Do you read most of your bible or parts of your bible?

I would have to say John, that I am writing on in The Carpenter's Chapel. That Gospel stresses the divinity of Christ, and that He is the only way to God.
I have just finished reading the minor prophets and have read them before.
I have read the major prophets many times.
Not only have I read Revelation, studied on it, but also I am considering writing on it in The Carpenter's Chapel after I am done with John, if I can figure out how to be sensitive to the varying views.
When you say the messages to the Churches you are, of course, speaking of chapters 2&3 of Revelation. You do not need a red letter addition Bible to know that those two chapters were breathed by the Lord Jesus Himself. You can rest assured that he was not only speaking to those seven,literal, churches, but that He also looked down throughout church history and knew that we would read it and that He has something to say to us today, just as He had something to those seven churches.
There are some different ways at looking at these messages:

He spoke to those seven churches, but we should heed the good points, and avoid the bad.

He spoke of the condition of different churches at each point of church history.

He gave a panoramic view of the general state of the church down through the years.

I personally embrace all three views. Today? We must certainly be in Laodicea "...you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked." (3:17b) Are there good, Christ-honoring churches? Yes, thank God for them, but it is the general state of all the churches, all the denominations that I am speaking of. No one can set times, but he did say you would be able to see the signs of the times. IMHO, we are nearing the end of the Church Age.

 

Genesis - Packed with many VERY interesting tidbits.

Not as often as I should and never straight through for some reason (I'm thinking sorriness)

Also, not as often as I should.

My second favorite book. It seems like a waste of time to read a book just to know things. Everything I read in the Bible is just waiting for a place to slide into my life.

 

I read ALL of it - cover to cover - and refuse to take seriously the theology of anyone who doesn't. Not sure that i have a favourtie book though.

Liz

 

The books of the pentateuch -- hard to pick one...

Yes, but have not studied them as i should

Ditto

I agree with Watchman:

 

I echo Liz's statments. I can't and won't take seriously anybody who either discounts the OT (including the Prophets) or explains it away.
Our Lord appealed to the OT all the time. (we know the NT didn't exist then) So if Jesus appealed to the OT; thereby establishing its authority on our lives; then it behooves us to do the same.
As for Revelation, that is one book packed full of relevance to our times. Some would spiritualize it but I think that is an error. As a whole ( as someone else stated) we are definitely in the "Laodicean Age".

What is my favorite? Can't pick just one diamond out of a mine full of them as being my favorite.

In HIS service;
Jim

 

Q: What is your favorite book of the bible?

A: I love the book of the Revelation. The rewards for being one that overcomes motivate me.


Q: Do you read the minor prophets of the Old Testament?

A: Not as much as I should.

Q: Do you read the major prophets of the Old Testament?

A: Not as much as I should.

Q: Do you ever read Revelation and wonder how the message to the churches might apply to today?

A: I think the letter to the churches spells out all of the obstacles that we as Christians face in this time (& every time). I think once you are saved, the greatest challenge a believer faces is overcoming on a daily basis.

-The Bible is the word of a Holy, Righteous, Perfect God. Everyword of it is golden.

 

Yes, I read it all.

I find that reading it book by book, not necessarily in order, is what works best for me.
I also find that using Halley's Bible handbook, or Zondervan's, helps me get the big picture.

Though I believe in inductive bible study, down to parsing the verbs, I am a bigger "fan" of synthetic Bible study. That's reading the whole shebang and relating every book to every other book in the big picture.

And when you read, keep in mind what type of book you are reading. You should read most of the OT books, like Leviticus or Isaiah, 4-6 chapters at a time. NT epistles on the other hand, should be read and re-read. Read Galatians at one sitting. Then re-read it chapter by chapter, then paragraph by paragraph.

For someone who has never read the Bible through, I would definitely recommend reading through the whole NT at least once before tackling the OT.

Also, check out Philip Yancey's "The Bible Jesus Read" to get a greater appreciation for the OT.

 

I read and study it all, but then that is natural for all seminary students!

I too notice a reluctance on the part of a number of Christians to be be interested in reading the Old Testament.

 

Hmmm.....

It is important to realise that you can really only properly understand the New Testament if you understand the Old Testament.

Take for example the breaking up of Israel, the twelve tribes had been broken right up, Judah in the south was left, Israel dispersed. The problems that were occuring in Judah, what were they expecting in reference to Gods Kingdom, why did the different people in the New Testament respond to Jesus, what was their conditioning? Did Jesus really fufill all the prophecy about Him in the Old Testament, how do we know without the study of the Old Testament if Jesus was the Messiah?

 

I guess there's nothing better to do on a stormy night than to sit in your easy chair and read I Chronicles 1-9.

 

I had read portions of the OT (and of course the NT) for years, such as in Sunday School, or while doing a bible-study, or in hearing the preacher during the sermon. However, until this year I had never "read the Bible through". I am reading everyday and find it a wonderful blessing to do so. Some days I wonder, "why am I reading this" (such as when reading some of the long lists of generations and some of the repetitive stuff in Exodus), sometimes I marvel at the kings of Israel - how they could continually turn there backs on God in spite of His many blessings to them (then I realize that we, individually and as a people, do the same thing - just not with baal or an asherah pole). I intend to keep reading through each year as this daily reading has enriched my life. Bruce

 

I read the entire Bible. I did the “read the Bible through in a year” thing twice. That was good but some days you have to cover so much that you can’t dig through as well as I would like. I read the Bible all the way through a third time 1 chapter at a time and I like that better. I am doing that again now. If I get sidetracked and only cover 2 or 3 verses one day that’s fine.

My favorite book is Genesis, I also like the stories from the age of the kings.

I probably spend more time on the minor prophets than the major ones. They just seem easier to me. It is a whole lot simpler to get a handle on Haggai than Isaiah. My favorite has to be Amos. I love to reread that book.

I like Revelation and have done several studies on it. When it comes to the message to the churches I don’t like to go too far down the “ages of the church” theory. Yes, there are some churches today that fit the Laodicean example, but I believe that there have always been churches that fit that example. I think if we look at the characteristics of the seven churches we can find elements of all 7 in every church.

You know I once thought the begats were a waste of time. I even prayed and asked God why they were there and asked him to show me. Wow did God ever answer my prayer. I have literally torn the begats apart now. With modern digital bibles you can do searches for the different names and build family trees for different individuals. You can see their history and how God worked through the generations. You can find children and grandchildren that were namesakes. I have got to tell you that God has really blessed me with the begats. But of course He did, I asked him to.

 

I read through the Bible from beginning ot end once a year .That makes 25 times so far .Plus after my daily reading I choose a book .I am reading Mark now .What I do is go verse by verse and read it then read as many commentaries on that verse as I can .I usually read about 10 verses sometimes more or less sometimes only one .It took me a year and a half to get through John .
I heard a Pastor say once .You should read the Bible two ways .With a telescope and a microscope .Thats kind of what I do I guess .

 

Favorite book: 1 John

I read the minor prophets and the major prophets, but I read more minor than major, usually.

There were seven messages to seven literal churches (not church "ages") with timeless applicable principles contained therein.