Category Archives: Reading

First, Let’s Shop

OK, we are not really going to go shopping, but online shopping is just about the best analogy I can think of for the subject at hand. So, just shop with me for a moment.

Recently, because I sold a couple of things on Ebay, I’m in the market to buy a new watch (and I’ve nearly lost 10 pounds as of this writing!). But ever since I started doing my research a few months ago, the watches I wanted back then are not really the watches I want now. Therefore, I’ve been doing a lot of “window shopping” online.

Sorry, but this was a tiny picture.

But, oh my goodness, every time I click there is another watch option that I haven’t considered. I’m constantly going back and forth, making comparisons between features, cost, and value. However, so that I won’t forget what I’ve looked at and so that I can come back to it later, I have been putting some of those watches in my virtual “cart” for safe keeping.

I may or may not buy one of them, but I will go back and look at those particular selections a little more in detail when I have time.

Reading, Not Meditating or Absorbing

As of this moment, I still have about 11 hours worth of reading to do in order to finish reading through the entire Bible before August 1st, my first anniversary here at Bethlehem Baptist.

As some of you know, almost 3 months ago I set a goal for myself: read the Bible through in 70 days (or at least by the end of August). When I mentioned on Facebook how little time I had left and how much I needed to read, a friend said, “Retention, Anthony, retention!” To which I replied, “Different context, Jim, different context.”

But is it wrong to quickly read through the Bible without taking the time to meditate on the verses or read slowly enough to remember everything I read? Well, it really all depends on the context.

My context is that of shopping through all 66 stores and putting what stands out in the cart for later.

Reading through books of the Bible in one sitting helps you to see things you’ve never seen before. No, it doesn’t give you time to meditate long on any one truth, but the new truths (or questions) that appear while quickly reading through the books are the ones that stand out enough to warrant more in-depth study at a later time.

So far I think I’ve got future study topics from every book of the Bible in my cart. I’m looking forward to going back and digging through that stack!

Why don’t you try it?