Jeff Dowdy's Blog

Well we have finished reading through the entire Bible this last year. What an adventure! I pray that God has blessed you with new knowledge and a new appreciation for God's Word. Don't let the momentum that you have gained in this last year wain. Begin to read through the Bible again this next year. This last year was my third consecutive year to read through the scriptures and I plan on continuing that pace for the rest of my life. I love digging in and reading the good news. Even though I know what the end result is as we just finished reading in Revelation it doesn't change the heartache and pain of what sin does to people in the scripture.

I love how the Old Testament flows into the New Testament as if one author was writing the entire story. Of course God was writing it all and so it does flow seamlessly. I pray that your new found love of reading God's Word will flow to your friends and family. Maybe grab an accountability partner and read through the scripture together this next year.

I personally have enjoyed writing the simple devotional thoughts out of each reading. I know I got behind many times this last year and that just happens. You may have gotten behind too and not been able to read through the entire text. Don't give up. Get back at it and finish the entire scripture. The end is really good!!!

Here are some additional thoughts on Bible reading plans...
I know there are several Bible reading plans that one can follow. Of course you have the kind that we did this last year which is cover to cover. The struggle with this type of plan is you can get bogged down in books like Leviticus. However the upside for me is that you get the overall picture of the entire context of scripture. That is why I prefer this type of plan.

Other plans have you skip around a bit. You may read a section of Old Testament scripture, then a section of New Testament scripture, followed by a Psalm etc. I think this is an okay way to read the scripture, but you end up getting the cart before the horse and don't necessarily grasp the difficulties that sin caused and how the people languished under its oppression. You also miss out on that 400 years of silence feeling when you transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament. The good side of this type of reading plan is you don't get bogged down in some difficult areas of scripture.

Finally, some people may find reading through the scripture in a year a bit challenging. You can find a three year plan which is what I did the first time I read through the scripture. The difficulty here is it stretches out so long.

In any event I hope you find a way to continue to read the scripture and enjoy the living word of God in your life.

As for me I will be taking another adventure through the scripture this year while reading it in the Message Translation. Ought to be interesting.

I will be blogging regularly on some different subjects and so make sure to check out the blog when you can.

Blessings...