I had dinner with a friend last week who told me about a Muslim celebration she had recently attended. The party was honoring a 10-12 year old girl upon her completion of reading the Quran, which she read in Arabic despite the fact she didn't understand the language. This was a big event for the family and their entire community joined in celebrating. It reminded me of Jewish children's bar/bat mitzvah. Afterward my friend was talking to the parents of the child who, knowing she was Christian, asked at what age Christian children are required to read through the Bible. Hmmmmm....
Last year my daughter read through the entire Bible. She committed to it and even fell behind schedule several times, but worked hard to catch up and complete it! When I was in college, the Stillwater church started a program to read through the Bible in a year using the Chronological Bible and I joined along. It was hard for me to stick with not only because I was a student, but because Jesus was pretty new to me and my life at that time. Although I wanted to read the whole Bible, I found the chronological style tough; I kept wanting to "get to the good stuff." I did complete it, but have not tried since then to read the Bible in a year, until this year... inspired by my daughter.
I am using a reading plan on the You Version app on my iPhone, which gives scheduled daily readings of selections from the Old Testament, New Testament and Psalms or Proverbs each day. So far I haven't had a problem keeping up, although it's still early in the year, but the app also allows you to set reminders, which helps!
You Version is free and available for phones, tablets and computers. It offers numerous versions/translations of the Bible as well as reading plans on many topics and varying lengths. It's a simple way to get into the habit of spending time in God's word.
I decided to update my progress throughout the year as another incentive for me. So far I have completed Genesis and Matthew.
I'm still pondering the aforementioned question posed by my friend's Muslim friend..... at what age? in the original languages? Very intriguing.
Last year my daughter read through the entire Bible. She committed to it and even fell behind schedule several times, but worked hard to catch up and complete it! When I was in college, the Stillwater church started a program to read through the Bible in a year using the Chronological Bible and I joined along. It was hard for me to stick with not only because I was a student, but because Jesus was pretty new to me and my life at that time. Although I wanted to read the whole Bible, I found the chronological style tough; I kept wanting to "get to the good stuff." I did complete it, but have not tried since then to read the Bible in a year, until this year... inspired by my daughter.
I am using a reading plan on the You Version app on my iPhone, which gives scheduled daily readings of selections from the Old Testament, New Testament and Psalms or Proverbs each day. So far I haven't had a problem keeping up, although it's still early in the year, but the app also allows you to set reminders, which helps!
You Version is free and available for phones, tablets and computers. It offers numerous versions/translations of the Bible as well as reading plans on many topics and varying lengths. It's a simple way to get into the habit of spending time in God's word.
I decided to update my progress throughout the year as another incentive for me. So far I have completed Genesis and Matthew.
I'm still pondering the aforementioned question posed by my friend's Muslim friend..... at what age? in the original languages? Very intriguing.
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