Within the concluding pages of the Old Testament, the people look for the long-awaited Messiah. As the New Testament opens, we are introduced to Jesus the Christ, and the world has yet to recover from his invasion for redemption. It’s time to go the second mile in learning about Jesus the Messiah.

After severe warnings from numerous prophets, God’s people refuse to repent and reap the unfortunate consequences. God’s people are sent into exile and have to learn how to live for God in a land that did not. Will we learn? It’s time to go the second mile in learning about the exile of God’s people.

At the height of Israel’s power, the people dramatically collapse. The grandeur of King Solomon’s kingdom is undone quickly as a result of idolatrous compromises. A nation splits, a people rebel, and prophets call for repentance. It’s time to go the second mile in learning about the rise and fall of the kingdom.

Once God’s people established themselves in the land, they desired to have a king like the other nations. The problem with their reasoning was that their qualifications for a king were insufficient. They received what they wanted but not what they needed. It’s time to go the second mile in learning about the king God provides.

As God’s people wandered in the wilderness, His faithfulness continued to them regardless of their unfaithfulness toward Him. As they entered and settled into the Promised Land, they had to yet again make a decision of who they would follow. It’s time go the second mile in learning from the excursion.

God created a world and covenanted with a people. As this family grew into a nation, they were sovereignly placed into the most powerful nation in the world. This nation now had the opportunity to tell all nations about the God above all other gods. It’s time to go the second mile in learning from the exodus.

As God works through a family to usher in redemption to the world, the opening pages of the Bible portray a grouping of fragile people prone to multiple failures. Despite their missteps, God proves His unwavering faithfulness time and time again. It’s time to go the second mile in learning from the biblical patriarchs.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. With that opening line, the Bible begins and God’s grand narrative for redemption never looks back. Beyond those opening lines, do you know what God is trying to communicate? It’s time to go the second mile in knowing God from the very beginning.

For all the failed attempts at reading God’s Word, you still have this nagging desire to know it better. Instead of wallowing in regret or focusing on failures, make a plan to go forward. You can read the Bible. You can know God better. It’s time to go the second mile in accepting a Bible reading challenge. 

Download the Word 100-Day Bible Reading Plan

Get more resources at travisagnew.org.

We all know the discouragement that comes when we attempt to read the Bible with great eagerness only to quit once a personal streak is broken. If we are going to be committed to knowing the God of the Bible, we must maintain our time in it. It’s time to go the second mile in Bible reading basics. 

Get more resources at travisagnew.org.