Six Months, One Book, A New Appreciation

Six Months: October 22, 2013 to April 9, 2014 

NLT

One Book: New Living Translation (NLT) of the Christian Bible
New Appreciation: God has a plan and it has happened and will happen!

It all started at the end of 2011 when I gained a deep desire to know God. Our family had just started attending Shoreline Community Church, where they continually encourage people to read the Bible.

Many times before, I had started to read the Bible with the goal of reading the whole thing. Every time, I made it through Genesis, but stopped before finishing Numbers. This time, my motivation was different. I wasn't reading because I thought it was a good idea, I was reading because I wanted to know God. It took me eight months to read The Message version of the Bible that time. 


I read the Bible again in 2013. Both times, I read using my cell phone with the YouVersion Bible application.

This year, I switched to the NLT, but instead of reading, I listened to it with the same app. Three days a week, I commute to work, which takes anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours. I was able to listen to several day's worth of reading each trip.

I found that listening allowed me to think more about what was being said and ponder how it fit into the bigger picture.

In the end, I came away from the experience with a much better appreciation for the plan God has for the world, and how He has caused it to work out the way He wants. In the Old Testament, everywhere you look, you see God setting the stage for Jesus to appear. In Revelation, I was struck by how much detail is given and how God will cause it to happen no matter what we do.

Do I know God more? You bet, but I still have so much more to learn.

Recommendation: If you are considering reading through the Bible, I'd highly suggest finding a reading plan that will take you through the Bible chronologically. It will make so much more sense when read in the order it happened.