How long should I spend reading the Bible?

Members of The Salvation Army (Salvationists) firmly declare that we are people of the Bible: “the living Word of the living God.” Consider this self-reflective question: “Are we truly faithful Bible-reading Christians?” Next, we may ask ourselves this practical inquiry: “How long should I spend reading the Bible?” There is no standard method of spending time reading the Bible, except the principal advice to engage God’s Word. Before starting the day or even during any moment of the day, find the best time and place for meditating on God’s Word and reading the Bible with a prayerful heart. Through this spiritual discipline, God will speak to us—perhaps in a still, small voice.

The founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth, committed himself to read four chapters of the Bible daily after having a conversion experience at age 20. Catherine Booth, “the Mother of The Salvation Army,” was a woman of one book—the Bible. She had read the Bible eight times by the time she was 12. Samuel Brengle, known as the “teacher of Holiness,” testified, “For about 60 years I have been reading the Bible, and for nearly 50, I have been reading it through regularly, steadily, consecutively, year after year. When I finish Revelation, I turn back to Genesis and begin over again, and day-by-day, read my chapter or chapters with close and prayerful attention, and never without blessing.”

It is my hope and prayer that Brengle’s testimony will be your own joyful testimony and commitment to become a faithful Bible-reading and Bible-living Christian. In “The Soul-Winner’s Secret,” Brengle testifies, “Personally, for years, I have given the best hour of the day to the Bible, and now I want it more than I want my food.”

Major Young Kim
Nyack, New York

“The hardest thing to do when losing the battle to something like pornography is to tell on yourself.”

I’m struggling with pornography and I can’t tell anyone. What should I do?

The simple answer: tell someone! The hardest thing to do when losing the battle to something like pornography is to tell on yourself. I have struggled with the allure of forbidden sex for most of my life. I gave in, threw in the towel, waved the white flag and succumbed to its draw. Then, to make matters worse, I believed the lie that because of what I was doing, I was broken—that something was inherently wrong with me.

In sharing with others, I was able to discover two truths. First, what I do is not my identity; I am not broken or bad, but instead, what I did was. It doesn’t make up who I am. And second, I was not alone or unique. I was not the only one to face this struggle, and I am not the only one to give in to its temptation over and over again. God loves you and nothing you do or say can change that. He’s there waiting, arms outstretched to catch you in a bear hug and welcome you home.

Lieutenant Mark Devanney
Ogdensburg, New York

The Salvation Army is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church.

An officer in The Salvation Army is an ordained minister of Christian faith. They dedicate their lives, skills and service completely to God. Submit your question to an officer at peermag.org/contribute