Reading your Bible





Hi everyone

During this time when we are not able to meet together to be strengthened in our faith, and to receive the word of God from others, there is, I believe, a great need for us to go to our Bibles ourselves, individually.   

How we all need to grow in our salvation through these times!

As Robert Murray McCheyne said “Those believers will stand firmest who have no dependence upon self or upon creatures, but upon Jehovah our Righteousness. We must be driven more to our Bibles, and to the mercy seat, if we are to stand in the evil day.”

It is my firm conviction that:
  1. We each need to be spending regular time each day alone in God’s word. And that as we do so it leads us to prayer and the worship of God.  This is the way to peace and joy and assurance in the Lord.
  2. It is also important to be going through the Bible in a structured way so that we end up reading the whole of the Bible in a given period of time – however long that takes. We all need “the whole counsel of God”.

With these two things in mind I would like to give you some help, if you need it.
  • Attached is “A pattern for daily prayer”. This gives some help as to how to read the Bible for yourself, how to dig into the passage by giving questions to ask. How to apply it to your life, and how to turn it into prayer. There is a long version, or if you prefer, a short version, and an evening version.

  • Also attached are two suggestions of a reading plan so that the Bible is read in a given amount of time. Either two years or one year. there are a few of these kind of plans available on line. It’s important to find one that suits you. Here is a link for others https://www.blueletterbible.org/dailyreading/index.cfm
    Personally I use one on my Bible app which is easy to keep track of where I’m up to. You don’t necessarily have to do it in a year, or two. It’s far better to have your ‘heart burning within you’ with what you do read than feeling you must tick off exactly ‘x’ chapters a day.

My own practice, if this is any help, is to read one psalm, going through the psalms in order. Contemplate, Pray and praise God for what I read. Then read two or so chapters from the reading plan. Contemplate, pray and praise over what I discover (see attached sheet). Then use the Lord’s Prayer as a framework for prayer – using each phrase as a ‘springboard’ into prayer. Then pray for a certain number of members and friends (you could use the new prayer guide). Then free prayer.
But please find what suits you best.

So let us all make use of our times when we are not together to be growing in the Lord in this way. 

Dave

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