I began to believe the lie some time in the boom-and-bust spirituality of my teenage years. I thought that if I could read my Bible every morning, I might make it spiritually. Like, if I could just wake up a little early and maybe get some time in with those census lists in Numbers or the divine imprecations on Edom (whose geography still escapes me), I might be able to kick sinning altogether. The Lord just might honor my daily Bible reading with a perfected nature. Spoiler alert: it didn't ever happen. The perfectability, that is. I did succeed eventually in a regular daily Bible reading. But I discovered that I was still thoroughly sinful afterwards. So much for my spiritual hacking of my life.
It might seem strange to start an exhortation for daily Bible reading with what it will not do for you, but here we are (one particular day this Christmas break, I woke up earlier than my young children, a pious feat, to read my Bible and pray before the day started. And then I proceeded to sin against every family member serially before lunchtime). Sometimes our evangelical tradition can treat the Bible like it's a talisman, a kryptonite to our sinful nature. God's Word IS powerful. Indeed, just this morning in my daily Bible reading, I read Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. God's Word is like a searchlight, a surgeon's scalpel, and splint all in one. It has a magic but it does not work magically. There's a difference. It takes active work, thoughtful prayer, and conscious meditation to let the magic/divine power of Scripture transform you.
So here are some reflections for you as you enter the new year.
Why should I read the Bible daily?
Reading the Bible is an important means of grace. That's a fancy way of saying that God communicates his grace to us through the Bible. I do not know any mature and grace-filled Christians who got that way without some sort of regular Bible reading. And the most compelling Christians I know are those in whom Scripture just comes out of their hearts as their regular meditation.
The Bible is where we hear God speak to us. It would be strange if we never listened to our roommate or spouse speak to us. That would evidence something unhealthy in the relationship.
We have lots of Biblical evidence for the necessity of daily communion with God. When the exiles regathered in Ezra, one of the first things they did was rebuild the altar so they could offer burnt offerings morning and evening as well as the daily burnt offerings (Ezra 3:3ff). That's why the Christian tradition developed daily morning and evening prayer.
All right. So how do I read the Bible every day? What should I do?
Well the MOST IMPORTANT TENET of daily Bible reading is to keep the goal of listening and communing with the Lord. Your motive and prayer in Bible reading must remain centered on communion. Everything else will fall into place if you keep Jesus central to the Bible.
That means there's grace when we fall short. Perhaps the worst thing you can do when you miss a day (or more) of reading is to give up. The goal is not about getting it perfect. That's Phariseeical. That's more about your religiosity. When you fail to read, whether one day or several, just jump back in. Keep coming back. That's the important thing. There are still days that I miss, even as a pastor. Sometimes, it's my sin or laziness. Sometimes it feels like I had no control. But the truth is that the Lord IS gracious with us, always pursuing us even when we are missing him.
Meditation and prayer are what set the Word at work. You can read the Bible without ever really engaging God. But it's actually meditation and prayer that gets the Word acting in your heart. Pray before you read that the Spirit will give you a word or phrase you can carry with you throughout the day as a prayer. The goal should be less completing your reading and more on carrying a word or passage with you to meditate and pray on.
Read a Psalm first and daily. The Psalms are perhaps the most accessible piece of daily Bible reading. Most spiritual discipline traditions of daily prayer start with a Psalm. The Psalms orient you to that listening and communing.
If you've never read the Bible daily, shoot for just reading one chapter of Psalms a day this next year.
Or add a chapter of Proverbs. There are 31 chapters of Proverbs, easy to do 1 chapter a day every month.
For you more ambitious who want to read the whole Bible in a year, there are lots of reading plans out there. Do your research on what plan would work for you. It's a transformative thing to read the Bible in a set time, and I've found that the shorter the time, the more formative (I will always remember the time when I read the whole Bible in 4 months. It was like seeing God's redemption in technicolor for the first time!). My only warning for you is that however noble a goal it is to read the whole Bible, see the MOST IMPORTANT TENET up above.
So let's start this year with prayer that God's Word would be planted deep in us, that we might commune with him. Lord, may the word of Christ dwell in us richly, as we teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God! (Col 3:16.)
Pastor Jesse