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I read the whole Bible last year!

humble soul

humble soul

On Sabbatical from Rome
Member
No I didn't.
But I've heard Christians boast similar claims.
Quantity over quality perhaps?
How much did they understand?
How much did you reflect on deeply?
Has it really changed/transformed you,?

I'm going to assert that quality is more important than quantity.
That gospels are number one priority.
That some books in the OT can be skipped.
 
The bible is not really for me. I am not under the law given to the Hebrews through Moses who is the accuser of the law.
 
I have read it more than once. From personal experience, it is easier to figure out how all of the parts fit together if you read the entire Bible through several times. I recommend reading it through several times.
 
Well, I was thinking one day, that one day either sooner or later that I'll be standing in front of our Lord. And what if He says, did you even read my book once? ...and I imagined that it would not feel good to have to stand there and say no Lord, I did not.

So I did. Several times now actually. And when I was reading the OT, It suddenly dawned on me that, while I was reading it, things from the NT kept coming to mind and becoming clearer. If you want to be able to understand the new Testament that you have to read the OT first. Especially Genesis. Our God has told the end from the beginning.

Isaiah 46:9-10
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:.../

Would you Brothers who seem to reject the Old Testament like a scripture from the New Testament which talks to us about reading His word?

Acts 17:10-12
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.../

So do you not want to be noble in our Lord, Jesus Christ? Having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals in His Salvation and Teachings? I would think that having the Holy Spirit within us and guiding us into all truth (John 16:13) would inspire us to do what the Lord tells us to do in His scriptures! and it says to...search the scriptures daily. I don't see where it says, but not the Old Testament for later generations...??

How can the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth if we do not read the truth? How can the Holy Spirit bear witness to our spirit (Romans 8:16), if we don't read His Word?

How can the Holy Spirit bring to our remembrance what all He has said to us...if we don't put His word into our minds and heart in the first place by reading it?

John 14:26
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.../

So I can't understand why anyone would not want to read the word of God. And go around rejecting portions of it too. That just don't make sense to me.
 
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humble soul said:
No I didn't.
But I've heard Christians boast similar claims.
Quantity over quality perhaps?
How much did they understand?
How much did you reflect on deeply?
Has it really changed/transformed you,?

I'm going to assert that quality is more important than quantity.
That gospels are number one priority.
That some books in the OT can be skipped.
Click to expand...
For the past several years beginning on Jan. 1 of each year, I have made it a point to either read the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation or listen to an audio version completely through. I used the audio version while driving in my car and it usually took about 4 months doing it that way. My drive to work was about 1/2 hour each way so that made it easy to listen daily using Ford Sync.

Right now I am 60 days into a plan to read the New Testament in 90 days.

I also attend a weekly men's prayer breakfast where we read one or more chapters depending on chapter length and time permitting and then discuss what was read. It took us about 15 years to read through the entire Bible the first time. After finishing it, we started over and as of yesterday we read from 1 Chronicles, chapters 10, 11, and 12.

Chronicles might be one of those that you feel you'd like to skip because it contains a lot of historical details, genealogy, and names but we believe God inspired its writing for a reason, even if nothing more than to give validity to the Bible. In fact, we were talking about that last week when I pointed out how it does give validity. As an example, when I first moved to this area 30 years ago one of the things I noticed and still notice today is how whenever my neighbors talk about others they include genealogical data such as, "Yeah, he's the grandson of such and such" or "His mother was married to the son of whoever." When speaking of my home, it's easier for people around here to relate when I refer to it as "the old Olson farm." There hasn't been an Olson living on this place in 60 years. But their history is important to them and gives them credibility.

It seems that every time I read through the Scriptures something jumps out at me that I didn't notice before. Sometimes it is something small and seemingly insignificant while other times it is something quite profound, at least to me. One in particular that happened a few years ago was how many times I noticed references to God wanted us to know Him. It was so profound for me that I did a study and using the NKJV I found over 130 references to God declaring who He was and another 130+ references to phrases like, "So you (or they) will know me." From this it became clear that God wants us to know Him and that is one explanation for having the Bible put in writing for us. It allows us to read it over and over and over again so we can know Him more and more and grow closer and closer and closer to Him.
 
kiwidan said:
The bible is not really for me. I am not under the law given to the Hebrews through Moses who is the accuser of the law.
Click to expand...
Ever wonder what the New Testament meant when it talks about Paul, Stephen and others who argued from scripture that Jesus was the Messiah?
They didn't have the NT.

Does that hint that the Old Testament is more important than you currently think.
 
WIP said:
For the past several years beginning on Jan. 1 of each year, I have made it a point to either read the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation or listen to an audio version completely through. I used the audio version while driving in my car and it usually took about 4 months doing it that way. My drive to work was about 1/2 hour each way so that made it easy to listen daily using Ford Sync.

Right now I am 60 days into a plan to read the New Testament in 90 days.

I also attend a weekly men's prayer breakfast where we read one or more chapters depending on chapter length and time permitting and then discuss what was read. It took us about 15 years to read through the entire Bible the first time. After finishing it, we started over and as of yesterday we read from 1 Chronicles, chapters 10, 11, and 12.

Chronicles might be one of those that you feel you'd like to skip because it contains a lot of historical details, genealogy, and names but we believe God inspired its writing for a reason, even if nothing more than to give validity to the Bible. In fact, we were talking about that last week when I pointed out how it does give validity. As an example, when I first moved to this area 30 years ago one of the things I noticed and still notice today is how whenever my neighbors talk about others they include genealogical data such as, "Yeah, he's the grandson of such and such" or "His mother was married to the son of whoever." When speaking of my home, it's easier for people around here to relate when I refer to it as "the old Olson farm." There hasn't been an Olson living on this place in 60 years. But their history is important to them and gives them credibility.

It seems that every time I read through the Scriptures something jumps out at me that I didn't notice before. Sometimes it is something small and seemingly insignificant while other times it is something quite profound, at least to me. One in particular that happened a few years ago was how many times I noticed references to God wanted us to know Him. It was so profound for me that I did a study and using the NKJV I found over 130 references to God declaring who He was and another 130+ references to phrases like, "So you (or they) will know me." From this it became clear that God wants us to know Him and that is one explanation for having the Bible put in writing for us. It allows us to read it over and over and over again so we can know Him more and more and grow closer and closer and closer to Him.
Click to expand...
That's impressive actually. Glad you shared.
 
I can imagine these Christians driving around town now. Listening full time to the word (audiobible) in their car. Wow....don't they need a change?
 
humble soul said:
I can imagine these Christians driving around town now. Listening full time to the word (audiobible) in their car. Wow....don't they need a change?
Click to expand...

Yeah sometimes. So to change it up I would pop in a cassette tape of the new Testament to listen to. I played those all out to a scratchy hiss. I hear they have digital audio bibles now. I should get one.
 
Edward said:
Yeah sometimes. So to change it up I would pop in a cassette tape of the new Testament to listen to. I played those all out to a scratchy hiss. I hear they have digital audio bibles now. I should get one.
Click to expand...
I didn't even know cassette tapes were still around! :)
 
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humble soul said:
I can imagine these Christians driving around town now. Listening full time to the word (audiobible) in their car. Wow....don't they need a change?
Click to expand...

The thing is, that reading the Lord's word is fuel for our faith. The bible speaks about little faith, great faith, faith which has not been seen before...so our faith can be grown into a greater faith, and it begins in the word of God.

You sound like you don't like to read the bible. You sound like my brother used to sound. That it's hard to understand so why bother. But it does get easier.
 
Edward said:
The thing is, that reading the Lord's word is fuel for our faith. The bible speaks about little faith, great faith, faith which has not been seen before...so our faith can be grown into a greater faith, and it begins in the word of God.

You sound like you don't like to read the bible. You sound like my brother used to sound. That it's hard to understand so why bother. But it does get easier.
Click to expand...
I look at it this way. I suspect we or most of us have or had a best friend. How did that friendship develop? Was it a best friend relationship after the first meeting? I'm betting it wasn't but rather it grew over time as both got to know each other better and better.

Here's an example from my life. When I was in high school I had a very close friend. That friendship grew more as we spent more and more time together doing things we both enjoyed. We became inseparable and where one of us was people knew the other was not too far away. We got to know each other extremely well. But, even those types of friendships need to be fed regularly. A few years after high school our lives began to take different paths. I met a girl, fell in love, and began to spend more time with her, eventually got married and moved to another town. Eight years later after our divorce I went back to school at a technical institute, got a diploma, accepted a job offer, and moved 200 miles away toward the west. During all this my friend's life took another path too and he ended up moving to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, about 200 miles away to the south. We spent less time together and drifted further apart. I happened to run into him a couple years ago at his mother's funeral and I can tell you it was not the same. Our friendship is no longer being fed regularly and today we are just acquaintances.

Spending time in Scripture regularly is one way to keep feeding our relationship with God. I believe the old adage, "Out of sight, out of mind" comes into play here.
 
Tessa said:
Prayer is a wonderful way to get to know God too. We can feel His presence and experience a great peace and His love. Talking to God is an enormous privilege.
Click to expand...

It is! I bet there's prolly as many different ways to pray to God that there is people, lol. Everyone has their own way of praying. I (Think) I taught myself to pray better by remembering that prayer is is dialogue and not a monologue. So I'd invite the Lord to go with me, to work or just anywhere out into the world. And I pray and talk to the Lord like He's my best friend and really with me at the moment, cuz He really is.

And when I would ask Him a question, I pause and listen, as if I was waiting for a response (and I am). Now this sort of thing may seem a little goofy because you can't really see the Lord sitting beside you, so I guess it takes a wee bit of a child like faith to do this. And it's always the same. A scripture will pop into my head, or I will have a seemingly random thought...something like that. But it's an answer to my question that I had asked. Or could be so I take it as such. And depending on what I ask, He answers clearly, or vaguely, or asks me another question to lead me down a path of reasoning a certain direction.

Sometimes the answer does not come in words, but a perceiving, as if from the heart. And so then I answer again. And after a bit it turns into a literal conversation. Over time, I was shown that this is the still small voice of God within me.

One day, He caught me off guard. He walked into the room. I could not see Him but when Jesus walks into the room, there is no mistake. Then He spoke to me audibly. He told me to, pray for a certain man because He needs help...Now, I was an idiot and gave the wrong response, I questioned Him. Then He took the Fatherly tone of doom with me and repeated for me to pray for this Brother. So I did. and when I said my Amen, the presence of the Lord left in it's intensity...and I was left curious to what had happened to the Brother, that he needed help.

And I realized that, God doesn't need MY help to do anything. I am nobody. And that was when it struck me...that I had been given a huge privilege. To be allowed to participate in the help that a Brother in Christ needed. That was a big privilege!

And He didn't even strike me dumb, like the Angel did to Zacharias when He questioned the Angel of the Lord! Now I know the correct answer, it is, Yes Lord.
 
Edward said:
Now this sort of thing may seem a little goofy because you can't really see the Lord sitting beside you, so I guess it takes a wee bit of a child like faith to do this
Click to expand...
I applaud this. The more vivid our imagination, the stronger our faith can be.
 
humble soul said:
That's a coincidence. God was just telling me how privileged he felt talking to me.
Click to expand...
You do realize that one day you will stand before Him and be held accountable for every flippant God-belittling comment you have ever made, don't you?

And at 58, it will be sooner rather than later.
 
Hospes said:
You do realize that one day you will stand before Him and be held accountable for every flippant God-belittling comment you have ever made, don't you?

And at 58, it will be sooner rather than later.
Click to expand...
See the God I know has a sense of humour. Whereas yours is humourless.
 
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