Mere Missions

58 • M ere M issions : M oving F orward to M ultiply

This daily discipline allows you to read through the Bible at least once a year. Less than 15% of Christians have read through the Bible, the Story of God. As people of The Story, I would think we would want to immerse ourselves in the Story like the man that evangelist Robert L. Sumner talks about in his book, The Wonders of the Word of God . A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. The victim’s face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters, and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had “read” through the entire Bible four times. Last of all this discipline opens the door to hear from the Holy Spirit as one meditates upon the daily reading of the Scriptures. b. Engage in book reading. Our book readings are specifically related to the theme we are focusing on during the liturgical year. The book readings are not for the purpose of gaining knowledge as an end but a means to strengthen and encourage our part in