Excuses often reveal obstacles to why we don’t prioritize what is most important. Do you have an excuse that comes to mind when you think about reading the bible? I can’t remember a conversation where the outcome was, “I have just been reading the bible too much.” Instead we often have excuses for why we don’t read the bible enough or at all. There is a joy, purpose and vitality that awakens in our hearts when we read Scripture and let the Holy Spirit work on our hearts. We begin to experience an inside out transformation that is only possible to fully grasp when experienced personally. Our lens to see and interact with the world begins to change in healthy ways. We become transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit using Scripture in our lives to make us more like Jesus.
No one can read the bible for you.
Excuses can leave us feeling guilty. Instead of lingering in guilt, let’s look straight at our excuses and seek to overcome several of the most common. Do any of these sound familiar?
“I don’t know where to start.”
“I missed a couple days or a week in my reading plan – I give up.”
“I want to but I just seem to forget to read with how busy I am.”
“I don’t like to read.”
“How can I keep my kids engaged.”
Each of these questions deserve time to be unpacked more fully. To get started, below are a handful of excellent resources that have been developed all with the belief in the power of Scripture to transform. There are reading plans, audio bibles, kid and family resources, advance bible study resources, apps, videos and best of all most all of it is free! Taking some time to investigate and explore the following websites maybe the best thing you can do to remove the obstacle of your excuses. Don’t keep it to yourself, let a friend know, invite your small group to join you and jump in.
A great place to start. You can download it on your phone, pick from numerous reading plans of varying length and topic, and set a daily reminder to get started reading or listening.
A part of YouVersion and an incredible resource for kids and families to explore the bible together.
A free bible resource to start or you can start to spend a lot of money on some very advance bible study resources available as an app, download or online.
A free bible study site associated with Logos
A creative audio bible using the NLT put beats. You can listen online or download the app and listen while driving or working out.
Videos that creatively help connect bible themes and summarize books of the bible. This is a great way to accent regular bible reading. It will help keep the big picture in view as you read through specific books.
Q. What excuses are holding you back from reading Scripture regularly?
Q. Who can you invite to join you for a one week reading plan to get started?