Read the Bible

Genesis 5-7

Genesis 6:4
“There were giants in the earth in those days and also after that…”

Tonight I didn’t do much reading… I actually haven’t read much at all the last few days. I did get through a couple of short chapters in Genesis.

I got an audio version for my phone which will probably be a great help. Hopefully I can listen to it on my walks to class.

I tried to read the bible many times, and was asleep in 5 minutes EVERY time I tried. It was an odd sleep too. I absolutely could not stay awake. I told a friend, who I knew was a Christian(and someone I respected), and he recommended that I start with the book of John, instead of trying to start with Genesis. He told me to ask God for help in understanding it and to make no promises to Him. Just ask for help and tell Him whatever else you had on your mind. I told God I did not know Jesus was, or why he had to die, and that I was not promising anything, I just wanted to know if it was true. I also told Him that I knew I had no right to talk to him, nevertheless, I needed His help, and I was asking anyway. I read the account given by John, and even before I finished the book I knew it was true. I had a certainty that I cannot put into words. What I read was much different from what I thought about God previously. All I ever heard before that was how God was angry with me, and that I was going to hell, because I was a sinner. “God is love” was something completely different from what I had heard before, and that He loved me?! and that He had a plan to bring me into a relationship with Him was amazing. He loves Jesus, and yet He gave Him up as a sacrifice for us?! Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12 was written 600 years before Jesus was born.

I found a guide to reading the Bible in a year at the back of my Bible. I’m starting with Genesis 1-26 in the first week. Today, I read the first four chapters, but to complicate matters, I’m reading it in both English and Spanish. My Bible has side-by-side translations in the King James Version. The formal Spanish is rather difficult, but I’m getting through it.

I have been reading the Bible a little bit every so often from the beginning, I need to do this daily!

I also found this great site which gives you reading to do daily so that you will read the entire Bible in a year!
http://www.biblica.com/bibles/dailyreading/index.php

I’ve read from Gen. through Leviticus, and I still have a looooong way to go. I’ve not been reading as often as I was, but I’m not giving up. Numbers is next on my list.

Now that I’ve finished the Pentateuch, I’m going to take a break and read the gospels of Matthew, Luke, and Mark. Then it’s back to the Old Testament and the historical books.

I’ve read the New Testament and a lot of the Old Testament books.
I’ll keep track of my chapters and not be in a hurry. I’ll just read it so I can be familiar with the God-content.
I want to know what He wants me to know.

Joel DONE 20.10.2009

(It’s a short book and follows Hosea. grin )

I went to a Catholic school from pre-school to the end of high school, so I remember bits and pieces of the bible – mostly the more memorable bits. I’ve read the Old Testament, so I really need to get through the New Testament (which I find repetitive). I’ve tried following the reading guides, but I always lapse on those and fall behind, and stop reading… then I lose track of what I’ve read and what I haven’t. I think I need help!