Have you ever looked at a dollar bill? If you did you would probably recognize it as money. But have you ever taken a close look at the dollar bill? There are many tiny details on it that go unnoticed to the unobservant eye.
If you look even closer you will notice what some have said is an owl in the upper right corner.
There are many other details on the dollar and certainly other currencies around the world. But if I just looked at the dollar from a distance I would miss all the tiny details that only a scrutinizing study of the dollar would reveal. The same is true of the Bible.
I really enjoy reading my Bible. I especially like to read it in the 90 day format. The main reason I like to read it this way is because I gain insight to the whole scope of Scripture. It's much like reading straight through a full length novel: When you do you can get a sense of the whole story. But if you only read a portion here and a portion there, it can be very difficult, or impossible even, to get a sense of what the story is about.
However, there are some cons to reading the Bible in the 90 day format too. The most obvious is that I don't get a chance to spend more time dwelling on a specific passage or portion of Scripture. I really enjoyed writing an email about my thoughts everyday, but I could not write about every single detail I noticed. I had to pick and choose what I wanted to write about and also dwell on in my mind. There is still so much more to be explored in the word of God than the few simple emails and posts I wrote.
So how can we get the best of both worlds? Well, I have tried to answer this by rotating through both methods. I usually read through the Bible in 90 days twice in a year: Once with a group of people and once by myself. When I read I always take notes and jot down thoughts. Then when I have finished my reading I can go back and explore those notes and thoughts more thoroughly. This has worked out very well for me.
More recently I have desired to take it up a notch. I want something richer, deeper, and more rewarding. As I was reading through the Bible this time I was even more impressed with what I had read in Deuteronomy 17:18-20. Here the future kings of Israel are given a special command:
"And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel."
Now, I have read this before, but this time it stuck with me even more poignantly than before. Doing some simple research I found a publisher that also thought this was a special way to study the word of God.
Inspired by this passage and the publisher who thought it would be cool to print up some hardback notebooks for copying the word, I ordered a couple and have had them sitting on my desk waiting to be used. Now that time has come and I am really looking forward to it.
I purchased the notebooks for Romans and Galatians, Ephesians, Philipians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians. It is my intention to begin copying these portions of Scripture into these notebooks by hand. Of course, this task is going to be much slower than the reading we just finished, but that is also the point. This is more of an interactive encounter with the Bible.
I would encourage you to keep reading your Bible. You don't have to copy it by hand, unless you want to... We are taught in Scripture to redeem our time as Godly and wise stewards, so stay diligent and keep exploring God's word. I would first suggest you review the things you have read. Go back and look at some of those more challenging portions; see if you can make sense of them with some careful study and reading. If you didn't take notes or need a place to start you can browse my blog where I kept a copy of all my thoughts for later use.
Going forward I would like to continue this journey with you. Please reply and let me know if you would still like to receive an email from me. I will share with you my experience journaling through the Scriptures.
With love for you all in Christ Jesus,
Jay Silvas
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