I don't know what to do

[WilliamK]

The Bible is too long for me and its got small writing. mine has 1500 pages. someone promised to me that if I just read the bible my whole lifeview will be changed in a few months. the bible is also difficult to understand for me even with a bible using normal english. might lose me faith in this

Am I posting on the wrong section of this forum? ***** STAFF EDIT *****

 

[timf]

Most of the Bible is the history of the nation of Israel. It was kept for us so that we would learn not to make their mistakes. The more important part is about Jesus, who he was, what he said, and what he did.

You can read about Jesus in the first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).

There are large print Bibles as well as a variety that are easier to read.

You may also want to call a local church and ask if there is anyone who could visit you to explain it. I would suggest contacting a church that belongs to a denomination that believes the Bible is true.

 

[All Souls]

The Bible is too long for me and its got small writing. mine has 1500 pages. someone promised to me that if I just read the bible my whole lifeview will be changed in a few months. the bible is also difficult to understand for me even with a bible using normal english.

Why not begin with the Gospel of Mark using the New Living Translation?

 

[Emmy]

Dear WilliamK. In Matthew 22: 35-40: Jesus tells a Lawyer: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is like it: Love thy neighbour as thyself."
Then Jesus points out this great fact: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law, and the Prophets." Love is very important to God our Heavenly Father. God is Love, and God wants Loving sons and daughters.
Everything we say or do, everything we advice or stand for, SHOULD BE FROM LOVE AND COMPASSION. We do not find this easy, but we are promised in Matthew 7: 7-10: " Ask and ye shall receive." We ask God for Love and Joy, then we thank God and share all Love and Joy with our neighbour: all we know and all we meet, friends and not friends. We keep asking God and thanking God, then share all Love and Joy with all around us.
God will see our loving efforts, and God will approve and Bless us.
The Bible tells us: " Repent," and also " Be Born Again." We change from being selfish and unloving, to become loving and caring. Love is a Christian`s great weapon, with love we will overcome all bad things and wrong behaviour. Love will always make us victorious, it may take a bit longer, but Love beats all selfish and unloving deeds. We might stumble and forget at times, but then we ask God to forgive us, and carry on Loving and Caring. We will find that we are slowly and surly change into the sons and daughters which God wants us to become.
Jesus our Saviour, will help and guide us: JESUS IS THE WAY.
Remember William, " ask and ye shall receive," then thank God and share all Love and Joy with our fellow-men and fellow-women. God wants our Love,
freely given and NO tags attached. I say this with love. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ. P.S. The Bible is God`s Word to us, and God is Love. God will also teach us when necessary, and we should never forget this.
God will not be mocked, and we will always reap, what we sow.
Galatians 6: 7-8.

 

[coertzenjfs]

I was the same my friend. I learned that reading and understanding the Bible is a life journey and that journey is actually with the author of the Book. It's His Word and if you really want to know Him you must study it. Read the life story of Jesus first and that would be enough. The rest of the Book should be a life study. Blessed be you through our Lord Jesus.

 

[Harry3142]

WilliamK-

First read Mark in order to gain an understanding of what Jesus Christ taught, as well as the acts he performed while he was here among us. Then read Luke, since it can be easily understood.

After reading those 2 books, then read Romans. It is accepted by many scholars as the most concise description of Christian theology. Following that, read the gospels of Matthew and John, as well as the other epistles.

There are websites where you can find Bibles that are in modern-day English, and have large print. Go to any search engine, type Holy Bible in its window, and it will give you many sites where you can read these Bible translations.

Also, feel free to ask questions of us. There is no such thing as a dumb question when it comes to our faith, so don't hesitate to bring a question to us about any facet of Christianity, including Scripture itself.

 

[ForJesusChrist]

First relax and calm down.

Try the NLT or ESV.

Take it one word at a time, read one verse a day, maybe a chapter, and go from there.

And very importantly, DON'T force yourself to read it, read it because you WANT to.

God Bless

 

[AMR]

Divide up the content and work the results accordingly.

Approximate Old Testament Statistics:
Number of books: 39
Chapters: 929
Verses: 23,114

Approximate New Testament Statistics:
Number of books: 27
Chapters: 260
Verses: 7,957

For example, assuming 365 days a year, and a total of 929+260 = 1189 chapters, you could read a wee bit more than 3 chapters a day and complete the Bible in a year.

I suspect some folks read more than the equivalent of three chapters a day hanging out at discussion sites and the internet, so this is not an impossible task.

 

[WilliamK]

Thank you everyone. I need to properly read and digest this all.

can you actually feel gods presence?

 

[High Fidelity]

If you're presumably struggling with King James Version, get a 'normal English' version like the English Standard Version.

Keep your KJV for the future though, because it's one of the more enjoyable versions to read, at least in my opinion.

Edit: Are your parents or family Christian? I'm guessing they are. Ask them for an ESV version so you can understand it better and then revisit the KJV in the future.

 

[St_Worm2]

You might want to try 'listening' to the Bible, especially if you are aurally attuned. You can get CD's or DVD's of the entire Bible or just the NT. It can be a solo voice edition, or you can get a dramatized multi-voiced version which takes into account things like the gender, age, etc. of the person who is speaking, and normally includes a soundtrack and adds other dramatic sounds.

I too would recommend an easier translation than the KJV, such as the NIV, so that you can pick more of it up as you listen. You might also want to keep a pen and a pad of paper nearby to take down verses you'd like to go back and take a closer look at.

Yours and His,
David

 

[tturt]

Welcome to the forums. You've gotten some good ideas about which books to begin read of the Bible. Yes, you can feel God's presence but whether we feel His presence or not, that doesn't determine our relationship with Him.

Audio Bibles are available at biblegateway.com for example. I love to listen to Psa 145.