Nancy Leigh DeMoss: What would happen if you randomly pulled things out of the refrigerator at lunchtime?

“What kind of sandwich are you eating?!”

“Looks like I’ve got some jelly, mustard, whipped cream, uh . . . something from a green container. Want a bite?”

“YUK!”

Nancy: As crazy as that sounds, we can take a similar approach when it comes to reading the Bible.

“Well, let’s see. This is as good a spot as any. ‘And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD . . .’”

Nancy: If we take parts of the Scripture out of context, we could miss the meaning altogether. We need to read systematically. Verses make sense in light of chapters. Chapters make sense in light of whole books.

If you’re not in the habit of reading systematically, could I encourage you to choose one book of the Bible? Read it through to understand the big picture. Then carefully study it, and savor the details that you find.