Bible Reading Plan

The goal for this plan is to help you better understand Advent. Each day will include about five minutes worth of reading.
This is Advent, the season of anticipation, of watching and waiting – active waiting. Christmas? Well, no and yes. We’re not trying to be mysterious here, but there is definitely a no and yes to that question.

No, the season of Advent isn’t really designed to be a countdown to the celebration of Christmas. It is a time of preparation for Christ’s return and the establishment of the kingdom of God. It is a reminder that we are heading someplace; we are works in progress; we are longing for something more. That’s the upward call of Advent. We sing an Advent song of Ascent as we climb up to worship in that new reality, that new way of being in the world. Not that this is a human – made reality, but that we are longing for this completion. We are looking forward.

At the same time, we are indeed looking back. Yes, we are anticipating Incarnation, the time when God broke into our history and became present in an astonishing way. And we look forward to when Emmanuel –God with us _ will be how we live always. We remember Christmas, the real depth and power of this singular act and the child who lived God’s presence among us, something that even the worst of the commercialism cannot ultimately overcome. We can grumble about how we’ve lost the true meaning of Christmas in this crass and cynical age, and perhaps we should. But we can also be surprised at how something pure and wonderful can appear in the most unlikely places, from the most unlikely sources to remind us that we are all longing for something more, something of eternity and of the beloved community described by the one whose birth we celebrate. That is anticipation worthy of singing Advent songs of ascent.

Before you start the plan, it is critically important that we review a few things. First, it is good to develop ways to read the Bible that help us understand what it says and actually listen to what God is still saying today. Next, we will take a look at how the Bible is organized.

First, how do we read the Bible? It is always good to begin and end with prayer. It can be as simple as asking, “God, help me hear what you want to say today,” or, “God, help me love like you today.” You can also add music if that helps you focus on God. The point is to separate the time you are reading and studying from the rest of your day. That is what it means to make something holy. It means that the object, space, or time is set apart for something special. Make this time holy! Give your mind, body, and soul a chance to breathe. The time you spend reading will be much more enjoyable!

Second, how is the Bible organized? It is not laid out like many of the books we usually read. The Christian Bible is actually a collection of sixty six smaller books. The sixty six books of the Bible were written at different times by various writers. God inspired these diverse authors to record the history, instructions, poetry, and visions over hundreds of years. These sixty six books are divided into the Old and New Testament. Both the Old and New Testament are further divided into different types of books. In the Old Testament, the books are divided into the Law, Writings, and Prophets. The New Testament includes the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation.

What Christians call the Old Testament includes thirty nine books from the Hebrew or Jewish Bible. In other words, the first sixty percent of the Bible relates to everything that happened from the beginning when God first made the heavens and earth, the blessing of Abraham and Sarah’s family, and how their children experienced God in the land of Israel long before the birth of Jesus.

The twenty seven books in the New Testament refer to the events that begin with Jesus Christ and the first generations of his followers, who are referred to as his disciples. The New Testament records the life and ministry of Jesus and how he organized his followers into a spiritual family that we call “The Church” today. The people who follow Jesus as disciples in the New Testament make up the earliest expression of the Christian Church.

The Bible is truly one of a kind. It includes family drama, hard-to-follow instructions, beautiful poetry, and visions of hope and healing for a hurting world. However, the Bible is more than simply words on a page. It is the living Word of God for people who want to experience God’s presence in our everyday lives. If we simply pick it up, learn the words, and put it down, then our experience of God will be limited. On the other hand, when we approach the Bible as more than ink and paper with the longing to encounter God’s presence, we will discover far more than we could ask or imagine.

So, next time you dare to open God’s Word, slow down and really listen, because God has something very important to tell you.