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Monday, May 18, 2015

Book Review: How To Enjoy Reading Your Bible

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I picked up this book thinking I would flip through, read enough to do a decent review, and stash it in the shelf for later thorough reading and study.  I ended up reading it cover to cover in a short time!  I tend to get frustrated with books "like this" as they are good at inspiring you to want change but not so great in the details of how to actually get there.  Not so here. This author has a very conversational and easy to read writing style. The best part though is that this book is so usable. He gives very concrete tips and steps on getting more out of your Bible reading time, and is good at inspiring you as to the why as well.  The book starts out with tip #1, "Remember Why You Are Doing This,"  and continues on to challenge you to read more and to read the whole story. He gives tips on keeping your focus during your Bible reading time.  He also convinced that this experience is designed to be done together, in community with other believers and urges the reader to find a partner or small group with whom to share the experience. He includes several challenges, such as a sixty day adventure, where one focuses on a book of the bible for sixty days. This chapter details this journey with a study/reading plan for 2 books of the Bible, Philippians and 2 Timothy. In this chapter he also lays out a brief description of his method for studying Scripture, which he states is also detailed in another book, which I would love to get my hands on! He also suggests two four month challenges, one being a Bible Read Thru.

This book is usable solo, though he is adamant that one should find a reading buddy or small group for several reasons which he discusses in the book.  He really encourages the reader not to miss this part of the experience.  To that end, he includes a discussion guide after each chapter in the book.  He also adds an appendix with a small group study on Ephesians, where he details how a group could go about studying the book together.  Another useful tool is a chronological reading plan so one can read through the bible chronologically, rather than just reading through the books.

I'd recommend this book for readers at all points of their Christian walk. The tips would be helpful to anyone interested in deepening their faith.  I'm definitely going to be passing this one on to our small group at church in hopes to use it together. I look forward to using the tips to go to another level in my relationship with Christ as well.

I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. 


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