’s plan below. Drop me a quick comment to let me know what you are hoping God might breathe into your life!
- Day 1 Luke 1,2
- Day 2 Luke 3,4
- Day 3 Luke 5,6
- Day 4 Luke 7,8
- Day 5 Luke 9,10
- Day 6 Luke 11,12
- Day 7 Luke 13,14
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