I was twenty years old, fresh into my junior year at my Christian college, when Dr. Dorsett — an aging professor with a shock of white hair and thick spectacles — startled me into paying attention.
He held a Bible above his head and asked us, “How can you call yourself a Christian if you haven’t read every page of this book? If you don’t even know what’s in here?” His tone was kind, but his words were piercing. He was asking us to own our faith.
His words dumbfounded me.
I had grown up in the church, and had read parts of the Bible during my growing-up years. But here, as a young woman, I realized that I hadn’t ever read the Bible cover-to-cover. I’d read bits here and chapters there, but I hadn’t read much of the Old Testament, and I’d never read all of the New. It dawned on me, there in that class, that I was basing my life on a book that I hadn’t fully read — and suddenly, that admission stunned me. Who bases their life on a book but doesn’t read all of it? Did I even know what I believed?
And so, that very week, I started a one-year Bible-reading plan and began my journey into reading the Bible all the way through.
At first, reading several chapters a day felt overwhelming — going from reading a few verses here and there to actually reading whole chunks of the Word felt like going from talking a walk around the block to training for a marathon. My spiritual muscles were weak, and it was difficult on many days to keep my mind and heart engaged. Don’t even get me started on the book of Numbers; it’s a miracle I kept going!
But what I found, as I kept my nose in the folds of those crinkly, thin pages of my Bible, was that I was meeting God—actually meeting with Him! I wasn’t solely reading about Him or learning about Him: I was encountering the Lord on every page. I found myself — a woman who would sleep until noon if I could — excited about getting up an hour before class to read those chapters and experience the character and kindness and truth of God in the mornings. And it spilled over into everything else; I found myself talking about the Word constantly, found its truths and stories seeping into my life and my thoughts and my hopes.
Reading the Bible consistently that year absolutely transformed me.
As I read through the Old Testament alongside of the New Testament, I began to see the incredible seamlessness of God’s plan for salvation from the beginning. I saw how Jesus was promised in the Old Testament, and how His coming fulfilled those very promises. I wept as I read of the tenderness of Christ with His followers, and I thrilled when I saw the early church walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. This! This was how my faith was strengthened and deepened as a young woman — not because I had grown up in the church or because I had always been a Christian, but because I was tasting and seeing the goodness of God right in front of me, in His living Word.
I was living what I read about in Hebrews 4:12:
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The Bible became active in my life, and it shaped my heart and my mind so that I more fully developed the mind of Christ. As I experienced Him, I loved Him more. As I read about God, I wanted to walk with Him more closely.
More than any experience I’ve ever had with God, reading the Bible all the way through that year caused me to love the Lord and trust Him more. I’m so grateful for a professor who was willing to ask a challenging question; discovering the answer by reading the Word is what utterly transformed my life.
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Michele Morin says
Ann, I’m so thankful for that white-haired professor, and that he got your attention so early in life. I have friends in middle age who are still struggling to discipline themselves to read through the Bible, knowing that they should. What an excellent foundation you have been blessed with!
Ann Swindell says
I am so thankful for him, as well! His example continues to be a gift to me. Praise the Lord for faithful saints who have gone before us!
Paula says
Ann, thank you so much for your encouraging words. For Christmas this year, my husband gave me a Journaling Bible. I began in January to write and draw in the margins and have advanced to watercolor pencils and stencils and stickers. We both pray about a “word for the year” and my word was “JOY”. I now understand why! I am getting so much out of illustrating the word of God as I study the scriptures and oh the JOY! The Holy Spirit really is speaking and I am finally listening. My teenage son and his friends are even showing interest in what I’m working on. Illustrating the Word has given me many opportunities to witness and share what God is doing in my life. The more I read His word, the more I see Jesus throughout the Old Testament and it is all coming together as if for the first time for me (“encountering the Lord on every page”). Finally, allowing the Word of God which is ALIVE to transform my life. Thanks again for sharing today. I GET IT!! be blessed, Paula
Ann Swindell says
How wonderful that your journaling Bible is creating joy in you and your family! Praise the Lord!
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Ann,
Isn’t it amazing how God puts people in our lives to challenge our faith? I don’t know if this is an apt analogy, but I find that as I eat carbs, I crave more carbs (not good for me), but when I eat more vegetables, I crave more vegetables. Whatever we get a steady diet of….we tend to crave more. The more I read God’s Word, the more I crave reading it. I’m so thankful that God has brought me to the point that reading my Bible is not a chore, but something I can’t wait to dive into to see what He is going to reveal to me today. I do agree that reading it in a chronological order puts it into context – whether it’s reading it cover to cover or reading a book of the Bible from beginning to end. Great post and way to go professor!
Blessings,
Bev xx
Ann Swindell says
Yes! We crave what we feed ourselves, and I love that analogy of carbs and veggies. Blessings to you too, Bev!
Shirley says
I’ve been feeling a similar tugging lately. Just want to make my walk more personal with Him. I’m so grateful that He never stops whispering my my name. His love never fails.
Ann Swindell says
Amen, Shirley. That tug is a sign of his love for you!
Selma Cobb Dean says
Ann. This is a great testimony of how the Bible is a “living” book. Thanks.
Ann Swindell says
It really is, Selma. I’m so thankful for how the Lord has continued to use his Word in my life!
rebeccajones says
I’m not sure I have ever even read every page but I know people who have read it again and again. I’m sure it’s important, and I love to study but we have to beleve it, live it and put it into practice.
Ann Swindell says
Yes, we are called to live out our faith, Rebecca! Thanks for sharing.
Michele says
Thank you for this blog post. I like you had read bits and parts of the bible but never all the way through until I started reading 100words.ca – which is a daily blog published by 100 Huntley Street here in Canada. David Mainse goes through the bible – starting with the Old Testament and then to the New Testament – to show the connections between the prophecies of the Old Testament to the New. It is a two year reading schedule, which is much less overwhelming, but also gives you time to think and absorb what is read. I am going through my third complete reading and through my daily reading – I have developed a much stronger relationship with God. The Word is alive and well and so pertinent to today. I do not start my day without doing my daily reading.
Blessings to you.
Ann Swindell says
Blessings to you too, Michele! I’m so grateful for how the Word transforms our heart!
Beth Williams says
Ann,
God blessed you with a great professor. I grew up a “Christian”. You always saw me at church wearing a cross. I didn’t live or fully understand the Christian life. Fast forward many years. I have read through the Bible many times & done numerous Bible studies. Love hearing the word & understanding the meaning behind them. Now I want to live my life to show Christ to the world. I want to be more active in worship, prayer & Godly activities.
Blessings 🙂
Ann Swindell says
Praise God for how he has continued to work in and through your life, Beth! I love how he is always working in our hearts as we are seeking him. Blessings to you, too!
Kelli says
Ann –
Thank you for this! I’ll admit, I have not read the Bible cover-to-cover and I’m not even sure where to start! Do you have recommendations for starting to read? Any plans to follow?
Thank you!!! 🙂
Mary O'Connor says
Great word.
I have read through the Bible many times – very quickly and very slowly and in numerous versions, inspired by a woman who had been the head of a crisis pregnancy center with a tremendous ministry. At her funeral, it was said of her that years before, she had known a woman who was powerful in the Lord who read the Bible through every year. She thought – Well, if that’s what it takes to be a great Christian woman, I will too. She read the Bible every year from then till the Lord took her home, some 30 years later.
Rebecca Monroe says
I don’t disagree that reading the Bible is wholesome and good. It is a vital part of our growth. I have experienced many of the joys you described in my own times of reading. But I do disagree with the question your professor posed. I think it was unfair of him to put a guilt trip on young, impressionable minds. Reading the Bible is not a prerequisite for salvation. It’s my simple belief in the truth that I heard in one conversation, not after reading the entire Bible, that saved me. Now, I begin to understand more deeply what Christ did for me as I read the pages of Scripture. I wrestle with complicated passages, but I have no doubt that I am His and He is Mine! The accuser would have us believe that we are inadequate in our faith if we have not accomplished this task. But our Beloved Redeemer has never asked us to do anything more than Believe in Him! Everything else is bonus!!
Chelsea says
Thank you for sharing your testimony, Ann. What an encouragement! I’m a mom of three littles, and I’ve recently been convicted to be more consistently in the word. You’re right, it can feel like marathon training some days–but I have yet to walk away from my time with God saying “Man, I regret doing that today.” He is faithful.