I try to take time on Sunday afternoon for a more lengthy time in scripture. Being that I am on the 90 day plan, this gets a little more intentional, because I want to maintain a different time for deeper study in the day. Here are some reflections that I have had today.
1. Genesis should be read quickly.
This might seem odd. Here we have a gigantic book of the bible, with complicated names and covering a big length of time. Why would we want to read it quickly?
One of the things I appreciate about the 90 day read is that Genesis is read in four days.
I think it should be read quick so we can make some connections in our mind. We need to see patterns that develop in the behavior of those first important people. We need to see the transition from Cain to Abraham. Since we are surrounded by this story, we realize that humans have been doing the same thing since the beginning of time. We always want things to be our way. Only in surrender do we really follow God and His plan.
2. Scripture should be read in blocks
I remember as a kid doing devotionals that had 2 or 3 verses as their focus point. While this might work well for drilling one point in, we develop bad habits for reading scripture. I usually take time on Sunday to read an entire book. If I have a busy afternoon, I will go to one of the smaller letters. If I have time my options grow. You can read the gospel of Mark in two hours, or I will do a large piece of one of the prophets.
Reading scripture like this helps us to see the connections across the entire Bible. What might appear to be a random assembly actually paints an intricate picture of salvation. We learn to recognize things that help us to better understand scripture. This takes place in an afternoon, but these times are simply smaller points on a life with scripture.
Those are just a couple of thoughts. I hope to better develop these Sunday posts to be a tool for all of us in our journey into the Bible.
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