Last year at Rockville we did the “Bible in 90 Days” twice. In the Winter and again in the Fall. A very powerful experience for many in our congregation. and very interesting the variety of people who signed up and participated from the long timer to the guy way out on the periphery. We saw that God’s Word was indeed for all people and speaks to us wherever we may be on the journey.

There were many powerful testimonies about the experience — one was of a long time, older member who has served in many capacities of leadership who shared that she had never read all of Scripture before and was humbled by the experience and could only say to others – - “don’t wait as long as I did.”

And then a man, new to our church, who had been through much personal turmoil said that he had always had a “back pocket” religion. He figured when he needed it he could pull it out. But when he had a personal crisis in his life he found that his back pocket faith was totally inadequate. he really didn’t have any kind of relationship with the Lord, nor did he know the Bible. He did the 90 day reading. At the end he shared that his back pocket faith was now breast pocket faith – God’s Word and a relationship with Christ were close to his heart. It was an incredible experience. And so simple to do.

The Bible is the perfect revelation of God to us and it will transform us. I think that’s where a lot of people don’t want to get to close to it because they really don’t want to be changed.

Finally, whether you are doing a plan like “90 days” or some other reading set-up the goal is not to only read the Bible from start to finish but to cultivate a life-long love of God’s Word and the daily discipline of Bible reading.

Sorry to be such a long commentator!

Gathering together around the Word is perhaps the most central act of being Christian together. I look forward to seeing how this year’s emphasis plays out.