The Scriptures are a “sea… which has within it profound meanings and the mysterious depths of the Prophets.  Into this sea many rivers have entered.  Delightful and clear are these streams; the fountains are cool, springing up into life everlasting.” –Ambrose of Milan to Constantius

Image © Daniel Hanna 2017

Almost 60% of Americans pick up the Bible 4 times a year or less.  This statistic comes from a report conducted over a six year period by the American Bible Society.  In that report, however, 62% of Americans wanted to read the Bible more often.  Yet, only 17% of Americans read their Bibles on a regular basis.

These statistics become even more interesting when the majority of the American public thinks that if people read the Bible more often and let it inform their lives we would have a much better society.

Well, that begs the question, what is stopping Americans from reading the Bible?  The report does not answer those questions.

From what I have seen, it usually comes down to 3 obstacles, which can be quickly overcome if identified.

1. Developing a Plan (time, place, and length)

The problem today is we live in a culture that celebrates spontaneity and impulsiveness.  We do things when we feel like it.  However, if we wait on the impulse to read the Bible, then most of us will never read it regularly or even read it at all.  Instead of waiting for when we feel like it, we must develop a plan, a schedule, to read the Bible.  This plan must include the time of day, place, and length of text we will read from the Bible.

We can begin by looking at our schedules.  For some, the mornings are best; for others, their lunch breaks work better for them.  So, we could develop a plan like this:

Time: Lunchtime

Place: The park across the street from the office

Length: Three chapters a day

Or

Time: Morning

Place: Living room

Length: Three chapters a day

If we read three chapters a day, then we can finish the Bible in about 1 year and 5 weeks.

If you are worried you will not get three chapters in a day, then open up a Bible and take a look at how long the chapters are.  Bible chapters are very, very short.  They usually do not go beyond a page on average; many times they are half a page long.

 2. Building Background

Some books will require you to understand some background information before reading them.  For example, the Psalms are poetry, but they do not have rhyme or meter, yet there is a structure behind them, one that can be quickly understood with little background building.  Understanding this will bring the beauty and depth of the Psalms to us.

The structure used throughout most of the Psalms is parallelism which means the same thought is expressed in two ways like in these verses:

“How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!

My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the Lord” (Psalm 84:1-2).

Or the parallelism can convey two opposing thoughts like in these verses:

“The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10).

When we have this background knowledge, we will not only understand the Bible, but we will recognize and enjoy the beauty it contains.

 3. Being Consistent

Consistency is key.

Now you have a schedule, and you have built background, but that is still not enough.  You must be consistent in your Bible reading schedule.  According to this report, it takes between 2 to 8 months to develop a habit.  If we want to make Bible reading a regular part of our lives and finish reading the Bible, then we must make it a habit of ours.  We cannot read one day, then wait to read again after two weeks.  What we need to do is to build the habit.  Eventually, it will become second nature, and reading, enjoying, and finishing the Bible will be a regular part of our lives.

Suggestions

I suggest that if you want to begin reading the Bible as a habit, then you begin with the four Gospels at the beginning of the New Testament.  You will begin to know our Lord Jesus Christ this way.  If you read 3 chapters a day, then you will finish all four Gospels in about 1 month.

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