TIME IN THE WORD...WHERE DO I START?
As good shepherds, our pastors continuously admonish us to read the Word of God. They know that our spiritual growth will be stunted if this all important daily practice isn’t a staple in our lives. We hear them loud and clear, but where do we start?
One Chapter a Day
The size of the bible can seem overwhelming to us. We think, “There are 66 books here! Should I just pick it up and start reading anywhere?” This may be the reason many people opt to read devotionals instead.
Here is a little system for getting started. We call it, “Just One Chapter a Day.”
Go to the New Testament Table of Contents and find the books with the least number of chapters. These books (one chapter) are:
Philemon, 2nd John, 3rd John, Jude
Read one chapter each day beginning with Philemon.
Day 2 read 2nd John
Day three read 3rd John
Day four read Jude
Go on to the books that have three chapters (there aren’t any with only two) and read one chapter each day until all of the books with three chapters are read.
Proceed with the books that have four chapters and do the same and so on...
You Will Grow
As you can see, we are reading the books according to the number of chapters they have, from the least to the greatest. You will move quickly through the small books and this will encourage you to continue.
By the time you get to the larger books, you will have developed the daily habit. You will be amazed at how much you will grow through this simple practice.
If for some reason you miss reading one day, don’t try to make up for it by reading two chapters the next day. Doing so will frustrate you.
Just continue to read one chapter each day.
Just Start
You can do this! There are 260 chapters in the New Testament. Reading “Just One Chapter a Day” will take you through the entire New Testament in less than a year!
Start now!
As newborn babes, desire the sincere
milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby
1 Peter 2:2
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD