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One of the best parts of the New Year is the tradition of making a resolution. The idea behind the New Year’s resolution is that every person gets a fresh start to make a positive change in their own life. Past failures are wiped clean and anything is possible. The concept of a New Year’s resolution has been around for a long time. The Romans would make resolutions to the god Janus. The Babylonians promised their gods at the start of the New Year to return borrowed objects and pay back debts. Medieval knights would recommit themselves to chivalry every year.
Some people insist that the idea of a New Year’s resolution is silly. “Why would you be any more likely to follow through on something in January than you are in August?” However, studies have shown that almost half of the people that make a New Year’s resolution are ten times as likely to succeed than those who make resolutions at other ties of the year.
This year instead of committing to a new diet, another gym membership or a juice cleanse, would you consider resolving to read through the entire Bible?
Here are a few reasons:
The Bible is the means through which God reveals your sin to you.
Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
Reading the Bible, ‘storing it in your heart’, keeps you from sin.
Psalm 119:11 ESV: “I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.”
The Bible is the source of blessing and joy for followers of Christ:
Psalm 1:1-2 ESV: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Is there a more important daily discipline for disciples of Christ than daily Bible reading? Unfortunately, it is not easy to find time to sit down with God’s word. But, this is a New Year and a new opportunity to pursue Christ-likeness through the study of God’s word.
Here is a link here to a short Q&A with Pastor John Piper in which he discusses the importance of reading through the Bible in a year along with the plan that he uses most often. I trust you will find it as helpful as I.