For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven . . .
I am a bibliophile through and through. If you cut me, I might bleed ink, to be perfectly honest. However, this year has marked a new level of reading obsession. I met my mark for the number of books I wanted to read this year in July. Crazy, isn’t it? That’s what I thought too, even though I’ve enjoyed myself greatly this year.
Here’s the problem. My personal Bible reading and study suffered significantly some days because I was entirely absorbed by every other book I had in my hands, on my shelves, next to my bed, piled in the living room, stored in to-be-read boxes in my office. It is true, for everything there is a season. I desire to wisely use my time as a single woman to read what I can when I can because I hope one day that I am too busy cleaning up after and chasing my children to read very much. However, as a Believer I am called to be a steward for every matter under heaven. That means that my schedule requires stewardship. The time I spend studying the Word or reading novels or reviewing Christian literature requires stewardship. Every piece of my day, every action I take, every word I say, every thought I have is to be stewarded well in light of my faith in Christ and the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.
All of this means first things must come first. That begs the question, what are “first things”? I’ve been hinting at it: it is the things of Christ! This is a no-brainer for Believers, but we often forget this principle on the practical level. We may claim to be stewards of the Spirit of Christ and of the work of godliness in our lives; however, at times, we are practical unbelievers living and doing as we please.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:17
I think a disclaimer is in order here. Does stewarding our lives mean we will never have the time to spend on movies, books, entertainment, friends, travel, and the other “fun” things in life? Absolutely not! This is why it is called stewardship. God did not create us to separate ourselves from the world in communes, to hole up in our houses, to only venture out on Sundays, to spend all of our time in our offices with our Bibles. There is a practical aspect of the Christian life that requires stewardship and wisdom. This is where the entertainment side of life comes in. How do we entertain ourselves? Do we glorify the Lord in what we do and how we do it?
This is where the Bible study, prayer, and time with the Lord is applied. We could study the Word of God 20 hours a day and still not grow in holiness. In order to grow in holiness we must go out and do it! How does the Word of God apply to my time reading other books? To reviewing movies? The wisdom I gain from my study of the Scriptures is to be applied to my stewardship of my time, hence why I decided it was time to take a break.
I set aside my books for about 5-6 weeks and devoted myself instead to a fast-paced read-through of the entire Bible. I could have read the Bible all the way through much faster to be perfectly honest; however, the point was that I spent more time reading my Bible than anything else I was doing on the side. My conclusion? Short answer: I need to continue to read my Bible more.
Dear readers, to read through the whole counsel of Scripture so quickly was an incredible blessing.
I have never been so intrigued by Scripture before. That sounds sacrilegious as one who grew up in the church and was brought to faith by the Lord at a relatively young age. However, I enjoy Scripture more with each passing year because Scripture becomes progressively more precious with each year of trials and tribulations, joys and jubilations. When was the last time you read through the entire Bible? For that matter, have you ever even read through the entire Bible?
Let me walk you through some of the most encouraging portions of my reading and share what I learned. I hope, dear reader, that this spurs you on to a greater desire to read Scripture and meditate upon the word of God!
I began in Genesis. It’s a natural place to start, but I most importantly wanted a big picture overview to start out my reading plan. I finished Genesis, Exodus, and Revelation in four days. To read the narrative of Genesis and Exodus in such a short span of time helped me to understand the chronological flow of both books so much better! Not only that, but to see first the beginning of all things and then to jump to Revelation and see God’s plan for the end of all things . . . Believers, what a great encouragement that was! To hear the promises of salvation from Genesis and to so quickly follow it up with the promises of salvation in Revelation strengthened my understanding of each book. Genesis feels over-read at times, and Revelation proves difficult to understand; however, to read them together at a quick pace clears the air and freshens your perspective.
Next I read Leviticus and Hebrews. I read the first 13 chapters of Leviticus, then all 13 chapters of Hebrews, then the other 14 chapters of Leviticus. I have read Leviticus and Hebrews in tandem before. It absolutely blew me away the first time I read them together! Leviticus is not always an interesting book to read, especially for modern-day Believers. We have such a limited concept and understanding of the sacrificial system and it’s burden on the every day life of the Jewish people. But as difficult as it is to read the sacrificial law and all its requirements, Hebrews juxtaposes against the backdrop of Leviticus so beautifully! If you have a hard time understanding, enjoying, or reading either of these books take the time to read them together. The blessing of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice and the joy of setting aside the burden of the sacrificial law cannot be more beautifully expressed than it is in Hebrews.
I spent a great deal of my “reading” time listening to my ESV Bible app. I listened to the four gospels which changed what stuck out to me! The gospels also are frequently read and easy to pass off as old material and not applicable. This is completely false of course! I realized that, especially while listening to John’s Gospel. How many times have you heard the story about the woman at the well, or read the verse that says, “Jesus wept”? What’s going on in life and what you are mulling over has an effect on your reading of Scripture! Different seasons will cause different verses or passages to stick out in your mind. Is the Holy Spirit not one of the greatest gifts God could give us?! The blessing of being able to progressively learn from and through Scripture is taken for granted too often. Read the word with open eyes my dear readers!
Be challenged, but also be encouraged.
For everything there is a season. If you are in a season of having the time to read significant portions of Scripture, do so! It is not time wasted and your soul will benefit greatly from a purposeful encounter with the Word of our Great God. However, if you are not in a season of having significant amounts of time to spend reading and studying, I encourage you to be intentional with the time you do have. Read through a specific plan/book/portion of Scripture each day to keep yourself focused. Do not just flip around and read whatever you land on! This area of our lives deserves consistent and intentional purpose. Be faithful in the little things and the Lord will bless your efforts as you seek to come before Him with a genuine desire to learn and grow.
