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The only wrong way to read the Bible is to NOT read the Bible. If you’ve ever been motivated to finally read the Bible “cover to cover”, you may have found the first few chapters pretty easy going. There are ubiquitous phrases “Let there be light” as well as exciting new lights disclosed in just the first few chapters (did it ever dawn on you that Adam and Eve started out as vegetarians? This is a conclusion based on there being no death in the Garden until Genesis 3:21, ergo there was no meat on the menu?!). Sadly, many of us exhaust our zeal for the Word when we hit Leviticus with its seemingly endless stream of “if-then” statements; it’s as though God is teaching a class in logical Boolean computer programming!

I’ve found a chronological reading plan to be the most insightful and rewarding way to dive into the scriptures. This sequence was the basis of the research done for my book “60 Second Sermons”. The book (available in paper, kindle, and Audible) is designed to provide a brief summary of that day’s chapters along with an answering the five questions one should always attempt when reading Scriptures (What is the authors main point? Is this true to my experience? Do I have a problem with this reading? How can I apply this to my life? and What new lights does this reading provide?)

A novel reading approach struck me the other day as I prepared for an upcoming sermon titled “The New Testament from Space”. This is companion sermon designed to be the follow-on from one preached nearly five years ago titled “The Old Testament from Space”.

You’re likely aware of the significance of the “3:16” signs that passionate disciples hold up at sporting events in hopes of reminding viewers of the sacrifice Jesus made for his followers. When I pulled a verse from 2 Peter for use in the sermon introduction, I noted it too was numbered 3:16. I wondered if any insight could be gained from a compilation and reading of each of the 3:16’s in the New Testament. Unintentionally, I discovered a rich tapestry of theologically foundational content.

To be clear, I’m not promoting any form of “biblical numerology”. This practice is easily discredited when you realize the chapter and verse numbers were not added until around 1227 with chapter numbers by Stephen Langton and with verse numbers not added until they were done by Robert Estienne around 1551. My north star pastor/teacher, RC Spoul, can often be quoted speculating that Estienne likely made the verse notations while riding horseback. Only this bump-bumping along could account for the occurrences of seemingly awkward breaks in the natural flow of text.

That aside, here are the 3:16’s compiled. Can you still read the entire good news story from this random extraction from scriptures?

Reference	Verse (NLT)
Matthew	After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him.
Mark	These are the twelve he chose: Simon (whom he named Peter),
Luke	John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
John	For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Acts	Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed
Romans	Wherever they go (all people), they bring destruction and misery.
1 Corinthians	Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
2 Corinthians	But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil (of misunderstanding) is taken away.
Galatians	God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ
Ephesians	I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
Philippians	But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.
Colossians	Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
2 Thessalonians	Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.
1 Timothy	Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith, Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.
2 Timothy	All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
Hebrews	And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt?
James	For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
1 Peter	But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
2 Peter	Speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.
1 John	We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Revelation	But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

I hope this frivolous post inspires you to find new and different reasons to open God’s word. Perhaps you should start by reading your “birthday passage” (month=chapter, day=verse) in each book that contains this pattern (you can try it now by visiting chatgpt.com and entering “Give me 2 memorable Old Testament and 2 memorable New Testament verses (KJV) that match this reference: MM:DD”). You are very likely to find a genuine, word-from-God encouragement that is far better than the horoscope fluff often foisted on unsuspecting readers.

BTW, a search for meaningful references to the ubiquitous “6-7” finds readings in both Genesis and Galatians. You might want to quote these two ominous verses the next time you hear youth mimicking this viral phrase.

Book of Genesis 6:7 (NLT)	“And the LORD said, ‘I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.’”
Book of Galatians 6:7 (NLT)	“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.”

Or you can simply say “I think six seven is a reference to the Bible which teaches that God created humanity on day 6 and rested on day 7 which He blessed and made Holy”. What to know more?

Writers Block