This month, I asked participants in a book giveaway about their reading habits. A little over 300 people answered two questions. The first was, where do you spend more time in the Bible – Old or New Testament?
62% said they spend more time in the New Testament. 38% said they spend more time in the Old Testament. That answer is not a big surprise since the Old Testament prepares the way for the New. However, I’m sure there are quite a few people who don’t spend much time at all in the Old Testament. If you haven’t spent much time there lately, here is a word of encouragement.
Now all these things [in the Old Testament] happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10:11-12)
While we celebrate Jesus in the New Testament, the Old Testament tells us why He needed to come. It provides examples, both good and bad, to help and encourage us in a variety of situations. Consider making it more of your Bible reading routine. If the Old Testament is a bit challenging for you, check out some free online audio classes from the BBN Bible Institute.
The second question was, how often do you read devotional literature. A small majority, 54% read devotionals daily or weekly. It’s encouraging to know that a lot of people are spending some time considering spiritual thoughts. But almost half of respondents read devotionals rarely or never. Hopefully, that would be because they are doing in depth Bible Studies. However, I’m would guess that is not most of the rarely or never group.
Where do you stand on devotionals? Do you like them? If so, what is your favorite? If you don’t like them, why not? Please share some comments below.