Promised Land – 66 acre estate: why live in a shanty?

Get a large print Bible: Always buy a Bible with large print, space around the top and bottom, and Cross references. As far as possible, avoid Bibles with a lot of commentary/application etc, it clouds your mind, at times can be misleading also. Underline regularly, write down liberally notes in your Bible. A real Bible reader you can tell by the copious marks he makes on the margins. Use various colour pencils. Make your own scheme.

If you have the time buy a Strongs concordance or a Bible commentary like Merrill Ungers (the New Unger’s Bible handbook). Mathew Henry’s concise commentary is also a good book to use theologically. Feel free to talk to me, if you need advice here.

Read Bible aloud. Many people read their Bibles silently. It’s a tragedy to read silently. Volume is not imp, but the words should come out. When Word of God is read aloud, the body gets healing, demonic forces flee etc. Hence also always pray out loud.

Read what you haven’t read: There is no need to begin at Gen or Mathew. First read those  books of the Bible you haven’t read in a long time. Ezekiel, Revelation, Jeremiah, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Esther, Minor prophets etc. Put a start date in your Bible and when you finish a book, go to the index and tick it in colour. Each book in the Bible, Christ is formed in you. If you skip Chronicles or Amos, that part of Jesus is missing in you. and hence you don’t have the breakthrough. Time spent reading the Bible is actual time spent with Jesus. Also keep a notebook and write down if anything very imp strikes you, put a date also. If in doubt, write in pencil. Make it a point to also discuss scripture with friends, these days it is totally missing.

Always read the Bible to find Jesus there. The actual Jesus. He is variously called Lord God, Lord, Lord of hosts, Jehovah, Angel of the Lord, Branch (Jer), Holy One of Israel (Isaiah), Redeemer, Saviour etc across the Bible. Depending on the context you can make out. I tell you the truth, even if Jesus were to come into your drawing room and have tea with you for 30 minutes you would know nothing more that his dress and hair colour etc. The only way to know Christ is to understand him through the scriptures. Scriptures are nothing but a record of history of God helping our forefathers variously through the ages. That’s where Mercy is found and that’s where Victory is found. The Fullness of God comes, when the fullness of Scripture is there. I admire Carter Conlon for he reminds his congregation time and again, “I read the Bible daily in 4 places. So that I get the Gospel in its fullness and not a narrow mindset.” It’s very important to have one leg in the OT and 1 leg in the NT daily. Otherwise you will lose balance. As D.L.Moody said, Don’t neglect the OT. BTW, Jesus never preached a single sermon from the NT. All the Apostles preached Christ from the OT. We read the OT  like Muslims, no trace of real Jesus. How far we have come from the truth, think about it. We are all getting older, yet babes in the knowledge of God. When was the last time you read the full Bible? Or Have you read the full Bible? It’s your only inheritance.

A little progress is better than no progress at all