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How Much Time Should Be Spent Reading the Bible?

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Tim Challies was recently asked a pretty common question:

I was recently part of a panel discussion when a question came up that I have heard various times and in various forms. It goes something like this: How much time should I spend reading the Bible compared to the time I spend reading other books? The question usually comes from someone who enjoys recreational reading, whether in the form of just-for-fun fiction or feed-my-soul nonfiction. He usually finds that he spends more time reading other books than he spends reading the Bible, and this leaves him grappling with guilt.

Challies chose to answer the question with another set of questions that are far more helpful. In so doing, he tries to help us view Bible reading less like “reading” and more like “hearing God’s voice.” When you perceive your time in Scripture as time with a trusted friend and master, it will reshape the way you approach that time.

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How to Increase Your Love for God’s Word

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The Bible’s longest chapter (Psalm 119) is all about inflaming love for God’s word. Kenneth Berding recently studied that chapter with a view to synthesizing what the Bible itself says about how to foster love for the Bible. Berding came up with ten practices.

Here are the first five:

  1. Regularly praise God for giving you his Word.
  2. Pray that God will teach you as you read.
  3. Consciously engage your affections.
  4. Think about the benefits of God’s Word in your life. Consider ways God has changed you through his Word.
  5. Connect your love for God himself—including his attributes—to loving his Word.

Berding shows each of these habits from the text of Psalm 119. He then gives 5 more ways you, too, can increase your love for the scripture.

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How Exodus Confronts our Generation

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Crossway recently posted an excellent overview of the book of Exodus by Mark Dever, where Dever identifies three major themes that are directly counter-cultural in our generation:

  1. God works sovereignly
  2. God works sovereignly to save a special people
  3. God works sovereignly to save a special people for his own glory

How are such ideas counter-cultural? Here is one example:

In fact, Exodus directly challenges the idea that God does everything for humanity’s sake. Humans are not the ultimate purpose of creation. God’s own glory is!

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Is the Bible Intimidating?

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Does the Bible seem intimidating to you? Isn’t it quite long, and is it difficult to find your way? It’s not the easiest read, especially if you try to go front to back.

Rebekah Matt is here to help. She provides a great introduction to the most intimidating aspects of the Bible, along with great suggestions for overcoming them.

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Love Your Audience as Yourself

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Mark Ward believes the key to being an effective Bible teacher is to love your people. He offers “5 Ways Love is the Secret to Better Bible Teaching.” I am in full agreement. It doesn’t matter whether you’re leading a small group or teaching a larger gathering: Your love for your people is the one vital behavior that exclusively (as far as it is up to you) determines the success of your teaching ministry.

Ward’s 5 ways are:

  1. Love will keep you from assuming knowledge they don’t have
  2. Love will keep you from using words not in their vocabulary
  3. Love will help you work at finding the best ways to help them take the next step
  4. Love will give you the energy you need to push them forward
  5. Love will alleviate improper pressure on you to please others

His article is worth reviewing for further explanation. Check it out!

Hanging on his Every Word

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J.A. Medders wants you to see “Bible Reading as a Blessing, Not a Burden.” Here is a taste:

Luke 19:48 …the people were hanging on his words.

Luke’s comment struck me—“hanging on his words.”

Isn’t this what we want in our Bible reading? I crave this kind of attention, posture, and focus for God’s word. But, sadly, it’s not always the case.

I lament the times I read the word and think, “What did I just read? I can’t remember anything.” I was hovering over his words.

I loathe the times I’m distracted by a screen, or a crick in the neck, or an overly groggy eye. Or even worse, when the pillow seems more pleasing.

I suspect I’m not alone in my laments and loathes. And I bet you want to hang on the word of God, too.

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Get Your Bearings in Luke

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Studying the gospel of Luke can be a challenge because it’s such a long and windy book. I’ve written an interpretive overview of the book, but here is another relatively brief overview of the book that will help you get your bearings.

The longest book in the New Testament is the Third Gospel, the account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that is attributed to a man called Luke. Though it is like the other canonical Gospels in many ways, there are nevertheless several details about Jesus’s life and ministry found only in the Gospel of Luke and several points of emphasis unique to his account. For those less familiar with this New Testament book—and even for those who are—let me offer this brief introduction, survey, and summary of the Gospel of Luke.

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How Jonah Points to Jesus

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Joanna Kimbrel lists and explains four ways the book of Jonah points ahead to Jesus.

  1. Obedience to the call
  2. Cast down to death
  3. Three days in the deep
  4. Messengers of mercy

The story of Jonah is more than a Sunday school tale about a big fish—it’s a shadow of the Savior to come. Jesus is the true and better Jonah. In every act of disobedience and deliverance, resistance and redemption, Jonah points us to Jesus: the obedient Son, the sovereign Lord, the risen Savior, and the merciful Redeemer.

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Delighting in Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus

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Bruce Henning doesn’t want you to skip over the genealogy that begins Matthew’s gospel.

Though we acknowledge these verses as Scripture, we tend to see this prime real estate at the beginning of the New Testament as wasted space—inspired but not interesting. Skipping past this introductory genealogy can be tempting, but if we read it slowly and thoughtfully, we’ll see its value. The genealogy communicates the correct genre of Matthew’s Gospel, shows that Jesus is heir of the Davidic covenant, and outlines the problem the Messiah has come to solve.

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How Old and New Testaments View the First and Second Comings of Christ

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Tommy Keene summarizes the differences between how Old and New Testament authors viewed the first and second comings of Christ.

The idea that the Messiah Jesus would come twice was a surprise to his disciples. The Old Testament is clear that a Messiah would come, and it is also clear what the Messiah would do when he did. God’s servant-king would have mercy on the repentant (Mic. 7:18-20), save the oppressed, poor, and persecuted (Ps. 146:7-8), heal the sick (Isa. 35:5-6), preach and teach the righteous way (Dtr. 18:15-19), make atonement for his people (Isa. 53:4-6), and bring justice to the world (Isa. 11:1-5)—in sum, he would establish a perfect version of God’s kingdom, which would bring blessing to God’s people and against all His enemies (Ps. 2). When the Old Testament discusses theses things, it often looks like it happens all at once, but in fact a complete fulfillment would require two visits.

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