An excerpt from Hearing God in a Noisy World
by Timothy L. Owings

A person who sits down with a Bible and begins to read it as a novel from cover to cover is in for a major disappointment. Yes, I've known people who have worked through the Bible from beginning to end. They deserve a medal! In all my years of living within the pages of the Bible, I've never read "the whole thing" from cover to cover. Nevertheless, I suppose I've read the Bible in its entirety several times in the course of personal study and sermon preparation.

How then can a person read the Bible and, in the experience of reading, hear the voice of God? Let's form an answer to that question around three words" text, plan, and purpose. First, you need to purchase a contemporary text of the Bible. Many people die on their third page of Bible reading, harpooned by the language of the King James Version. I might as well say it now and be done with it: there is nothing sacred about the King James Version of the Bible. It did not exist prior to 1611! What many people find holy about the King James translation is its Shakespearean style, eloquent phrasing, and "holy-sounding" language. For many, the King James Version is God's Word because that's the text they heard read around the dinner table or from the pulpit. For others, a beloved pastor preached from the King James Version and occasionally lambasted "modern translations." Having said that, vast numbers of serious Christians honestly believe that any version of the bible other than the King James is either wrong, corrupt, or both.

Relax! Buy a contemporary translation of the Bible. Popular contemporary translations include the New International Version, The New Revised Standard Version, the American Standard Version, and the new Contemporary English Version. There is no perfect translation. Translation is not an exact science and by necessity passes through fallible human instruments. Buy a contemporary translation for reading purposes--read God's Word, and listen for God's voice. You will find God speaking to you in profound ways when you start reading God's Word in a contemporary translation. That was the genius of the King James Version in the seventeenth century--people heard God's word in the language of their day. That same dynamic works in our day when a listening heart picks up a contemporary translation of the Bible and begins to read.

Second, develop a plan for reading the Bible. A good place to begin your reading is the book at the center of the Bible, the Psalms. In fact, a simple plan for reading the Bible is to go to the center and work your way out. Genesis (particularly the first eleven chapters) and Revelation are considered by many to be the two most difficult books of the Bible to understand. Read them last! Start in the Psalms, any one of them (there are 150). There you will meet people who wrote of their soul's anguish, confusion, anger, and celebration. Every human emotion can be found in the Psalms.

If you're wanting to read stories, start working through the Gospel of Luke and read the life of Jesus. Luke contains some of Jesus' most remembered parables. From the Old Testament, read the story of God's relationship with Abraham beginning in Genesis 12. Keep reading and see what happened to his and Sarah's only child, Isaac. Don't stop. The intriguing, dysfunctional relationships revealed in Isaac and Rebekah's marriage spill over into their twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Turn to the New Testament and read one of Paul's letters (Philippians and Ephesians would be a good start) or the Letter of James. Listen and you'll be amazed at what God says to you through these human words.

Through it all, our purpose in reading is listening. Because of that, it's okay to begin reading at a place in the Bible where human beings like yourself were listening for God's voice as they faced the very difficulties you are facing now. When you discover the Bible's ability to "scratch" your spiritual "itch," you will be hooked on reading it and soon will find yourself asking, Why did I avoid this book for so long?

Timothy Owing is the entire author of "Hearing God in a Noisy World." To order, go to the online bookpage or call 1-800-747-3016.