A Different Kind Of Resolution: Read Your Bible In 2015

It’s the way to exercise your spiritual muscles.

Fox News is reporting that people have chosen to read the entire bible in one year as a New Year’s resolution. The practice is growing quickly. The movement was started by Marek Zabriskie in 2011. Zabriskie urged the Episcopal congregation to read the bible from cover to cover in one year. The movement now has over 500,000 participants from over 2,500 churches in 40 countries taking what Zabriskie calls “The Bible Challenge.”

Zabriskie gives us practical applications for this. The second United States President, John Adams, read the entire bible every year. Adams studied scripture on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning, in a time when he was in the process of helping to shape and form a nation. According to Zabriskie, the bible reading gave Adams the ability to do so.

Dwight D. Eisenhower and family read the bible daily, taking turns reading passages. Jimmy Carter read his bible daily, as well as taught Sunday school class for over 40 years. Zabriskie considers the bible a launching point for self-improvement and stepping stone for helping others.

Zabriskie gives many different reasons for making this a New Year’s resolution. For example, the bible is the best-selling book of all time, you’ll find new things everyday, it teaches that other people will have different interpretations, showing us to be more tolerant. Zabriskie’s treaty essentially tells us that reading the bible will make us better, stronger people, not just Christians.

The Christian Post reports that reading the bible daily gives you the insight to examine your motives. Are you helping people to be truly helping them, or do you want to be noticed for it? Reading the bible shows that your motives are just as important as your intent. Improper motives many times leads to inappropriate actions, weakening the bond one shares with God.

Reading the bible daily also forces you to get out of your comfort zone. It challenges you to explore and try different things. How else can you strengthen your faith if you do not exercise it? Leaving your comfort zone should not be met with fear, but with anticipation of new ideas and thoughts. Before we can move forward, we must learn to let go of what is behind us.

Reading the bible daily also teaches us self-discipline. Discipline is what grounds us and makes us humble, so we will know right from wrong and act accordingly. And if we, at times, fail, we can self-discipline ourselves and get back on track. It is a necessity if we wish to grow stronger in the word and with ourselves.

So, come January first, consider a new resolution, perhaps create “study groups” to begin. You can go to The Bible Challenge website for further information.

[Image courtesy of waynestocks.com]