One of the things that I do on my Facebook Page each Monday is to encourage people to read their Bible for 15 minutes before logging on to Facebook. I started doing this because it was becoming obvious that people really do not know what is in their Bible and that they are walking around with a lack of strength spiritually because they are not reading their Bible.
It seems that my instincts on what I was seeing was true. In a survey released by Lifeway Research, only 19% of churchgoers read their Bible daily. What is even worse is that 40% read their Bible less than once a week! Here are some excerpts from the story I found on Baptist Press.
19% of Churchgoers read their Bible daily.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) — While the majority of churchgoers desire to honor Christ with their lives and even profess to think on biblical truths, a recent study found few actually engage in personal reading and study of the Scriptures.
For the study, LifeWay Research interviewed a demographically balanced online panel of American adults who attend a Protestant church at least once a month. A total of 2,930 surveys were completed between Oct. 14-22, 2011.
When asked how often they personally (not as part of a church worship service) read the Bible:
– 19 percent respond “every day.”
– 26 percent say a few times a week.
– 14 percent say they read the Bible “once a week.”
– 22 percent say “once a month” or “a few times a month.”
– 18 percent say “rarely/never.”
“Bible engagement has an impact in just about every area of spiritual growth,” said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research. “You can follow Christ and see Christianity as your source of truth, but if that truth does not permeate your thoughts, aspirations and actions, you are not fully engaging the truth.
“God’s Word is truth, so it should come as no surprise that reading and studying the Bible are still the activities that have the most impact on growth in this attribute of spiritual maturity,” Stetzer said. “As basic as that is, there are still numerous churchgoers who are not reading the Bible regularly. You simply won’t grow if you don’t know God and spend time in God’s Word.”
source: http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=38659
Do you see a connection between the lack of Bible reading and the condition of our nation?
I think we can all agree that the spiritual condition of our nation is seriously lacking. With a major political party struggling with even including one mention of God in their platform, and the other political party nominating a former leader and still member of a cult, it is painfully obvious that most people do not know what the Bible says. Do you see a connection between the two problems? Has the lack of Bible reading led us to this situation? I want to hear from you.
What are some of your ideas that might help others in setting up a daily Bible reading plan. Leave me your comments!
Pastor Duke
About the Author:
Pastor Duke Taber has been a believer in Jesus for 33 years. He has been a pastor for over 20 years currently serving at the Vineyard church in Pine Haven Wyoming and was formerly the secretary treasurer of White Pine County Ministerial Association. He is an alumnus of LIFE Bible College and Multnomah Biblical Seminary. He is a syndicated blogger at The Christian Post and Believe.com You can connect with Pastor Duke on Google+, Twitter, or on Facebook
PastorDuke – who has written 727 posts on Taber's Truths Christian Living Magazine.
• 
• 
• 
For the past 8 mo with a few exceptions i have read Gods word daily ,my life has completely changed
Duke…an easy daily reading plan is 3 chapters a weekday and 4 on Sat. and Sun. will take you through the Bible in a year. That is 23 chapters a week. If a day is missed, move on and don’t try to catch up. This is a great way to become familiar with the whole Bible. It might be difficult for those just getting started but we all have to start somewhere. I’ll be finishing my 24th time through the Bible at the end of this year.
Those numbers are brutal! But I know they reflect my own habits more than I would care to admit.