In the account of creation, we hear how the Lord brought everything into existence. Amidst the furious action, only a few words describe forming the vast expanse of space—He also made the stars.

How easy for the Lord and how wonderful for you and me, that God created the stars. Writing in Psalm 19, David described the importance of this host: The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the word of his hands…night after night they reveal knowledge…their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

I’m enthralled with the pictures from the James Webb Space Telescope. Gazing at images from deep space, David’s words reverberate in my mind. The heavens indeed declare God’s glory, and if this is the work of God’s hands, then I have no idea what God can really do. I’m humbled.

In the same psalm, David zooms from the heavens to the Scriptures, comparing light to light—the commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. While I can gaze above in wonder, I hold on my lap words from the same Creator.

Indeed, when I open the Word of God I hold the stars in my hands.

Thank you Lord for this new year, one you knew in eternity past, and one which holds no surprises for you. Thank you for a powerful space telescope, built by clever engineers, to view your creation closer than ever before. Help me to remember this year that your commands, like your skies, remain radiant.

Genesis 1 and Psalm 19 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo from NASA

Daunting best describes the Bible. Thick, dense, full of arcane references and minute details. Loads of begats and shekels and odd names. However, beauty and wisdom, peace and insight overflow the Bible as well. Every minute I spend in the Scriptures yields dividends. Below are 9 reasons I read every word of the Bible every year.

1. I gain an expansive view of God. Left to myself, I shrink God into my own image. I prefer a God who reminds me of me, who approves of my lifestyle and choices, and who hugs me despite my subtle disregard of his ways. No such God exists in the pages of scripture, but how will I know if I don’t go take a look?
2. The discipline of daily reading develops my faith. Regular reading creates a habit and builds spiritual muscle. I did not choose to live the Christian life on a lark. As a serious and devoted follower of Jesus, I hope to continually grow deeper and fuller in my faith. Bible reading forms the foundation of that growth.
3. I discover something I’ve never noticed on a daily basis. This may be my the favorite part of reading the Bible. I discover new heroes and intriguing villains, new thoughts and challenging ideas, every day.
4. God surprises me. Not always in a comfortable way.
5. God wrestles with me. Or better, I wrestle with the God of the Bible. The Lord uses the scriptures to point out my pride or vanity or loose talk. I don’t like it. At times I despise it. But I appreciate the fact that words in the Bible roll me around in the dirt on occasion.
6. I wrestle with the scripture’s approach the world. I don’t understand parts of the Bible. Why did the child born from David’s sin with Bathsheba have to die? Seems so unfair to me. But that’s what God wanted, and as a result I grapple with my understanding and beliefs about God. I believe questions fuel our faith, just as questions fueled the faith of many in the Bible.
7. The Holy Spirit blows fresh in my life. The Holy Spirit changes, comforts, challenges and builds us, particularly paired with the wisdom of the Bible. The combination of Holy Spirit and Holy Scripture transforms my heart. Nothing else works in such a supernatural way. I fight temptation, I gain compassion, and I get beyond myself when the Holy Spirit uses the words of God in my life.
8. I brag to my friends. Let’s face it – not many people read through the Bible. Let the practice slip at a dinner party and notice the reactions.
9. My soul swells. Psalm 1 tells us, Blessed in the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. I want such a life and it only grows from meditating on the scriptures daily. Comfort and hope and peace develop in such an environment.

I encourage you to join me and make the investment to read the Bible cover to cover in 2022. You can do it! If you spend 30 minutes a day on social media, you can read the Bible through in a year. Start the journey – your soul will thank you.

Photo by Aaron Burden

As I read Psalm 103 this final morning of 2022, one verse stood out:

The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

A good remembrance, don’t you think, as we finish one year and start another? No matter what challenges I face, or pleasures I enjoy, or mistakes I make, the Lord stays in control.

Tomorrow I’ll start reading through the Bible again, this year marking the 30th time (maybe when I finish I’ll get the number 30 tattooed somewhere on my body—I have all year to think about it).

If you’d like to join me, here’s the Bible reading plan I use: Five Day Bible Reading. I like the rhythm of reading five days during the week, with two days to catch-up. It works for me and helps me stay on pace behind during busy seasons.

One last thought as the year ends. I wrote the words of Jeremiah 24:7 in my journal this year and pray through them regularly for myself and my family and my friends, and I offer them to you.

God said, I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

May the Lord develop such hearts in each one of us this coming year.

Photo by Andreas Dress

Years and years and years ago an unknown psalmist chose to carefully record the words given to him from the Lord: Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.

Later the Apostle Paul encouraged a small group of believers in Rome to stay true to the faith, echoing words from the psalmist: For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope (Romans 15:4).

The truths found in the Bible reverberate generation after generation. You and I are the people not yet created for whom the psalmist so attentively wrote. Paul underscored the fact that through the Scriptures come endurance, encouragement and ultimately hope.

Want to invest in something of immense value in 2023? Look to the Scriptures. Hope to improve yourself in 2023? Look to the Scriptures. Wish to develop endurance, gain encouragement, and live a hope-filled life? Again, look to the Scriptures.

Our lives consist of a series of habits. Make time in the Word of God a habitual practice this year, and enjoy a gift provided specifically for me and you—a people not yet created.

Psalm 102 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Guilherme Stecanella