Read the Bible. A lot.

We’re a week into the new year. If you committed to daily Bible reading on some plan or schedule, you might already be struggling. Here’s a reminder of the importance of spending time reading Scripture.

I recently sat down with my Bible and a plan to finish reading the book of Genesis. I had nine chapters left in the story of Joseph, his brothers, and father in Egypt and Goshen. The story is so rich that I wanted to experience it all in one sitting. It took about an hour, but what a wonderful experience it was!

That got me thinking about the time I commit to reading the Bible and what happens while I read it. I noticed that the longer I read, the more involved I became in the text. Could there be a connection between time and involvement with the text? I think so.

This is by no means scientific, but it fits. Consider that the more you watch a certain TV program, the more you want to watch. We can thank streaming services for the ability to binge-watch the entire series as fast as our schedules will allow. No more waiting for next week’s episode. I confess: I have watched an entire season of a show over a weekend.

Okay, back to the Bible. I am concerned that we’ve allowed ourselves to become comfortable with as little of it as we think we need for the day or can fit into our schedules. Be honest. Have you read a devotion book with a single verse of Scripture at the top and counted it as your Bible reading for the day? Ashamedly, I once did. We even have the One Minute Bible that divides God’s Word into portions that can be read in under sixty seconds.

Question: How invested can you get in ANY book – a novel, a self-help book, even a Christian life book – in one minute? Personally, I can’t get much out of such a short reading. Am I opposed to resources like the One Minute Bible? No! I can think of times during the day when, after having read my Bible at length that morning, when a small morsel of Scripture is desired, needed, and helpful.

What I don’t recommend is Christians building their daily worship time on a foundation of 15 – 60 seconds of Scripture and thinking themselves “fed” for the day. As I write this, I am thinking of an old TV commercial. The tag line was, “No one can eat just one Lays potato chip!” My mind is laying that idea on the Bible: “No one can read just one verse/minute of Scripture!” I wouldn’t eat a bite of cereal in the morning and think I had all the physical nutrition I needed for the day. I should not feel that way about the Bible either.

This is God’s Word! It is His heart and mind expressed to us. “God’s love letter to man” is a label used for the Bible. It is our strength and defense and we need more than “a verse day to keep the devil away.” Christians must shift their interest back to the Bible. We have thousands of books based on God’s Word, but we need to be in God’s Word; to learn it and live it. R.C. Sproul said, “I think the greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes that God invests His power in the Bible. Everyone is looking for power in a program, in a technique, in anything and everything except where God has placed it: His Word.” I think we often look for it in any book beside the Bible.

I think the greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes that God invests His power in the Bible. Everyone is looking power in a program, in a technique, in anything and everything except where God has placed it: His Word.

R.C. Sproul

It is a matter of influence. Think of all the words and images you hear each day. Think of the messages they send. What worldview are they based on? What values do they promote? What we see and hear – what we are exposed to – we embrace and we repeat. If you are an average American, you watch 5-6 hours of visual media (TV, movies, etc.) on a daily basis and, often, it is not spiritually sound programming. You’re feeding your mind a lot of worldly values. How much godly content are you feeding it?

It is a matter of priority. We need to turn off the TV, music player, or laptop and turn on our Bibles. We need to reduce or eliminate any activity that keeps us from the Bible. God promises immeasurable benefits from knowing the truths of Scripture. No such promises from any other book or media. People need Christians that love and know the Bible for in it is the truth, freedom, and hope they need. We need a “Bible first” approach to our daily activities. That doesn’t mean you have to read your Bible “first thing” each day; what it does mean is that you structure your day around your time reading and feeding on Scripture.

Make time for reading the Bible. Scratch that. Make LOTS of time for reading the Bible. It is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (see 2 Timothy 3:16). It is a lamp for your feet and light for your path (see Psalm 119:105). In other words, it is good for what we need so we can to do what we’re here to do: live holy lives of sacrificial service to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“I read the Bible too much,” said no one ever.