“The Message – Remix”
The bible in contemporary language
Edited by Eugene H Peterson
The bible in contemporary language
Edited by Eugene H Peterson
Reading the bible is something everyone should do at least once in their life. Even non-Christians. There is a reason why it is the best selling book in history, and the first ever to be printed.
It is an intimidating book though. Firstly, it’s thick, even with the extra thin paper it is still a relatively thick book. It was my first aversion to tackling it, thinking that I would never get through it. Secondly, what you read in the book might force some life changing decisions to be made.
I made some rules for myself. I didn’t want to join a yearly reading plan, as I knew I would get unmotivated when I fell behind. With my work situation I knew I would fall behind. I would plough along at my own speed. I read other books concurrently as I would get unmotivated seeing all the other books on my shelves not getting read. It worked well for me, as I couldn’t read for more than 30 minutes most of the time.
There are so many versions of the bible. It is an important choice of which one to read cover to cover. I went with ‘The Message’ version on the recommendation of my parents who had previously completed the bible cover to cover. The ‘Remix’ version has verse and chapter references whereas the original didn’t. It seems taylor made for an introduction to bible reading and cover-to-cover reading in particular. It has no footnotes (or cheat notes), which are good for study but can be distracting for this purpose.
It took me 20 months to finish, not bad considering I thought it would take me at least 2 years, but what now? Finishing reading the bible cover to cover just opens the door to a life of bible study. I could go in a few directions to start with.
- Cover to cover reading of the ‘Daily Bible’ comprising of a New Testament reading, Old Testament reading and a Psalm or Proverb reading everyday. Again I would read at my own pace and have concurrent books.
- Start seriously studying one book at a time. I have the study bible with a commentary ready to go. Where to start would be my first question. So many books of the bible peeked an interest while reading it through. Mainly minor prophets and epistles.
- Both these options will probably be put on the backburner as my life situation goes through a major change. In the mean time I think I will give my overcrowded bookshelves some attention and get into some shorter reading: Christian books, novels, sporting biographies, political biographies/commentaries. It’s all fun.
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2 comments:
ESV Study Bible, cover to cover, own pace.
As Roy and HG would say, too much bible-reading will be barely enough.
Now that you've read it cover to cover, your next step is not optional. It is vital that you intentionally read a little each day. Pick a book and throw in a bookmark. Pick it up and read a bit when you get up. If you are climbing into bed and you realise you haven't read it that day, open it and read a bit. Get one with sub-headings, so it is broken into nice chunks for you.
Seriously, this is the very best thing you can be doing.
LB
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