“My New Years resolution is to not get tricked into a diet” — @parker_snider (12/26/17)

We are in that “dead week” in between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Retailers are busy transitioning their displays from sweets and Christmas gifts to sweats and workout gear. Why? Because those of us that threw caution to the wind and ate all of the fudge in one sitting are now trying to figure out how to cut fifteen pounds by spring break. Enter the days of New Year’s resolutions.

Each year, I set two or three goals – you may call them resolutions if you must – that prioritize my time and money. My most successful of these, at least by empirical evidence, was my 2016 New Year goal to lose weight. Myra and I changed our approach to eating and I lost 20 pounds from January to June that year.(I have since gained 5-10 pounds back, but it was still a 10-15 pound success.) My least successful has been my recurring goal to learn to play the guitar. (You may picture a gritting teeth emoji.) I just can’t seem to discipline myself enough to practice everyday.

My most valuable goal, however, has been my regular commitment to read through the Bible each year. For all of my adult life I have attempted to read God’s word daily, and that has been a great practice. When I was a first-year seminary student my pastor challenged me to read through the Bible, too. And so, fifteen years ago this year, I began this practice—and it has changed my life.

I read five chapters per day, usually beginning in Genesis and ending in Revelation (although I have used other methods, too), in order to read through the whole of the Bible. Now, you may object, no one can really study God’s Word at that pace. And, that may in part be true. You will not be able to unpack every word, outline each doctrine, or memorize verses while reading five chapters daily. But, you will gain two valuable insights that you will not ever grasp at five verses per day: context and flow.

We were taught in hermeneutics class that “context is king” for understanding the written word, and so it is. “Levi threw up the ball” means one thing if Levi is an NBA official starting a game and something entirely different if Levi is your Labrador Retriever in distress. (Ewww!) Reading large portions of Scripture at one sitting helps the reader understand this kind of context. Flow is similar, but it allows one to see the progress of God’s revelation through the written word. Reading the Bible like one would read any other book allows the discovery of the plot lines, conflict, climax, and resolution of God’s story in creation.