Saturday, March 27, 2010

Reading The Bible In 90 Days (86 Actually)

The Church I attend here in Illinois decided to participate in a nationwide program that encourages congregations to read the entire Bible in 90 days.  I decided to participate as well.  I started on 1/1 and only missed one day's reading while traveling (which I made up for the next day).  I was home for Christmas when I started so I posted impressions of my reading on my pastoral studies blog so the people back in Illinois could check my progress.  By the time I finished John, I had posted 1076 seperate observations and verses that grabbed my attention.  I stopped posting these impressions because it was becoming too time consuming.  I will finish the job this Fall; much of what has already been posted will be useful in the future.  There is a site where churches and individuals can register to receive materials, such as a Bible in 90 Days reading plan and course videos .  I chose not to register on the site because I didn't want give give my cell phone number out online.

This experience has been very positive.  I have read the Bible through before but have never been able to make it through one year plans.  To publicly commit to a 90 day plan is a practical way to read through the entirety of scripture in a specified time.  The version I read was the New Living Translation.  As is always the case when I read scripture in a version I don't regularly study, I see things in familiar scriptures I did not notice before.  I gained many new insights into scripture reading the NLT. 

I might repeat the experience in a few years.  This Summer I will listen to my audio Bible in 90 days.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010