Stop reading the Bible like an instruction manual!

If you're like me, you heard this cute acronym in Sunday School:

B.I.B.L.E. stand for
Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth

That's cool and true and easy to remember, but I have a problem with that. Sometimes people fall into the trap of actually reading the Bible like it's just an instruction manual. I don't know about you, but here's how I read an instruction manual:

I read it reluctantly.
I rarely pull out the instruction manual immediately upon opening a product. I've believed my own lies that I can do it without the instructions. I also have never curled up with a cup of coffee, a Snuggie, and a nice instruction manual for some good afternoon reading. I only read the instruction manual when I absolutely have to.
Side note: I've never curled up with a Snuggie. Ever. I intend to keep it that way. No offense to you if you are a Snuggie owner.


I don't read. I skim.
When I reluctantly pull out the instruction manual, I don't read every word. I skim. I quickly look for the table of contents or the 1 page/paragraph/picture I need and flip there. I read the smallest amount of instructions possible to get the job done and get back to assembly.

I forget quickly.
I've never purposely memorized anything from an instruction manual. It's all useless information that takes up space where I could be storing other useless information like what channel/time my favorite TV show comes on or useless statistics (Did you know that only 30% of humans can flare their nostrils?! Interesting, huh? Can you?).

STOP READING THE BIBLE LIKE AN INSTRUCTION MANUAL!
It's a dangerous habit to get into.


Read it daily, not reluctantly.
It contains everything you need to live life in a godly manner (2 Timothy 3:16-17), so read it like it's true!

Don't skim. Read it. Meditate on it.
Always read with pen in hand ready to underline, circle, highlight, and take notes. Go as deep as you can and most importantly, LIVE IT (James 1:22)!

Memorize it!
How can you live a pure life? By memorizing Scripture (Psalm 119:9-11). Sure, maybe you've got John 11:35 down solid, but work on some more. Did you read a verse or a few verses that really spoke to you? Memorize them so you'll have them in the forefront of your mind!

What are your methods of Bible reading?
Have you ever read the whole Bible all the way through? HERE is a reading schedule for 2010 if you want to join us in reading the whole Bible. It only takes 15 minutes per day!

Bad words about the Bible

My dad does computer support at a big company. He once got an email from a lady whose "cup holder" on her computer wasn't working. Cup holder? Yes. She thought the CD-ROM drawer was an open-and-close cup holder for her computer. Sounds like maybe a couple things in her brain weren't working either...but that's another blog.

The idea is similar with the ways people view the Bible. People have many differing thoughts on it.

Some people have some very hostile things to say about the Bible:

"...it would be more consistent that we call it the word of a demon than the word of God.  It is a history of wickedness, that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my part, I sincerely detest it, as I detest everything that is cruel." - Thomas Paine 

"…hardly worth reading…other than a handful of spiritual gems that can be found in virtually any religion, the Bible is irrelevant…reading the Bible can make one highly depraved…many a serial rapist and killer has also been a Bible fanatic" - Acharya S. (truthbeknown.com)

 There are plenty of other thoughts that people have about God's Word. They may sound much less harmful, but the truth is that if someone doesn't recognize it as God's actual words to us, they're playing with fire. They're trying to live life with no guidelines, no rule book, thinking they can do things on their own. Jeremiah 17:9 says that "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." In that case, who are we to think we don't need God's Word?

Here are some other ways the Bible functions for people:

- a coaster for cups (we'd much rather ruin our Bible cover than the coffee table)

- a door stop (I've literally seen people throw a Bible down to keep a door from closing)

- a way to look holy (leave it out on the coffee table at home and maybe people will think you're holy)

- a history book (it's filled with interesting historical figures but no relevant truth for today)

- a bedtime story book (nothing like a good Bible fairy tale before bed!)

- a guardian angel (Once when I worked at a car auction lot, I found a Bible on the dashboard of a car that had been siezed by the Police for DWI)

Charles Spurgeon once said, "A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't." If it's getting daily use, it will eventually look like it...and so will your life.

Does the Bible function daily in your life?

Is it a part of your morning/afternoon/evening routine?

2 Timothy 3:17 says that God's Word makes us "complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." It has a purpose. A daily purpose. God went to great lengths to provide written directions for us to live by, so take advantage of that and live God's Word!

Have you read the whole Bible all the way through? January 1 is only 2 days away and it's a great time to start reading the Bible from cover to cover. If you commit to 15 minutes a day, you can read the whole thing by December 31, 2010!

Click HERE to download some bookmarks that will keep you on track.


YouVersion.com also has 20 different reading plans that are available online or on your iPhone, BlackBerry, and more!

The best-selling least-read book of all time

According to one article, the Bible takes first place on the "Best-Selling Books of All Time" list.

Coming in at #1: The Bible: 2.5 billion sold.

Coming in at a distant #2: "(Quotations from Chairman Mao) (the Little Red Book)": 800 million sold.

As stimulating as a chapter in Quotations from Chairman Mao sounds, I'll stick with Quotations From God (a.k.a. The Bible).

Unfortunately, the number of people who have purchased one does not reflect how many people read it or apply it. I wonder what this world would be like if that many people read and applied it to their daily lives!

So here's the challenge: in 2010, read the whole Bible all the way through. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that ALL Scripture is inspired by God. ALL of it. That's right, even Leviticus and Numbers. There's a reason for it all and it is ALL profitable for us in its own special way. I'll be teaching tomorrow night on just those two verses: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as we gear up to roll into the new year. We'll learn all about the Bible: how we got it and what it's for - should be fun.

The Bible contains 1,189 chapters and 31,103 verses. Sound like a lot, doesn't it? Let's break it down.

It's said that to read the entire Bible from cover to cover at "pulpit speed" (out loud reading speed) takes about 72 hours. Which means if you spread that out over 1 year, all you have to do is read 11.8 minutes every day and by December 31, 2010, you'll be finishing up Revelation 22!

12 minutes a day? That's NOTHING!
You could afford
12 less minutes of sleep,
12 less minutes of TV,
12 less minutes of the latest bloody shoot-each-other video game,
12 less minutes of knitting/croquet lessons/FaceBook/researching the life-cycles of snapping turtles...


It's really that simple. I pray this becomes a yearly thing. By the time we're all old and gray, maybe we'll have read the Bible through 10, 20, 40, 75 times!

Reading schedules are available on the resource table at Awaken or you can download them HERE. They're nothing special and you may have something cooler in your Bible or on your iPhone. This is just one option that we hope some find helpful.

So who's in for the challenge? 
Have you ever read the Bible all the way through? How many times?

January 1 is coming quickly, so gear up.