So I was talking with a guy from church the other day about reading the Bible. He was very honest about not being a big reader and would rather be out hanging with friends. I totally get that this is where many guys are at. So, to not just excuse any spiritual laziness, here's a suggestion to help guys read their Bibles more:
Read in the bathroom.
Seriously. A guy's "bathroom schedule" is relatively predictable, and most guys read in the john...usually a magazine like ESPN, Car & Driver, or some porno. So guys, engage your brain and turn down the hormone-o-meter. Keep a Bible in your bathroom (but not the one you would bring to church, that's just nasty) and read the following:
1. Genesis 1-2. It's where everything begins, plus Adam's living in a Garden with a naked chick.
2. Genesis 19. Good ol' wrath of God stuff destroying Sodom & Gomorrah.
3. Genesis 29. How to win a woman's heart (hint: you have to work a long time for it).
4. Genesis 39. How to remain sexually pure and not sleep with every chick that comes on to you.
5. Exodus 14. Great story on the power of God (plus God wipes out an army).
6. Judges. Yes, the whole book. But it's story after story about war and battles.
7. 1 Samuel 17. The underdog wins big! (and the giant's head gets cut off, which is the best part of the story)
8. 2 Samuel 11 & 12. Learn the consequences of sexual sin.
9. 1 Kings 18. The One True God beats up on a false god.
10. Nehemiah. Learn how to lead with vision, and carry out that vision.
11. Psalm 1. Basic comparision of the godly and the ungodly.
12. Psalm 119. This shows the worth of scripture.
13. Proverbs. Practical wisdom for young men.
14. Daniel 3 & 6. How to show faith in God and have courage.
15. Luke. You gotta read about Jesus! Plus, good stuff on John the Baptizer, who Jesus said was the greatest man ever born.
16. Acts. How the church got started.
17. Mark. The shortest Gospel; you could read this in one bathroom visit.
18. 1 Corithians. Paul answers questions that the church in Corinth had about living the Christian life.
19. 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus. An older guy mentoring a young leader.
20. James. This is how to actually live out the faith of a Christ-follower.
So, there you have it. The Bathroom Guy's Bible Reading List. The next step is to maybe print all this on a roll of toilet paper....hmmmmm...
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3 comments:
Good idea. There is actually a series of books called "The Great American Bathroom Book" based on this idea. The books include short articles and book reviews designed to be read in a single "sitting."
As far as Bible reading, I've found it helpful to get a One-Year Bible that has a reading for each day that includes some Old Testament, New Testament and a section from Psalms & Proverbs.
Having it broken up into daily sections makes it more manageable.
Awesome reading plan! Thanks.
Here's another one: http://thegospelcoalition.org/pdf/cole.pdf
The article is LONG but the "what
to read" (last few paragraphs) is pretty cool.
Get yourself a Bible in a modern translation. There are some good ones around: e.g., the New International Version, the English Standard Version, and the New Revised Standard Version.
Start at the start (Genesis, chapters 1–3) and then go straight to the end (Revelation, chapters 21–22).
Genesis 1–3 introduces God as Creator, creation, humanity in the divine image, the Fall, and the foundational promise concerning the defeat of evil.
Revelation 21–22 takes us to the end of the story. Here we read of the new heavens and the new earth, the restoration of creation, and the absence of evil.
Ask yourself how the story goes from that beginning in Genesis 1–3 to that ending in Revelation 21–22.
Next read about God’s call to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3 and how God rescues Abraham’s descendants in Exodus 1–3 and identifies himself to Moses, one of those descendants, by name as the great “I am who I am.” As the subsequent history of Israel unfolds, God shows himself by his deeds to be the God who both saves and judges. Move on to the prophet Isaiah—one of the highpoints of the Old Testament—and the promise of someone to come. This someone would put things right, but at great personal cost (Isaiah 52:12–53:12). That promised someone is Jesus.
The Gospel according to John is good for that latter part of the story. In John 1–3 we learn of the Word who is God the Son and the Messiah of Israel. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We also learn of how God’s love for the world led to the gift of the Son’s coming and his cross.
Next read John 11–12. In these chapters we see Jesus breaking death’s hold over his friend Lazarus and the necessity for Christ’s sacrifice. Unless the seed dies, there is no fruit.
Then read John 18–20. These chapters narrate how Jesus the Lamb of God bears away the sins of the world and overcomes death.
Finally, for a sweeping picture of the human predicament and the divine response to it, read Paul’s Letter to the Romans 1–5.
Romans 1–3 is a sobering analysis of the human predica-ment climaxing in the claim that whoever you are you have fallen short of God’s glorious intention for humankind.
Romans 4–5 tells of how Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are the divine answer to the human predicament, and that the answer is accessed by a faith like that of Abraham’s.
Finally add in Romans 8 for good measure. Here is a unique passage in the writing of the ancient world. Matter has a future in God’s plans. Creation will be set free from its bondage to decay to become the context for the revealing of God’s glorious children. Those who belong to Christ experience no condemnation from God and will experience no separation from the love of Christ.
Read with sympathy and imagination. Some people read the Bible very woodenly. Let me illustrate. Suppose we work together and this one morning I come to work in a great panic. I tell you that America’s longstanding ally Britain has been invaded. There is mayhem every-where. Historic buildings are burning. You are puzzled. You had watched CNN that very morning before work and there was not a hint of any of this. So you ask me how I know all this. I reply that I read it in the morning’s newspaper. In fact I inform you of the invading general’s name, Hagar the Horrible. “You fool!” you say, “He’s a cartoon character.” I find some people read the Bible with less sophistication than they read their newspaper. In reading the newspaper they sort out the cartoon from the editorial from the weather report from the advertisement from the TV program guide from the feature article. In other words they recognize that even a newspaper exhibits many different kinds of communication. So when you read the Bible, be prepared to encounter a variety of literary types of expression: parable and fable, poetry and prophecy, history and proverb, letters and genealogies—to name some.
Be prepared for surprises. God has imagination.
This is, BTW, one of the best articles I have ever read.
Sorry so long a comment.
Daniel
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