OK, so we’re already in the New Year, and had I planned better, I’d have been posting this a week ago.  But if you’re not yet into the swing of your 2011 Bible reading, here’s a suggestion for how you can master the Bible, or, rather, let the Bible master you.

First, pick a book of the Bible – any book, though it may be helpful to start with a short one.

Then, read it all the way through, at the kind of speed you’d use for a novel, or a newspaper op-ed.

Then, read it again, 20 times (or, for the pedants among you, 19 times, making a total of 20).

Then, move onto the next book and do the same.

Simple.  But the results are profound.  After you’ve read, say Ephesians, 5 or so times, it may begin to feel a bit dull.  But after 10 or more times, you’ll be amazed at how you’re immersed in what the Holy Spirit is saying to you through this book.  Try it and see.  It’s the easiest and quickest way I’ve come across to begin to really grasp a part of God’s Word.  If you load a recording of the book onto your MP3 player, you’ll do it even faster.  Start with a short book – say Philippians, or 1 Peter – and work your way up to longer ones.  By the end of 2011 you could know lots of the New Testament really well.

HT: Justin Taylor