Bible Reading Plan - Intro

New... new blog... new school year... new big boy underwear for my 3 year old who is potty training. After experiencing perhaps the driest and hottest summer of my entire existence I am SO looking forward to a new season. Cool weather... football... the holidays... I can't wait!

Amid all this newness, we're beginning a new Bible Reading Plan in the youth group. Now, this blog is designed with guys in mind so forgive me if I look at things from a dude's perspective. It's pretty much the only perspective I have.

When I hear the term "Bible Reading Plan" my first reaction is: What do I have to do? And why should I have to do it? Here's a breakdown of what we're doing and why.

We've been studying the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6, and we focused on the spot where Jesus teaches his disciples to pray "Give us this day our daily bread."

Bread is talked about in a spiritual way several times in the Bible. Jesus is called "The Bread of Life", and when tempted while fasting in the wilderness He tells Satan that "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from God's mouth." When Jesus prays "Give us this day our daily bread", I think He's talking about more than just some biscuits from Heaven.

To remain strong physically we need to eat, and most people break down their meals into 3 a day. To remain strong physically we need to take in God's word, and that's why it is helpful to have a daily Bible reading plan.

Here's a link to a 52 week Bible reading plan that we're going to be using: http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.html

There are many options for reading plans, but I like this one because you complete the entire Bible within 1 year, and it has you reading from a different section of the Bible every day of the week. It's kind of like having a balanced diet of the Bible.

We're calling this endeavor doing 3-A-Days. Just like we eat food 3 times a day, it is beneficial to read the Bible throughout the day at different times. For example, day 1 of our reading plan is Romans chapters 1 and 2. Instead of reading both chapters at once, why not break it into 3 slots throughout your day?

Make some time to read and pray in the morning...this would be like your spiritual breakfast. It gets you off on the right foot to begin the day. Then as the afternoon comes around dive in to some more Bible reading. This would be your spiritual lunch time. Finally in the evening finish off your reading just like you have your 3rd meal in the evening time. Imagine how different your days might look if you have your spirit focused on God's Word all throughout the day. You will probably act differently, and respond to situations differently as well!

We're kicking off this reading plan THIS SUNDAY - August 21, 2011, and I encourage you to take part. If you have any questions about the reading plan call or text me at (8179171866) or you can e-mail me at daniel@lakeviewcog.com.

I'll be blogging about all sorts of stuff so check back often, and leave me a comment to let me know if you've been reading my stuff. It makes me feel all special.