Changing Direction

A little over a year ago I started on a project to read the entire Bible from cover to cover.  I am currently reading through on my second pass.

Not sure what made me want to start such a project other than a realization that even though I have been a Christian for many years, I had never read the book on my own.  I also became a little disgusted with the way I was reading the Bible...picking out a verse here and there when it suited me.  I also realized that most weeks the only time I ever read the Bible was at church on Sunday.  Even when at church, I found that we were skipping like Tiny Tim through the tulips, from one verse to another.  There wasn't any cohesion or sense to it.

I also befriended someone who is a Muslim.  I am amazed, not at the God or the religion he adheres to as much as I am impressed by his daily devotion to his religious practices.  I decided to take that kind of devotion and apply it to my own practice and to my relationship with God.  I can't think of a better way to get to know God than reading through what it is he has to say.

I think about how fortunate we are to be able to access God's words in written form.  Abraham had no Torah and the early people in Israel only had the books of Moses.  Even then, not every one could read, so when they wanted to hear and understand what God had to say they had to go to prophets who could pass on to them the words of God and the stories about God.

I have a friend who is so dyslexic that reading is difficult for her.  She had to spend her life listening to priests, pastors and others read the Bible to her.  She had to trust that they were reading it to her as written, and she had to trust in whatever teaching they derived from it.  I cannot imagine life without being able to read.  I cannot imagine a life where I had to rely on the education of another to pass on to me what has been written.

So I came to appreciate the fact that the Bible is available and that I can read it.  I'm going to use this blog to record my thoughts and interactions with the Bible as I read it.  I hope that writing about what I read helps keep me focused and clear and that it may perhaps give me new perceptions and new ideas.

Last year I began by simply listening to a podcast of the Bible being read daily.  That led to a desire to read it through myself.  I loved hearing the audio, but I found it hard to concentrate.  I have the same problem with other audio books.  I find that my mind wanders, and then I've missed a good portion of the story.  When I read along with listening I get the best results.  If you want to listen to the podcast that got me started on my read through the Bible you can find it here.  http://www.dailyaudiobible.com