Some people try to read the Word, but they don't have a plan. Their plan is simply to open up their Bibles and read whatever page is in front of them. Occasionally, their eyes will fall on a particular verse and it will be exactly what they needed for the moment. But we should not depend on this type of random reading of God's Word. Once in a while you may just plop open your Bible and there's a word from the Lord, but that's not the "norm." If your reading is planned and systematic, you will gain a better understanding of the context of a passage and come to learn the whole counsel of God rather than just bits and pieces.

Our Sunday morning worship service is planned. We plan the music. The musicians practice regularly so that the Lord may be able to use them more effectively. I study and prepare for what I'm going to teach. I don't just stand up in front of everybody and say to myself, "Okay Lord, give it to me." It doesn't happen that way. We have a plan of studying through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, New Testament on Sundays, Old Testament on Wednesdays. You ought to have a plan for reading the Word, and your plan ought to include a goal to read from Genesis through Revelation, because God wrote it all for us. He didn't want us to leave any of it out.

I used to skip parts in the Old Testament when I got to those long lists of names and genealogies. I would think to myself, "Why in the world did God put that here?" Well, God showed me. He gave me a thought one day, and I know it was from Him. As I was beginning to skip over what I considered a boring and meaningless list of names, He said to me, "Those names don't mean anything to you but they mean a lot to me, because I know every one of them." God showed me how personal He was. Now every time I read them I'm reminded of how personal God is. He knows us, and He knows every person that has ever been created. He's a very personal God.