Bro. Brad Gilbert introduced us to Professor Grant Horner the first of this year. I looked over the Bible Reading System, printed out the PDF instructions, cut out the ten book marks, picked up a Bible we weren’t using and began the process Wednesday.
I have a problem, so quickly!! The Bible is the first study Bible I bought for my husband. One of Prof. Horner’s ‘Secrets to Success’ reads:
“Don’t look up anything you ‘don’t get’ – real understanding will come through contextualizing by reading a LOT of scripture over time. Get through the text!”
For me, that’s difficult. I analyze. I refer. I compare. Our study Bibles are designed for this. There are comments, there are cross-references. When I read, I check to see whether those things were so (Acts 17:10b). That’s not part of this system.
How I started is not part of his system, either. I neglected one suggestion:
“You also need to get ONE Bible, keep it, and do all your reading in it, so you learn where everything is.”
I have a Bible that I’ve carried since 1978. I know just about where to turn for any scripture. I might be a bit out of order with some of the Minor Prophets, or sing Paul’s epistles in my mind sometimes, but I can get there quickly. I opted not to use it because it is filled with highlights, dates, and it (too) is a study Bible – a bit more extensive than Beloved Husband’s bedside Bible. In it I have a multiple ribbon bookmark for the Roman Road; regular bookmarks for Sunday morning services where Pastor is doing a series; Sunday School’s study in Ephesians bookmark; and a couple of others I want to study for inclusion in a blog at a future date.
I could not imagine adding ten bookmarks to that Bible. However, for the novice Bible reader – or someone who has received a new Bible, I believe Horner’s System would be of help in building a close relationship with their Bible.
Second Daughter bought a new Bible last year. Just the right size to carry in her purse, yet big enough print to read well. It has taken her a while to be able to open to passages as quickly as her previous one.
So, for me, the Jury is still out, but the decision is “Which Bible should I use,” not “Does this reading system help?” It does. I can tell that in three days. It doesn’t help in memorization, it doesn’t help in doctrine, it doesn’t help in “understanding.”
It does help in familiarization. It does help build habit. It does help bring the word of God close. It does bring to mind some verses:
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17 KJV)
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11 KJV)
