Started Philippians in my morning Bible reading today. Doesn’t get better. We each have our own approaches but 1 thing I do to enrich my reading is change Bibles every 5-6 years so the pages start totally unmarked. I ordinarily even change from 1 formal translation to another.->
I know, I know. Some of you are thinking, “I can’t give up my Bible I’ve carried for 20 years!” I get that. But I’ll counter that you’re already anticipating what you will see on the page, how it’s going to read & your eyes will naturally fall on verses you’ve already marked.
When you start out fresh with a completely new Bible and not a single marked verse, it all starts jumping off the page at you again. A brand new adventure. If it’s a little different translation, suddenly one word tilts your head, squints your eyes and stops you in your tracks.
In fact, I’d like to challenge those of you who are pastors or teachers to think about changing out of that copy you’ve taught from for so long. It’s good exercise for those of us who teach to have a brand new Bible we can’t find Haggai in to save our lives. Or maybe Matthew.
Food for thought. We treat a well-worn Bible like a security blanket &, yes, we discover unending comfort in those pages but this is no blankie. What you’ve got on your hands is a book-bound cabinet of scrolls inked by the Spirit through human quills & lit alive with holy fire.
Look alive out there, folks! This is the Word of God we’re talking about here. You may be one new Bible from your next personal revival.
