Reading the Bible in 2021

I am always a bit wary about writing anything that suggests that being a Christian is primarily about doing things rather than about a relationship. Especially when we are on the verge of a new year and we are often contemplating our failures in the year just gone, and looking to improve in the year to come. 

If you're anything like me, then topics like Bible reading and prayer, are always fairly close to the top of the list of things I could do better.

There is no doubt that 2020 has been very challenging and whilst there is the hope that successful vaccines are going to finally see an end to the disruption caused by Tiers and Lockdowns - it is also clear that the next few months are going to be really challenging. The NHS is already experiencing pressures that are greater than they were back in March and April - and we haven't even seen the impact of the Christmas relaxation of measures start to come through in the figures yet. The start of term for secondary schools has been delayed. And other stricter measures may well need to be announced in the next few days.

Within this sort of context, there are going to be times when we will need to be reminded of God's promises. Times when, if we were to go just on how things looked or how we felt, we might find ourselves lacking the hope or the joy or the peace that God wants us to know.

Although we can be reminded of these things at church or by a friend, one of the primary ways in which God speaks to us is through the Bible. So I would encourage us all to make the time and space to read the Bible and pray in the new year - not so that we can tick a box each day, or feel that we are somehow a better Christian than last year - but so that we deliberately put ourselves in a place where God can speak to us. So that when it is hard, and dark, God can remind us of those things that are true - even when it doesn't look like it or feel like it.

If this is something that you have never done before and you're looking for a place to start I would recommend something like the Lectio 365 app. Each day there is a 9-11 minute audio which includes a couple of short readings, some prayers and some thoughts for reflection. Ideally, you will have the time to pause and reflect and respond. To find out more click here.

Maybe daily Bible reading is something that you are familiar with and you've been thinking about the challenge of reading through the whole Bible in a Year. There are lots of different schemes out there - you will need to read about 3 chapters a day. Some simply start at the beginning with Genesis 1-3, Genesis 4-6 etc. Others follow an Old Testament, Psalm and New Testament pattern (Genesis 1, Psalm 1, Matthew 1...).

If this is something you have thought about and you're still looking for a programme to follow I have heard good things about the Bible in One Year app from HTB with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel. To find out more click here.

Another programme that I have followed in the past is from the Bible Project. Alongside the daily readings their short videos help you to understand the big picture of each book, or biblical theme. To find out more click here. Or you can visit your app store.

Of course, there is no need to commit to a year-long programme - there are plenty of shorter schemes out there. Maybe rather than the whole Bible in a year, you could tackle the New Testament in a year.

Many (printed) Bibles have a range of reading ideas as do most Bible reading apps - such as YouVersion.

Also, organisations like the Bible Society and Scripture Union have daily readings and reflections on their websites and phone apps.

If you can't decide where to start then how about John's gospel - which we're going to be looking at on our Sunday mornings this term - maybe starting with a section a day. Or else what about the Psalms? Start by asking God to speak to you through his word.

Not all fruit goes in a fruit salad

This morning I had another assembly, continuing our series of characters from the Old Testament, taken from the Lion Storyteller Bible.

Today's character was Solomon - one of Israel's most successful kings. Solomon is perhaps best known for his wisdom.

They say that knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

The Bible has a lot to say about wisdom. Wisdom is not about being clever. Or knowing lots of information. Wisdom is about making the right choices, good decisions. And in particular biblical wisdom is about obedience to God. It's about knowing God, and what God would want us to do in any situation, and then doing it.

Proverbs is a book full of short sayings from a father to his son about how to live - from Solomon to his son. It includes the verse, 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding' (Proverbs 9:10).

We might not be very clever. We may not know a lot. We may not have a university degree or letters after our name. But that doesn't mean we can't be wise - living our lives in such a way that we make good choices and right decisions - which
please God.

You and whose army?

Tomorrow I get to do my second real-life assembly since March. For the Wednesday assemblies this term we are looking at characters from the Old Testament and tomorrow we're looking at Gideon. You can read about Gideon in Judges 6-8. This series we've been using the Lion Storyteller Bible which is a great resource.

God has a job for Gideon: he wants him to deliver Israel from their oppressors - and at this point in their story, that's the Midianites.

A bit like Moses, Gideon starts off with a whole load of excuses as to why God's got the wrong person - he's the weakest, he's the smallest - but God's having none of it because he has promised to be with Gideon.

So Gideon puts together an army of 32,000 men - and God's response: that's too many! Those who are afraid are allowed to leave - now there are 10,000. But that's still too many for God. Finally, Gideon ends up with 300. 

And armed only with trumpets and flaming torches Gideon, his 300 men, and God defeated the Midianite army - who end up killing each other.

Why is it that so often, our first response when God asks us to do something is to say 'no', to come up with excuses, and suggest that God has got the wrong person! I expect that's often the case because we're looking to ourself and our own resources - rather than looking to God to be the one who will act and provide.

What's God been asking you to do? And how have you responded?

Get out of jail free

There's an interesting conversation in 2 Kings 5 between Naaman and Elisha. Having just acknowledged that there is no other God in all the world except for Israel's God, Naaman then asks Elisha if it is ok if he carries on bowing down to Aram's god, Rimmon.

We didn't have time to explore this on Sunday, so here's the next in our Taking it Further videos.