Welcome to the 2011 Read Through

As the start of 2011 approaches, it is time when a group of us from St Paul's again embark on reading through the bible in 90 days. There is no mystery or magic to this. This is not something to earn us spiritual brownie points or bragging rights. This is not a masochism or virility contest. No, it is an undertaking to take God's word seriously and to commit ourselves to spending time with God, in His word over a three month period and seeking to meet Him there and to be challenged and transformed as His disciples in the process.

Just a few basic points which I stressed before:

1. It is possible, but it requires a time commitment (just under an hour a day) and discipline;
2. The plan is divided into 88 readings, so there are two spare days built in to achieve the 90 day target. If you miss a day, it is not a disaster, but don't skip ahead intending to go back, as it is unlikely that you will. Some days will feel harder than others, but keep going;
3. This is obviously not a plan for in-depth study, but you will be pleasantly surprised by how much you do remember and retain. You will also gain a much greater appreciation of the flow of the revelation of scripture and will see the big themes and patterns emerge;
4. Be encouraged - about 20 or so people have indicated that they will try to achieve this. You are not doing this on your own;
5. The experience of previous years is that reading scripture is like any other appetite: the more you feed it, the more you want to continue feeding it.

This blog is open for you to use as you wish. Chris is willing to answer (or try to do so) any questions you may have as they arise. There is also an archive on this blog of previous runs through.

I am excited at the prospect of doing this again. It is the best fitness programme to start the New Year that I know, and it is great that there are so many of us doing this.

Let's get cracking on 1 January!