From the outside my Chronological Bible looks worn. Green fabric is frayed around the edges revealing the thick cardboard underneath. The front and back covers are clinging to the spine by a thin piece of tape and the dust cover has long been lost. The letters on the spine are beginning to fade.
“Looks pretty beat-up,” my hairdresser noted as I opened it while waiting for my color to set.
I smiled and nodded, “I’ve been reading through it for over four years now.”
For more than four years I have been reading chronologically through the Bible. That green raggedy looking thing has kept me in the Word, enraptured by God’s story for more than four years.
My heart marveled at the truth. For about 17 years I had tried different ways to read through the Bible. Different reading programs, jumping to and fro, or even just opening it up from Genesis and reading it straight through. I struggled to get through it all. I would miss a day or week.
I would have difficulty figuring out how the story went. I mean the books of the Bible are not in chronological order and often what happens in 1 Kings is mentioned in 1 Chronicles and perhaps a Psalm was written at the same time. That is exactly what the One-Year Chronological Bible published by Tyndale does. It gives you the story of the Bible in Chronological order. So when David is hiding from Saul in the caves, I see all the scriptures that refer to those events and the Psalms David wrote around that time. Not to mention it is divided into daily readings! So I can read through the Bible chronologically every year.
I was introduced to this Bible by Iva May when she spoke at a ladies’ retreat I attended. Not only does Iva May encourage folks to read this Bible, but she offers a daily blog post on the reading for each day. These posts add insight to the text, but also pose questions for the reader to answer.
Since I began reading through this Bible, God’s Word has come alive to me. I long to be in God’s Word. I see themes and understand the order of God’s story better. The more I read and understand God’s story, the more I see God working in my life. As a mom, I am better able to direct and train my children because I know God’s Word.
Ladies, if you do not have a Bible reading plan that works for you, I highly encourage you to purchase this Bible. I do not get any financial or other type of compensation for this blog post. I am just a woman who has been changed by reading God’s Word in this way.
What do you do to stay in God’s Word daily?
- Ch…ch…ch…CHANGES Are Coming in 2017 for TMI - December 27, 2016
- What New Thing Are You Ready to See God Do in Your Life in 2017? - December 26, 2016
- Heaviness and Newness - December 23, 2016
