By David Ettinger
A Great Morning
As far as reading my Bible goes, it was a great morning. I read the final seven chapters of 2 Corinthians followed by the first seven chapters of 1 Samuel. In all the reading took 75 minutes, and it was wonderful!

Now, let me say this: I am 62 years, got divorced 34 years ago and never remarried, and my only child is almost 37 and moved out more than 15 years ago. In other words, I am your quintessential empty-nester with pretty much all the time in the world.
On the other hand, one of my dear readers is far younger than me, and the mother of four dynamic children. She must fight and claw for every second of Bible time she can squeeze out of her dizzying days.
But I know many of my readers are closer to my situation than hers, and that neither they nor I are doing all we can to devote the time we have to reading our Bibles. And not just reading them, but consuming them!
Church Concerns
With the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking worldwide havoc, it’s incumbent upon Christians to not simply “make do,” but aggressively turn minuses into pluses.
The major area in which Christian lives have been altered is in attending church. Many churches in the U.S. are not meeting in person, worship services relegated to the Internet. And for those of us whose churches are open, fear of contracting the coronavirus is keeping us home anyway.

And there’s one other overarching concern regarding the Church in America. With a number of states mandating their closings, will this be the first step in a much larger strategy to obliterate Christianity from the U.S.? I know that’s quite the jump in logic, but with Satan pulling much of the strings here in post-Christian America, it’s possible.
One thing all the above has in common: It is beyond our control. We can do nothing about any of it. Sure, we can defy local, state, or national mandate by driving to church when they say we can’t, but if they station troops with real guns and bullets at the entrances, I guarantee you’re turning around and going home.
What We CAN Control
However, there is something every Western believer can control right here and now, and that’s reading their Bibles. And not just reading in small portions, but consuming it like a starving man seated at a king’s table filled with the world’s choicest fare.
We spend way too much of our available time consumed in activities which will burn in the fire. Among these is watching an overabundance of TV news! Yes, tune in for 10 or 15 minutes to get the headlines, but then turn the infernal contraption off! You don’t need hours of analysis.
Rather, take the time you normally spend watching TV reading your Bible, and not just reading it, but consuming it! If you can, set aside three hours and see how far through the Book of Isaiah you can traverse. Or how about committing yourself to reading six or seven of the Minor Prophets in one sitting. Those are really short books, you can knock them off in rapid-fire succession, and you will learn way more from them than from Fox News or CNN.

Resolve to read your Bible as never before! We have no idea what’s coming to the West in these last days, so take advantage of the freedom you have to read your Bible anytime you want and for as long as you want. Swarms of Christians in the persecuted countries must read their Bibles in darkness as possessing Bibles is illegal. They read Scripture in peril of their lives.
Consume Away!
This is not the case here in the West, and it may never be, but Christians should act as though it were. What if we adopt the mindset that beginning January 1, 2021, Bible reading will be banned, and that all violators will be executed?
How would this revolutionize our Bible-reading practices? Drastically, I imagine. It would cause us to consume our Bibles as never before, and if so, why not start now?
Bruce Cooper
July 22, 2020
Valid observations and concerns David. Remember those little distractions I mentioned? I downloaded a couple of movies a couple of days ago to view later and then for some strange reason, after my morning prayers yesterday, felt compelled to delete them. Wasted time. Time is too short. Blessings brother.
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dettinger47
July 22, 2020
Thanks for sharing, Bruce. I need to follow your example and start doing way more deleting!
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vicklea
July 22, 2020
David, I was blown away by this post and feel compelled to share it. This is a call to the one of the only actions we can all do during the Covid crisis. But I add to that prayer. After reading His Word, we need to pray and seek His face. Thank you for the encouragement to turn off the news and turn to God and His Word. Re-blogging now. God bless you, my friend.
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dettinger47
July 22, 2020
Well said, Vickie. I absolutely agree: we need to add prayer to Bible reading.
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Angel at Watchyourlifeinpictures
July 22, 2020
The best $20 I ever spent was downloading Alexander Scourby reading the Bible. The app also comes with a text Bible.
Hearing Romans out loud really was life changing. And everything else.
I listen every morning on the way to work.
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seekingdivineperspective
July 22, 2020
“What if we adopt the mindset that beginning January 1, 2021, Bible reading will be banned, and that all violators will be executed?”
Answer – MEMORIZE it. I went through a period of several years memorizing long passages, chapters, and whole books. I figured if I’m ever in a foreign country where I couldn’t bring a Bible and wanted to share Scripture with the people, all I would need is a translator. 😉
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dettinger47
July 22, 2020
Wow, excellent! What’s the longest portion of Scripture you’ve memorized?
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seekingdivineperspective
July 22, 2020
I tackled the gospel of John, but at about 8 chapters into it I got so confused (variations on certain themes) that I gave up and stuck to shorter books like I Peter, I John, Philippians, and James. (Wanting to get a variety of perspectives from different writers.) I started with the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and that’s still a favorite. I recorded it on cassette tape – which tells you how long ago it was – and played it over and over while I worked in the kitchen. These days I still have to keep going back and re-memorizing, but I’m glad I decided to try all those years ago. You never know when we won’t have those pages to refer to…
PS I decided to memorize long passages, because I kept hearing people quoting verses out of context, and I didn’t want to be fooled.
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dettinger47
July 22, 2020
Great testimony. That would make for a very interesting blog, if you ever felt so inclined.
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seekingdivineperspective
July 22, 2020
To tell the truth, I never felt so inclined. I would question my motives for telling … But I suppose I just did, didn’t I?
Now that you mention it, maybe knowing Scripture by heart is a goal we should shoot for, in view of the way the world is going. It would certainly be better use of our time than arguing on social media. 😉
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dettinger47
July 22, 2020
So true … a much better use of time!
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Nina
July 22, 2020
Reblogged this on For Such A Time As This.
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dettinger47
July 22, 2020
Thank you, Nina.
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Blue Collar Theologian
July 22, 2020
Wise counsel, David! I am NOT reading the Bible as much as I could/should. I also find I can gravitate toward reading about the Bible rather than read the text for myself. Thanks for this post!
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dettinger47
July 22, 2020
Same here, Mandy.
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mrsmariposa2014
July 22, 2020
Amen!! We ought always make His word and prayer above all distractions. And, yep, it’s a crazy world I live in, but grateful to know He is right there with me and has provided such a wonderful family, including several extended brothers and sisters in the faith! Oh, but PS. Don’t let my youngest grow up quite that fast! Davey is about to be 8 next month. I get to keep him young a few more years! 😉
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dettinger47
July 22, 2020
I was wondering if I had it right. I’ll make a quick edit..
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mrsmariposa2014
July 22, 2020
No problem. 🙂
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dettinger47
July 22, 2020
I just performed a “teen-ectomy.” 😁
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mrsmariposa2014
July 22, 2020
Ok. Sounds good! 😁
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Sheila D.Currie Blake
July 24, 2020
I need more of you Lord.
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dettinger47
July 24, 2020
Amen!
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