Although I am a pastor, I am embarrassed to admit that my Bible reading is still inconsistent. So, when I see people who read the Bible diligently every day, I feel humbled. Despite the fact that when I first believed in Jesus during my first year in college, I was most passionate about reading, learning, and teaching the Bible, I still find it difficult to read a set number of chapters consistently each day. In short, it has not become a habit.
When I was in college, there was a popular type of Bible that included commentary, explaining the text in detail. I still have the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible at home, which I bought back then. I liked it so much that in my early days as a preacher, I used it to study and even prepare sermons. I diligently read and studied the entire Bible with it, and after studying theology, I continued to explore the Bible deeply, referencing other commentaries for sermons. However, I have always felt that maintaining a daily reading habit was lacking.
When I first believed in Jesus, the joy of discovering the Bible was so great that I read extensively without setting a specific number of chapters to read daily. During my theological studies, learning about the immense research done on each verse made me dissatisfied with merely knowing the surface content of the Bible, so I failed to develop the habit of daily reading.
However, as I get older, my memory isn’t as sharp as it used to be, and even passages I’ve deeply studied with various commentaries sometimes feel unfamiliar over time. This is especially true for books like the Old Testament prophetic texts, which require a lot of background study. If I don’t revisit them repeatedly, they feel new every time I read them.
Therefore, there are two ways one needs to read the Bible. The first is to take a few short verses and study and meditate on each one in depth. This is a very familiar method to me, and I still practice it regularly through daily morning devotionals and my weekly sermons. The second method is to read large portions of the Bible consistently, as I mentioned earlier. Of course, when someone like me studies the Bible professionally over a long period, the whole Bible starts to come into focus, and the connections between various passages become naturally apparent. But for most members of the congregation, if they don’t read extensively every day, it can be difficult to develop a comprehensive view of the Bible.
With the cell group meetings starting again, I hope to combine these two approaches. We will read the Bible extensively but also add theological explanations. There are already many books that help guide Bible reading, but in my opinion, they often feel like summaries. I intend to provide more substantial explanations. One week, we will offer theological insights into the book we’re reading, and the following week, we’ll come together after having read the assigned chapters. We’ll then ask questions, share the verses that spoke to us, and share any meaningful insights.
Some cell leaders are already worried that even reading one chapter a day will be too difficult, but I have faith in the ability of our congregation. I hope we can successfully begin this journey of reading the Bible diligently while also gaining deeper theological understanding.
