"I don't do a good job of reading my bible on a schedule."
There I said it. I read my bible. I read it regularly. I study from it. And I memorize portions of it. But I have never done a good job of reading it on a schedule. Reading on a schedule is not a magical formula. And just because you do read it on a schedule doesn't mean that you are automatically closer to God.
But reading on a schedule will no doubt expose you to sections and even books of the Bible that we tend to skip over. If you want some help with a schedule let me recommend a website. Check out these schedules.
One of the great things about these schedules is the many ways you can receive them. If you want to go low tech you can print them out stick them in your Bible and go. If you are more of a "read online" type you can get the text off the web. If you have an RSS reader it will show up everyday right on schedule along with your other feeds. In fact you can even listen online to it if you would like.
Hopefully this will help us all take in more of God's word this year right on schedule.
Automatically closer to God
Automatically closer to God ... no, I agree - certainly not. But...with the right attitude, heart, and desire, a disciplined and regular reading of the Bible is one of the primary ways we can know Him - not just the parts that everyone has heard - but those parts that make you say "I've read that a thousand times and never noticed that before." That's intimacy with God - when He reveals a little bit more of Himself with every encounter - it's Awesome! Praise God!!
I won't say that regular reading doesn't take some discipline and more often than not some form of sacrifice - but I have found it well worth it to spend a few regularly appointed minutes in His Word (Ps 84:10) - just one day is better... I challenge you all to consider how many days do you have left to read His word - one day or one thousand.
Thank you Andy for highlighting these resources - it's a great time to start. Here's another resource (www.bibleplan.org). Our small group is using the Chronological #2 this year for our study. The plans from this site use the www.biblegateway.com site which was highlighted before at church (hint: if you study the html links, you can create your own lookups and searches and setup your own reading plan - pretty cool). Hope that helps.
BTW, the audio for the ESV bible is really great, so crank up the volume and invite the kids to listen - ours are loving it - I pray the novelty doesn't wear off for them. As parents, I pray we are using all the resources we have and striving to instill in our children the love for God's word and the discipline to read it - those two naturally go hand in hand.
In closing, Church, read the Bible! - it does the Body good!! :-)
Ken, Thanks for the
Ken, Thanks for the encouragement and other resources.
In case you or anyone else is interested here is something that might be helpful to frame the idea of "private worship". Pastor Joe Thorn has blog that I read regularly. Last year he did a short series on quiet times that I think contains some great thoughts about what they are, what they aren't, and how to carry them out. Just thought it might be helpful.