Psalms everyday?

Did some changes in my reading plan.  I just thought it would be better to read the Psalms everyday, rather than just once a week.  So I am reading one chapter of Psalms a day, with no reduction in the required reading for the other categories as well.  That would allow me to read the Psalms more than twice a year, while keeping to the schedule for the rest of the other categories.


Let's see how this goes!  

After Two Months - An Update

It's been almost two months since I started to read the Bible using a personal reading plan that I think will work for me.  As I indicated in another post I've decided to read through the Bible by dividing it into 6 categories.  I should read 3 chapters per day for each category, except for one where I should read 5, for a total of 20 chapters per week.  Since there are 6 categories, Sundays will be used as a way to catch up or simply take a break from the routine.  If all goes according to plan, on average I would be able to finish the whole Bible in about 60 weeks.  Some categories I would have read more than once (like the Gospels and Old Testament history), while the other categories I would have read more than halfway into.  Which means by the next cycle, my weekly readings would be composed of different chapters or books compared to this cycle.  

Now for the update:  I should have read 154 chapters as of yesterday, but I managed to read 159, or 5 chapters more.  This despite of not being able to read the Bible for about a week straight, as I tried to recuperate from some physical stress, plus not being able to read the required number of chapters per day (or at all) in some days.  What compensated for it are the times I read the Bible on Sundays, and reading more than the required number of chapters in a day when my senses are up.

From these two months I learned a couple of things that I would like to share to maybe help you out or encourage you:

1.   Have a plan that fits you.
2.  Don't get side-tracked by questions that may arise.  Take note of them and spend    time studying them.  But keep moving in your reading plan.
3.   If you missed a day (or even a week), just resolve to get back on track.
4.   Read the Bible whenever and wherever it's possible. 
5.  Read thoughtfully, but don't be bothered if you don't seem to recall much.  It will come eventually.  
6.   Pause to consider what you are reading.  This is not a speed-reading contest.
7.   Don't push your limits just to keep to the schedule.  The plan is not your master.
8.   Most importantly, discuss it with the Author as you are reading and throughout the day.

Have a blessed day everyone!

The Infallibility of Bible Translations

The concept of the infallibility of the Bible is founded on the belief that the men who penned the words were guided by God so that they will not err.  I wouldn't have any problem with that, otherwise there is really no reason to even consider the Bible as the Word of God. The more important question for me is:  can we say the same for translations?

First, some basic principles.  The most obvious one here is the fact that God is God, and as such, He can use circumstances and people who are intending to do something to end up doing what He intended to accomplish in the first place.  In short, His purpose will be accomplished no matter what.  But is that security enough that you can take your pick from any of the available Bible translations and believe that somehow as you are reading it, you will be able to winnow that which is "incorrectly" translated?  Or is that scenario even possible, considering that whatever they may have intended to do, God would have overridden?

I found this article related to this topic when I did a Google search.  In a nutshell, it concluded that no translation can be considered infallible. Similar articles basically say the same thing.  

This is a major flaw to some, considering that other belief systems actually have the text of their own scriptures in its original language available to everybody.  Which, as a matter of course, requires their believers to know the language/s well.requires every believer to know the language/s to read it for themselves.  

But I pause at this stage to consider something.  If I consider for one moment that I have a copy of the original manuscripts and I am able to read it in its native tongue, is that any better than having a translation that is the product of years of painstaking work of hundreds of people?  Maybe yes, maybe no.  The only thing I know that is better than that for sure is to know the mind of God  himself, meaning, to be taught by Him directly.  And since the illumination of the Word is a prerequisite to actually understanding it, then it is not different altogether from being directly taught by God.  Of course, one may argue that it would be better to have that and have the original manuscripts as well, but how much is lost insofar as the achievement of the purpose of 

God in one's life, which is one's salvation and sanctification?  Even within the Bible, Jesus made it clear that the relationship with God is personal, not academic (John 5:39-40).  The Bible, for all its worth in studying it and mining it, does not give salvation and personal relationship.  It is, for lack of a better metaphor for me, a door to which we enter into.

(This is an uncomplete post.  I know I will get back to this topic and related ones again and again.  But feel free to comment and join me in this journey)