I was disappointed, but not entirely surprised, to recently find out that most Australians who call themselves Christians aren’t involved in a regular Bible reading habit. In fact, recent research shows that less than two out of every ten Australian Christians are engaging with the word of God on a daily basis. I suspect the figures wouldn’t be much different in many other nations.
Knowing that we’re all shaped by the input we receive, we have to ask the question, “If Christians aren’t drawing their worldview from the Bible, what is forming their values and understanding of big life issues?” If our faith is to be more than a way for us to feel good about ourselves and our world, and about learning to be ‘nice people’, we need to grow our understanding of who God is and of our place in this world. As Christians we believe that God chooses to speak to us through his word, the Bible. If we’re not reading our Bibles regularly, is it any wonder that many feel that God is silent in their lives?
If you’re interested in beginning to develop a better engagement with the Bible, to get a better understanding of what faith is about and who Jesus really is, let me suggest an easy first step.
Check out eDevotional. It’s a site run by Bruce Chant and it not only gives you a short reading from the Bible each day, it helps you understand what that text means. Each daily Bible passage is ‘unpacked’ in a few short, easy to read and understand paragraphs. My hope would be that eDevotional would be just the start for you but if you don’t start somewhere, you’ll stay right where you are.
As well as the short, daily devotional thoughts, you’ll find resources to help you delve deeper, so that when you’re ready you can begin to follow a Bible reading plan and learn how to develop a devotional time each day that will not only inform you about who Jesus is but help you get to know him through the power of the Holy Spirit.
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