When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, the study of the bible became one of my ardent devotions and commitments. As a young believer, I read the entire bible from cover-to-cover four times in the first eighteen months of my walk with the Lord. I developed this system which I called the “quarterly bible reading system.” I read the bible beginning at Matthew through Jude in the New Testament, I skipped John and Revelation. My reasons, as a young believer, were: 1) after finishing Luke I could move into his next writing which was the Acts of the Apostles and 2) the Gospel of John, to my knowledge, wrote The Revelation. I then read from Genesis to Malachi in the Old Testament. Finally, I finished the read by reading John and The Revelation. Each quarter I read my large print King James Version bible, I used a different color pen to underline texts that stood out to me. Sometimes when I came back to a passage I didn’t understand in prior readings, it would come clearer. I would spend hours reading entire books.

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After those initial seasons of the quarter reading system, I changed to reading five chapters from Genesis to Malachi (something from the Old Testament) and five chapters from Matthew thru Revelation (something from the New Testament).  I also read five Psalms and one Proverb based on the date of the month. My reasoning was that there were 150 Psalms (five per day) and there are 31 Proverbs which could be read “one-a-day” for the date of the month.  Give or take a few adjustments, I read the books of Psalms and Proverbs at least twelve times per year.

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In 1997, I began using the  One Year Bible (Tyndale) as my daily study bible. I was inspired by  Bishop John Richard Bryant, the Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He used this and still does today. I enjoyed the New International Version (NIV) for years and now use the New Living Translation (NLT). This read has become a part of my daily devotional time with the Lord. I look daily to hear what the Lord will say to me. My preparation time for teaching and preaching is at a different time. This is my “me time” with the Lord.

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In 1998, when I was assigned to pastor my first church in Dallas, I began to share my daily, sometimes quite personal, insight from what I had read. I shared with congregants and friends what the Lord shared with me to help my life. Those I shared with were blessed by what I read and discovered. To facilitate my sharing I began using electronic mail to share my daily thoughts. I remember that email address ffmi@msn.com from which I shared daily what I called “From The Pastor’s Heart.”

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Now, many years later, I am blessed to share some inspiration, edification and enlightenment for thousands around the world on a daily basis. Monday thru Friday – I share, generally, one scripture and one thought about that text. It’s a quick, yet thought-provoking and edifying word. Now in this new season in the ministry, I invite you to share with me as I walk thru the bible each year.

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