The Importance of Reading the Whole Bible

[not an echo]

Hello all,

Of all the things that I have done as a child of God, I don't know of anything that the Father has honored in my life experience more than my reading of His Word from cover to cover.  When I was 25 (I am now 63), I began my first journey through The Bible.  That first time, my journey took me four months.  Was I then finished with it?  No.  The very next day I read in it.  And the day after that, till the days became weeks, then months, then years, then decades.  I will never be finished reading The Bible, though I have read it through multiple times.  I will never be finished with reading God's Word, anymore than I will never be finished with eating!  Whereas I have always enjoyed my Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 journeys, I have sometimes just did a New Testament study, or a Bible book study.  Sometimes even a Bible chapter study.  I think of the Psalms or any of the Proverbs.  When 25, my pastor at that time often encouraged the reading of a chapter of Proverbs that corresponded to the day of the month.  He advised the doing of this instead of the reading of horoscopes, which thing I had often done.  Of course, as there are 31 chapters of Proverbs, there is a chapter which would correspond with any month.  I bet I've read the book of Proverbs over a hundred times, probably twice that many!  And, I still love it as much as ever.  My mind goes to what Peter said in I Peter 2:

² As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of The Word, that ye may grow thereby:

³ If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

When I was 25, I was like a new born babe in Christ, even though I had been saved at ten.  For me, it was like I woke up at 25, still, what I call, "a delivery room stage" child of God.  Now, I can look back and see that I went through what might be referred to as the crib stage, the crawling stage, the toddler stage, the elementary school age stage and so forth, until I got to the graduation stage, where I might be used of God more fully for His Kingdom purposes.  In retrospect, if I hadn't continued in the Word of God, I know I wouldn't have made much true progress.  I think of what Jesus said, as recorded in John 8...

³¹ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed;

³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

I have a story that is on my heart to tell that relates to the importance of Bible study, but I know going into it that it could end up quite lengthy.  But, here goes...

When I was 25, I was still single, and I began to seek God for my "Eve" if you will.  I was done with running around and dating whoever or being with others that were not THE ONE, if you know what I mean.  Well, in God's providence, I got the opportunity to meet and go out with who I considered at the time to be the most beautiful young woman I had ever seen.  We started dating, fell in love, and I eventually asked her to marry me.  And, she said she would!  Well, there was a snag.  She had been raised in a different denominational belief, which her and her family were steeped in.  Whereas I had attended her church and she had attended mine, when we got more serious, her family would not let her attend with me any longer.  Also, my pastor at that time counseled me not to marry her, unless we could believe alike, calling my attention to such scriptures as Amos 3:3 and II Corinthians 6:14.

I prayed about it and sought God about it.  I did not know a whole lot about the beliefs of the denomination of which she was a part.  Because of this, I was inclined to study out what she believed, and I thought, if I could accept her beliefs, for my love for her, I WOULD CHANGE.  Without her knowing it, I began a journey of studying out the beliefs she and her family were steeped in.  I discovered that there was a bookstore in a fairly local city that happened to be affiliated with her denomination, so I went there and looked around.  I bought several pamphlets, and the store owner even gave me a book concerning all their religious beliefs.  I was on my way!

As I began to study all their material, I found that they made a lot of good points.  I remember discussing some of the things I was finding with my dad and hearing him say, "But what about this?" that the Bible would say about something.  And, I would wrestle with it.  I continued to read and study their material and wonder---and ended up quite confused.  For two weeks of my life at that time, I didn't know what to believe about some things.  I was highly frustrated.  Then, at the end of two weeks, when in prayer, God spoke to my heart, "Put down all this other material that you have been reading, and just read My Word."  So, that's what I did.  My first direction was to read the New Testament through.  Something very interesting happened.  Before I got through the book of Matthew, I KNEW THAT I COULD NOT BELIEVE ACCORDING TO HER BELIEFS.  Now, before this, I had already read the Bible through for the first time.  And, here I was again, on my second journey through the New Testament.  I stopped right where I was, went to Wal-mart and got me a brand new Bible, some highlighters, and a notebook---and I did me an intensive study.  I colored coded Scripture that pertained to a couple of major doctrinal beliefs that we differed on, and I made all kinds of notes.  All without her having any idea.  I even went back through the material that I had got at that bookstore and color coded and made notes.  Then, around this time that year (1984), instead of going out like we normally would, I told her I wanted us to go to my grandparents (where I was living at the time) to show her something.  In the spare bedroom, I had laid everything out on the bed, and I was going to let her know what I had been doing behind the scenes and what I had found out.  I was excited, just knowing that when saw in the Bible what I wanted to show her, she would be able to believe like me.  It didn't turn out that way---at all.  The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.  She told me that she had read her Bible, that she knew what she believed, and that she wasn't changing.  I tried to reason with her and she told me that this was just going to ruin Christmas and she didn't want to talk about it any more till after Christmas.  So, I didn't.  I prayed about it and gave it to God the best way I knew how.

On January the 2nd (after the holidays were completely finished), I asked her again to come to my grandparents so that I could go through with her what I was wanting to show her.  I tried it again, with the same results.  Didn't get anywhere.  She stiffened up about it all and had no regard for what I tried to show her in the Bible.  She again told me what she had told me before, and that when we got married, I could go to my church and she could go to hers.  I asked her what her thoughts were if we had children, and she said they could go with her sometimes and with me sometimes.  In my mind, I was thinking no.  I was so frustrated and bewildered that I don't even know how to convey how frustrated and bewildered I was.  I was 26, she was 18, we had fallen in love, were engaged, and religion was separating us.  I was really kinda upset with God, cause I thought, here I had prayed to Him to bring me together with my "Eve" and I thought He had---and now HE was coming between us!

Another couple of weeks passed.  You probably know how it is when there is an issue with someone you love, but ain't nobody talking about it.  That's the way it was with me and my supposed wife to be.  Utterly going along with "that sinking feeling" I resolved to God that I would not marry her unless we could believe alike.  I had it settled in my mind, but had not told her.  I didn't know how to tell her!  I figured she would hate me over it.  And, at the end of two weeks, something very interesting happened again.  In my prayer time with God, He spoke to my heart to encourage her to read the New Testament through.  I thought, there's no way she could think that that would be a bad thing or something that would lead her astray.  I had hope!  So, on our next time out, I told her that if she really loved me, I wanted her to read the New Testament through---and she said she would.  I told her that I wasn't worried that much about if she read The Revelation at that time, but to at least read Matthew through Jude.  It took her a while.  And, sometimes I could kinda tell those days when she was reading and those days that she didn't.  I never said another word, only there were some times that I would ask her where she was at.  I was excited about those times when she would be reading this or that that her beliefs were in conflict with---but I never said a word.  I gave it all to God.

One day, when she was in the area of Paul's writings to Timothy (I believe), when she got in the car for us to go out, she leaned over the console and hugged my neck and told me that she understood (I'm tearing up).  After that, she never stepped foot back in her home church, we have never since had a disagreement over any Bible subject---much less doctrine---and I am now still happily married to her, for going on 37 years.

When we got married, we had to elope, as we knew full well that her parents would not have been up for her having a church wedding in a church of another denomination.  In their minds, I was dragging their daughter down to hell, as this was kind of the mentality of those who were steeped in her denomination concerning those who converted to something else.  Whereas we got along and I loved her parents, there was that undercurrent of religious differences.  But, they found that there was nothing they could do.

The story doesn't end here, but I need to be trying to finish up.  I've got to tell all of you this much more, anyway.  In time, my mother-in-law went with us once to where we were attending church.  She had an old friend that was our organist, and she had invited her to come sometime.  Later, she went again, and then, again and again!  By and by, my wife's brothers and sisters started coming.  And her aunt.  And finally her dad.  Everyone of them left the church and denomination they had been steeped in, and started going where I went.  Her brother is now a pastor of a solid church in the same community, of the same denomination that I was then a part of.  I, and the church I pastor, no longer have a denominational affiliation.  I don't throw any stones, and I will not, but we are just trying to be as much like a first century church as we can.  But, we all (her family and I) believe the same.

Oh, and one more thing.  Way back there, after my wife read the New Testament through, she admitted to me that she had never really read her Bible.  She had only ever read the book of Ruth.  Now, she has read the Bible through and is presently reading it through again.  And, like me, she will never be finished with reading her Bible.  I love the KJV.  She prefers the NIV.  I have a lot of different translations and have often been helped by comparing.  But, the KJV holds a special place in my heart.  It is the translation that I grew up with it.

In closing my opening post for this thread, I would just like to say that I will not be entering into any negative discussions in this thread.  It is only for the purpose of edification and encouragement concerning The Importance of Reading the Whole Bible.

If my testimony or what I believe is of an interest to anyone, I have concerning these things in my thread, My Testimony and More.  Following is a link to it (https://www.worthychristianforums.com/topic/252050-my-testimony-and-more/).

Edited December 6, 2021 by not an echo

[Hopefully]

18 hours ago, not an echo said:

reading of a chapter of Proverbs that corresponded to the day of the month. 

Hi Not an Echo,

Reading our Bible is excellent advice !! I am going to read the Proverbs chapters corresponding to the day of the month, great idea. 

[Not me]

19 hours ago, not an echo said:

Hello all,

Of all the things that I have done as a child of God, I don't know of anything that the Father has honored in my life experience more than my reading of His Word from cover to cover.  When I was 25 (I am now 63), I began my first journey through The Bible.  That first time, my journey took me four months.  Was I then finished with it?  No.  The very next day I read in it.  And the day after that, till the days became weeks, then months, then years, then decades.  I will never be finished reading The Bible, though I have read it through multiple times.  I will never be finished with reading God's Word, anymore than I will never be finished with eating!  Whereas I have always enjoyed my Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21 journeys, I have sometimes just did a New Testament study, or a Bible book study.  Sometimes even a Bible chapter study.  I think of the Psalms or any of the Proverbs.  When 25, my pastor at that time often encouraged the reading of a chapter of Proverbs that corresponded to the day of the month.  He advised the doing of this instead of the reading of horoscopes, which thing I had often done.  Of course, as there are 31 chapters of Proverbs, there is a chapter which would correspond with any month.  I bet I've read the book of Proverbs over a hundred times, probably twice that many!  And, I still love it as much as ever.  My mind goes to what Peter said in I Peter 2:

² As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of The Word, that ye may grow thereby:

³ If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

When I was 25, I was like a new born babe in Christ, even though I had been saved at ten.  For me, it was like I woke up at 25, still, what I call, "a delivery room stage" child of God.  Now, I can look back and see that I went through what might be referred to as the crib stage, the crawling stage, the toddler stage, the elementary school age stage and so forth, until I got to the graduation stage, where I might be used of God more fully for His Kingdom purposes.  In retrospect, if I hadn't continued in the Word of God, I know I wouldn't have made much true progress.  I think of what Jesus said, as recorded in John 8...

³¹ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed;

³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

I have a story that is on my heart to tell that relates to the importance of Bible study, but I know going into it that it could end up quite lengthy.  But, here goes...

When I was 25, I was still single, and I began to seek God for my "Eve" if you will.  I was done with running around and dating whoever or being with others that were not THE ONE, if you know what I mean.  Well, in God's providence, I got the opportunity to meet and go out with who I considered at the time to be the most beautiful young woman I had ever seen.  We started dating, fell in love, and I eventually asked her to marry me.  And, she said she would!  Well, there was a snag.  She had been raised in a different denominational belief, which her and her family were steeped in.  Whereas I had attended her church and she had attended mine, when we got more serious, her family would not let her attend with me any longer.  Also, my pastor at that time counseled me not to marry her, unless we could believe alike, calling my attention to such scriptures as Amos 3:3 and II Corinthians 6:14.

I prayed about it and sought God about it.  I did not know a whole lot about the beliefs of the denomination of which she was a part.  Because of this, I was inclined to study out what she believed, and I thought, if I could accept her beliefs, for my love for her, I WOULD CHANGE.  Without her knowing it, I began a journey of studying out the beliefs she and her family were steeped in.  I discovered that there was a bookstore in a fairly local city that happened to be affiliated with her denomination, so I went there and looked around.  I bought several pamphlets, and the store owner even gave me a book concerning all their religious beliefs.  I was on my way!

As I began to study all their material, I found that they made a lot of good points.  I remember discussing some of the things I was finding with my dad and hearing him say, "But what about this?" that the Bible would say about something.  And, I would wrestle with it.  I continued to read and study their material and wonder---and ended up quite confused.  For two weeks of my life at that time, I didn't know what to believe about some things.  I was highly frustrated.  Then, at the end of two weeks, when in prayer, God spoke to my heart, "Put down all this other material that you have been reading, and just read My Word."  So, that's what I did.  My first direction was to read the New Testament through.  Something very interesting happened.  Before I got through the book of Matthew, I KNEW THAT I COULD NOT BELIEVE ACCORDING TO HER BELIEFS.  Now, before this, I had already read the Bible through for the first time.  And, here I was again, on my second journey through the New Testament.  I stopped right where I was, went to Wal-mart and got me a brand new Bible, some highlighters, and a notebook---and I did me an intensive study.  I colored coded Scripture that pertained to a couple of major doctrinal beliefs that we differed on, and I made all kinds of notes.  All without her having any idea.  I even went back through the material that I had got at that bookstore and color coded and made notes.  Then, around this time that year (1984), instead of going out like we normally would, I told her I wanted us to go to my grandparents (where I was living at the time) to show her something.  In the spare bedroom, I had laid everything out on the bed, and I was going to let her know what I had been doing behind the scenes and what I had found out.  I was excited, just knowing that when saw in the Bible what I wanted to show her, she would be able to believe like me.  It didn't turn out that way---at all.  The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.  She told me that she had read her Bible, that she knew what she believed, and that she wasn't changing.  I tried to reason with her and she told me that this was just going to ruin Christmas and she didn't want to talk about it any more till after Christmas.  So, I didn't.  I prayed about it and gave it to God the best way I knew how.

On January the 2nd (after the holidays were completely finished), I asked her again to come to my grandparents so that I could go through with her what I was wanting to show her.  I tried it again, with the same results.  Didn't get anywhere.  She stiffened up about it all and had no regard for what I tried to show her in the Bible.  She again told me what she had told me before, and that when we got married, I could go to my church and she could go to hers.  I asked her what her thoughts were if we had children, and she said they could go with her sometimes and with me sometimes.  In my mind, I was thinking no.  I was so frustrated and bewildered that I don't even know how to convey how frustrated and bewildered I was.  I was 26, she was 18, we had fallen in love, were engaged, and religion was separating us.  I was really kinda upset with God, cause I thought, here I had prayed to Him to bring me together with my "Eve" and I thought He had---and now HE was coming between us!

Another couple of weeks passed.  You probably know how it is when there is an issue with someone you love, but ain't nobody talking about it.  That's the way it was with me and my supposed wife to be.  Utterly going along with "that sinking feeling" I resolved to God that I would not marry her unless we could believe alike.  I had it settled in my mind, but had not told her.  I didn't know how to tell her!  I figured she would hate me over it.  And, at the end of two weeks, something very interesting happened again.  In my prayer time with God, He spoke to my heart to encourage her to read the New Testament through.  I thought, there's no way she could think that that would be a bad thing or something that would lead her astray.  I had hope!  So, on our next time out, I told her that if she really loved me, I wanted her to read the New Testament through---and she said she would.  I told her that I wasn't worried that much about if she read The Revelation at that time, but to at least read Matthew through Jude.  It took her a while.  And, sometimes I could kinda tell those days when she was reading and those days that she didn't.  I never said another word, only there were some times that I would ask her where she was at.  I was excited about those times when she would be reading this or that that her beliefs were in conflict with---but I never said a word.  I gave it all to God.

One day, when she was in the area of Paul's writings to Timothy (I believe), when she got in the car for us to go out, she leaned over the console and hugged my neck and told me that she understood (I'm tearing up).  After that, she never stepped foot back in her home church, we have never since had a disagreement over any Bible subject---much less doctrine---and I am now still happily married to her, for going on 37 years.

When we got married, we had to elope, as we knew full well that her parents would not have been up for her having a church wedding in a church of another denomination.  In their minds, I was dragging their daughter down to hell, as this was kind of the mentality of those who were steeped in her denomination concerning those who converted to something else.  Whereas we got along and I loved her parents, there was that undercurrent of religious differences.  But, they found that there was nothing they could do.

The story doesn't end here, but I need to be trying to finish up.  I've got to tell all of you this much more, anyway.  In time, my mother-in-law went with us once to where we were attending church.  She had an old friend that was our organist, and she had invited her to come sometime.  Later, she went again, and then, again and again!  By and by, my wife's brothers and sisters started coming.  And her aunt.  And finally her dad.  Everyone of them left the church and denomination they had been steeped in, and started going where I went.  Her brother is now a pastor of a solid church in the same community, of the same denomination that I was then a part of.  I, and the church I pastor, no longer have a denominational affiliation.  I don't throw any stones, and I will not, but we are just trying to be as much like a first century church as we can.  But, we all (her family and I) believe the same.

Oh, and one more thing.  Way back there, after my wife read the New Testament through, she admitted to me that she had never really read her Bible.  She had only ever read the book of Ruth.  Now, she has read the Bible through and is presently reading it through again.  And, like me, she will never be finished with reading her Bible.  I love the KJV.  She prefers the NIV.  I have a lot of different translations and have often been helped by comparing.  But, the KJV holds a special place in my heart.  It is the translation that I grew up with it.

In closing my opening post for this thread, I would just like to say that I will not be entering into any negative discussions in this thread.  It is only for the purpose of edification and encouragement concerning The Importance of Reading the Whole Bible.

If my testimony or what I believe is of an interest to anyone, I have concerning these things in my thread, My Testimony and More.  Following is a link to it (https://www.worthychristianforums.com/topic/252050-my-testimony-and-more/).

Blessings and more blessings, what a blessing to read… Love to read how God has worked and is working in one’s life..

Such encouragement!!!

Many thanks, and may He continue to bless..

A fellow follower of His, Not me 

[MrBear]

Amen to that!

when you read the Bible it’s God talking to you when you pray that’s you talking to God

combine the 2 and you have a conversation between you and the Father ?

And regularly reading will increase your faith in my case, it has.. It gives me a complete picture of Gods character 

What other book would you check out from the library and start from the middle?  I used to think in my early walk it didn’t matter, but I suggest start from the beginning and work through it ( yes even Leviticus ?) just like you would any book,. The Gospels are great but when you read the Old Testament you really get a great deal of information and realize Jesus is the key ? to unlock the whole thing!

I love the word, audio is great, but hands on flipping the pages then meditating on what was read and even asking God for insight ( for me it was Isaiah that stumped me and Leviticus) I asked God for the insight and he opened them up

Father gave us a great roadmap for dealing with the struggles in this worldly journey and learning to walk in his Righteousness ?

But you begin wherever the Spirit leads you, My 1st Book was The gospel of John- I started recording my readings on my phone that’s also a tip to revisit my commentary’s on the books to see how my opinions and views changed over the years I can’t get enough of Gods word I love Paul’s letters and Old Testament myself But the books are all amazingly ? mind blowing every time I reread them I find something new

Thank you for the inspiration Brother

SHALOM❤️

Edited December 7, 2021 by MrBear

[not an echo]

2 hours ago, MrBear said:

Amen to that!

when you read the Bible it’s God talking to you when you pray that’s you talking to God

combine the 2 and you have a conversation between you and the Father ?

And regularly reading will increase your faith in my case, it has.. It gives me a complete picture of Gods character 

What other book would you check out from the library and start from the middle?  I used to think in my early walk it didn’t matter, but I suggest start from the beginning and work through it ( yes even Leviticus ?) just like you would any book,. The Gospels are great but when you read the Old Testament you really get a great deal of information and realize Jesus is the key ? to unlock the whole thing!

I love the word, audio is great, but hands on flipping the pages then meditating on what was read and even asking God for insight ( for me it was Isaiah that stumped me and Leviticus) I asked God for the insight and he opened them up

Father gave us a great roadmap for dealing with the struggles in this worldly journey and learning to walk in his Righteousness ?

But you begin wherever the Spirit leads you, My 1st Book was The gospel of John- I started recording my readings on my phone that’s also a tip to revisit my commentary’s on the books to see how my opinions and views changed over the years I can’t get enough of Gods word I love Paul’s letters and Old Testament myself But the books are all amazingly ? mind blowing every time I reread them I find something new

Thank you for the inspiration Brother

SHALOM❤️

Hello MrBear,

I couldn't help that it tickled me when you mentioned Leviticus!   It got me to reminiscing.  Another long story, but it connects hard with Bible study, so, here goes again...

I was taking a summer semester on Marriage and Family Counseling back in the late 80's.  One of the professor's requirements was this:  He said, "Guys, you need to be in The Book, and to make sure you are, I want you to write devotional thoughts on a 3 X 5 index card relating to what you read each day, and turn these cards in to me each week."  Seven cards, or seven sides, if we wanted to do front and back.  He wanted these every week of the course.  My heart sank.  I was the only deacon in a class full of preachers and pastors.  And, I agreed with the importance of being in The Book.  But, I absolutely hated writing (and I think they did too).  Just the thought, as I sat there and heard him say this, was like a dark cloud rolling in over me!  I had never liked book reports and writing in school, and I especially didn't like it in a course that I was taking of my own free will!  Besides, I thought, what in the world has this got to do with Marriage and Family Counseling?  But, I had prayed about the thing of taking a summer class, and I knew that God had directed my path to do this.  Proverbs 3:5-6 was my life Scripture, but I was suddenly having second thoughts.

Well, I purchased my 3 X 5's and when I got home that day and got ready to do my Bible reading, I was at Leviticus 22 in my personal time of Bible study.  I was really minded to just keep on track with where I was at that time and to do my writing accordingly.  So, I read Leviticus 22.  And then, I sat there and wondered---frustrated.  I couldn't think of a solitary thing to write.  I prayed about it and told the good Lord that this thing of writing was just going to be a drudgery for me if He didn't give me something to write.  I even thought that, if a person reads a chapter of the Bible, there ought to be something there to write on, enough to fill one side of a little 3 X 5 index card.  Then I prayed for God to speak to my heart from Leviticus 22.  And you know what?  He did!  If you read beginning in verse 17, the LORD is speaking to Moses about what may be offered unto Him.  Note the following...

²⁰ But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.

²¹ And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.

²² Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD.

²³ Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.

²⁴ Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land.

When I PRAYERFULLY considered this, I not only filled the side of my 3 X 5, but seed thoughts from this became the focus of my Sunday School lesson for the High School/College class students I taught at church.  One of the things that I stressed for them is that when they come to church and aren't attentive, they are offering to God something bruised or with a blemish.  The lesson really resonated with them.  FROM THAT DAY FORWARD, I never struggled again for thoughts to write on my 3 X 5.  As a matter of fact, God started speaking so much to my heart that it was hard for me to stop with a 3 X 5.  And, I was loving what God was speaking to my heart so much that I started copying what I turned in to the professor for myself---so that my thoughts didn't get away from me.  Just a little sidebar:  The word among the preachers in the class was that the professor was probably using what we turned in to him for seed thoughts for his messages, as he was a pastor.  Didn't matter to me.  I was now loving writing!

You know, in retrospect, I have ever since knew that God was in me taking that class.  But, it wasn't for learning about marriage and family counseling that He wanted me to take it.  He wanted me to learn the joy of writing.  Since that class, THERE HAS BEEN NOTHING THAT I WOULD RATHER DO IN MY LIFE THAN TO SIT DOWN WITH GOD'S WORD WITH PEN AND PAPER READY, AND HAVE HIM SPEAK TO MY HEART AS I READ AND STUDY AND WRITE.  And, I never look for anything to write.  That would be a drudgery.  I just write what comes to my heart and mind to write.  Most times, I can't write quick enough to keep up with what comes into my heart and mind.

Now, MrBear (and all), I can't tell you that this is what you need to do.  But, I can tell you that I think it would be a good thing for you to pray about trying it.  And, don't forget to pray when reading God's Word.  I think of these words of David's in Psalms 119... 

¹⁸ Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.

This is especially important when reading in Leviticus!

[MrBear]

20 minutes ago, not an echo said:

Hello MrBear,

I couldn't help that it tickled me when you mentioned Leviticus!   It got me to reminiscing.  Another long story, but it connects hard with Bible study, so, here goes again...

I was taking a summer semester on Marriage and Family Counseling back in the late 80's.  One of the professor's requirements was this:  He said, "Guys, you need to be in The Book, and to make sure you are, I want you to write devotional thoughts on a 3 X 5 index card relating to what you read each day, and turn these cards in to me each week."  Seven cards, or seven sides, if we wanted to do front and back.  He wanted these every week of the course.  My heart sank.  I was the only deacon in a class full of preachers and pastors.  And, I agreed with the importance of being in The Book.  But, I absolutely hated writing (and I think they did too).  Just the thought, as I sat there and heard him say this, was like a dark cloud rolling in over me!  I had never liked book reports and writing in school, and I especially didn't like it in a course that I was taking of my own free will!  Besides, I thought, what in the world has this got to do with Marriage and Family Counseling?  But, I had prayed about the thing of taking a summer class, and I knew that God had directed my path to do this.  Proverbs 3:5-6 was my life Scripture, but I was suddenly having second thoughts.

Well, I purchased my 3 X 5's and when I got home that day and got ready to do my Bible reading, I was at Leviticus 22 in my personal time of Bible study.  I was really minded to just keep on track with where I was at that time and to do my writing accordingly.  So, I read Leviticus 22.  And then, I sat there and wondered---frustrated.  I couldn't think of a solitary thing to write.  I prayed about it and told the good Lord that this thing of writing was just going to be a drudgery for me if He didn't give me something to write.  I even thought that, if a person reads a chapter of the Bible, there ought to be something there to write on, enough to fill one side of a little 3 X 5 index card.  Then I prayed for God to speak to my heart from Leviticus 22.  And you know what?  He did!  If you read beginning in verse 17, the LORD is speaking to Moses about what may be offered unto Him.  Note the following...

²⁰ But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.

²¹ And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.

²² Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD.

²³ Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.

²⁴ Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land.

When I PRAYERFULLY considered this, I not only filled the side of my 3 X 5, but seed thoughts from this became the focus of my Sunday School lesson for the High School/College class students I taught at church.  One of the things that I stressed for them is that when they come to church and aren't attentive, they are offering to God something bruised or with a blemish.  The lesson really resonated with them.  FROM THAT DAY FORWARD, I never struggled again for thoughts to write on my 3 X 5.  As a matter of fact, God started speaking so much to my heart that it was hard for me to stop with a 3 X 5.  And, I was loving what God was speaking to my heart so much that I started copying what I turned in to the professor for myself---so that my thoughts didn't get away from me.  Just a little sidebar:  The word among the preachers in the class was that the professor was probably using what we turned in to him for seed thoughts for his messages, as he was a pastor.  Didn't matter to me.  I was now loving writing!

You know, in retrospect, I have ever since knew that God was in me taking that class.  But, it wasn't for learning about marriage and family counseling that He wanted me to take it.  He wanted me to learn the joy of writing.  Since that class, THERE HAS BEEN NOTHING THAT I WOULD RATHER DO IN MY LIFE THAN TO SIT DOWN WITH GOD'S WORD WITH PEN AND PAPER READY, AND HAVE HIM SPEAK TO MY HEART AS I READ AND STUDY AND WRITE.  And, I never look for anything to write.  That would be a drudgery.  I just write what comes to my heart and mind to write.  Most times, I can't write quick enough to keep up with what comes into my heart and mind.

Now, MrBear (and all), I can't tell you that this is what you need to do.  But, I can tell you that I think it would be a good thing for you to pray about trying it.  And, don't forget to pray when reading God's Word.  I think of these words of David's in Psalms 119... 

¹⁸ Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.

This is especially important when reading in Leviticus!

Well said

yes Leviticus was a challenge for me and I prayed it up and the Lord directed me to a channel dedicated to Leviticus I posted it in the video section under THE TABERNACLE MAN this guy has recreated to scale the altar , ark, and all the different ornaments it opened my eyes to the fact that no matter your station you could bring sacrifices for the Father 

Yes prayers don’t go unanswered if it’s Gods will?

i keep flash cards on the bathroom mirror 

First one  is “before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart”

the other is a Neil T Anderson quote

”If you have a little knowledge of God and his word you will have a little faith ,likewise if you have a great knowledge of these things you can have great faith!”

a Constant reminder  to keep in the word?

SHALOM❤️

Edited December 7, 2021 by MrBear

[appy]

3 hours ago, MrBear said:

Amen to that!

when you read the Bible it’s God talking to you when you pray that’s you talking to God

combine the 2 and you have a conversation between you and the Father ?

And regularly reading will increase your faith in my case, it has.. It gives me a complete picture of Gods character 

God's word is always new and fresh, no matter how many times we read it.  I don't think there is any hard rule of where to start, some read one chapter from the Old and one from the New Testaments.  Some just open their bibles and just start reading someplace. 

Hebrews 4 : 12 (NIV)
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

 

[MrBear]

Just now, appy said:

God's word is always new and fresh, no matter how many times we read it.  I don't think there is any hard rule of where to start, some read one chapter from the Old and one from the New Testaments.  Some just open their bibles and just start reading someplace. 

Hebrews 4 : 12 (NIV)
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

 

Yes I don’t dispute that, ? any Word from God is better than no word. I was still in my infancy as I got bolder I wanted to challenge myself to read cover to cover, even today I have a nice free app on my phone called Youversion it has 25 different versions of the Bible Most are audio as well

I do sit in my truck doing DoorDash a lot so I just flip it open and press play, nothing wrong with that method ?

SHALOM❤️

[appy]

2 minutes ago, MrBear said:

I do sit in my truck doing DoorDash a lot so I just flip it open and press play, nothing wrong with that method ?

BibleGateway has audio for all the versions they have listed.  I don't use the audio feature.  Another good online bible site is Bible hub.  I don't know if bible hub has audio but like gateway they have quite a list of versions you can open up and read side by side.  Any time someone posts scripture, I use that feature to compare the scripture posted to see where their posted scripture is coming from when I see something posted that doesn't quite look right.

[MrBear]

2 minutes ago, appy said:

BibleGateway has audio for all the versions they have listed.  I don't use the audio feature.  Another good online bible site is Bible hub.  I don't know if bible hub has audio but like gateway they have quite a list of versions you can open up and read side by side.  Any time someone posts scripture, I use that feature to compare the scripture posted to see where their posted scripture is coming from when I see something posted that doesn't quite look right.

Good sites Try biblestudytools.com their free stuff is ok even includes the Apocrypha and many tools