As the new year comes into view, it is a good time to make a commitment to thoughtful reading through the Bible. I am NOT suggesting you read through the Bible in a year. I am suggesting that however you read your Bible, do it every day and systematically. Work through a Book or perhaps begin at Genesis and commit to reading through a complete thought in a passage, even if it is more than one chapter (one way to do this is to get a "Reader's Bible" (English Standare Version or New King James Version), which gives only the name of the book, such as Genesis or Isaiah or Matthew, and does not mark out chapters or verses).

The best way I have found to do this is ask questions of the passage and keep a journal of each passage you read in which you answer those questions. These are what I use (h.t. to Jeremiah Montgomery, a friend).

1. What is this passage saying--write out a paraphrase of the thought or teaching?

2. What does this passage show me about God for which I am thankful or ought to praise him?

3.What does sin does it show me I shouldconfess and repent of? What happens when I forget this truth?

4. What needs do I find I have based on this passage? What should I do next? Become? How should I ask God? How is Jesus and his grace crucial here?

5. How would this change my life if I took it seriously?

6. Why is God showing me this now?

7. What of Christ is revealed here?

Do this faithfully until you work through the whole Bible. I started doing this with Genesis on January 1, 2017, and it is only in the last month I finally got to Matthew. I may well be doing it through the next year! But I can truly say God has never failed to speak to my heart over the long haul and sometimes in dramatic ways, showing me his kindness and his grace.

Try this for at least the next year, at least choosing a book of the Old and then the New Testament if not working through the whole of the Bible. It is a great way to see God's heart and love for you in Christ and gain practical knowledge of how to be godly.