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I was reading an article today in one of the many newsletters that my company publishes to keep us informed and came across an article of interest. The article was about an employee in Chicago that had won $100,000 on a show called Power of 10. I'm not a fan of reality shows and have never seen this show so I went to the CBS website to check it out. The premise of the show is that contestants must correctly guess the results of surveys that are given. One of the questions that my fellow employee had answered correctly made me think. The question was, "What percentage of people say they have read the Bible from cover to cover?".
I got to thinking about all the material we read every day, What percentage of people do you think read the newspaper every day? What percentage of people read People or Entertainment Magazine? I've heard readership goes up if Britney Spears is on the cover! What percentage of people read blogs or news on the Internet everyday? Do you know the answer to these questions? I would think that the percentages would be pretty high, wouldn't you?
I'll have to admit, I did not even own a Bible until about 15 years ago. I was raised in a Catholic family and went to Catholic school in the 60's and 70's. We never read the Bible, we were told by priest and nuns what it said. I assumed they had read it. I knew some of the feel good stories, Noah and the ark, Cain & Abel, Adam and Eve, David and Goliath. These were told to me more like fairy tales, not with any deep understanding.
We had a family Bible at home. It was black leather with gold edged pages. My father would crack it's spine at Christmas and read Luke's account of the birth of Jesus, then close it up until the next year. It had some really cool color pictures in the middle that I would look at if I was really bored, but can't say I ever read it.
I taught 4th grade Sunday School for a couple of years and I read the Bible passages that corresponded with the lesson. What was nice about that is that the Teacher's Guide told me what the passage meant in relation to the lesson for the week. Some of the Youth have told me that they don't read the Bible because it is hard to understand. I understood how they felt. I tried to read the Bible once from cover to cover. I think I got as far as Exodus.
It wasn't until I took my first Disciple class that I read the Bible from cover to cover. In Disciple 1 you read about 90-95% of the Bible (I swear it was 120%!). By reading and studying this book in a small group, I finally understood that the Bible is not just a book of nice stories. It is full of sex and sin, much better than any prime-time programming or trashy romance novel. The Bible is a look at mankind and it illustrates that we have not really evolved much through the ages. We all are flawed, we all fall short, we all want to take control. The Bible also illutrates that no matter what, God still loves us and forgives us. The Bible is a love story, God's love story to us. It is a book of hope and renewal and no matter how many times I read it, it is fresh and new every time.
In our church we give our 3rd graders a Bible. I love this tradition. I remember when Renee' got her Bible she read it constantly. She took it to school and read it when she was done with her work. She read it before she went to bed. I remember that a teacher told her that she was not allowed to read it at school and she came home confused. Why was she not allowed to read what she wanted? She loved that book so much!
You too can fall in love with this great book. If you have not taken Disciple, I would totally encourage you to sign up ASAP! It is such a rich experience to study God's word with a small group. Disciple seems long, but committing to a class is well worth the time. IThere are many other Bible studies going on in our church and I would encourage you to find one to join that fits your schedule.
The survey said that less than 30% of people surveyed had read the Bible from cover to cover. I think it is time to bring that percentage up! It all starts with you!!
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