Fitting the Bible into your busy schedule
In today’s day and age everything is go go go. It can really be hard to sit down and read any books not to mention maybe one you have read several times and go to church to hear about every Sunday. If you do make time to sit and read the Bible, props to you. I wish there was more time in the day for me to sit and study my Bible. However, if you are like me and have a hard time finding the time to sit and read it, try picking it up on audio book. I spend a lot of time in my car these days, sometimes hours per week. I found that I can really use this time to listen in on the bible (and other books to be honest) and grow my relationship with God.
King James Version
Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash
I started with the King James Version. It is the easiest to find and the most traditional. You can find it read by man authors with beautiful voices. I found the New Testament read by James Earl Jones which was awesome. The Old Testament I use one that was actually read by many people which was nice. Every few books it would change and so you get 3 or 4 books with one voice and you get to hear a new one. If you want to hear the beauty of the bible its almost poetic read in the King James Version.
The down side to the King James Version is it can be very difficult to comprehend especially being read to you at a normal pace like a book. Add on top of that whatever else you are trying to do (drive in my case) and I found that while I did enjoy listening to it I was not able to pick up as much information as I would have liked.
New Living Translation
Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash
After finishing the King James Version I was thinking about starting again to see if I could pick up more on my second go around. While doing research on the internet about other things I came across a video from Pastor Mike Winger where he talked about the different reading levels of each of the different bible version. He highly recommended the New Living Translation on your first time reading the bible since it holds the same idea of the Bible but is put into a much easier to read format (around 3rd grade if I remember correctly). He does note that this is closer to a paraphrase of the bible than an actual translation so be mindful of that.
So on my second go on listening to the Bible I decided to purchase the New Living Translation. I am not sure who exactly is reading it but I found it on Audible and used a credit on it. Right away you can not only start to pick up what they are saying for each chapter but really comprehend the meanings behind the books with much less research required. I am still working my way through but so far I am about half way into the Old Testament which is the harder portion of the bible and I am very satisfied.
Know how you should expect to use this
Listening to the bible is a great resource and a great way to stay in touch with God. However, it does not replace reading and studying the Bible. I think that all Christians should know the Bible as well as possible and if this helps you the way it helps me that is great but readying and studying is something that should be done. Also do not think that reading the Bible is a replacement for church. A Church is not a building, its a group of God’s people. You should be in fellowship with a church and giving as much spare time as you can to help it prosper and help the church help the community.