Two things that kept me from reading the Bible – and what changed my tune

Guilt and Frustration

I thought I should read it, then felt guilty when I didn’t. I would try, but I’d get frustrated. I didn’t understand what I was reading. I couldn’t find anything. When the pastor or Bible teacher said, “Open your Bibles to…  (fill in the book),” I couldn’t find it and felt stupid. That’s a lot of self-condemning for something that’s supposed to be life-giving.

If I was doing homework for a Bible study, I would get frustrated when I had to look up a bunch of Bible verses. I didn’t know if something was in the Old Testament or the New Testament. I especially dreaded having to look up a bunch of scriptures in different places of the Bible. It suddenly made just looking up one passage more palatable.

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

Everything changed when I taught a children’s choir. I sort of fell into the role, but I believe it was God’s plan for me. There’s a good chance it’s why I’m writing about the Bible now.

I teach violin and I sang in choirs and was asked to lead the children’s choir. The third graders were getting their Bibles that year. After singing various seasonal songs in November and December, I thought it might be fun to have the kids learn songs that taught them the books of the Bible.

Wee Sing Bible Songs (children’s songs) has the best songs for learning the books of the Bible – “Books of the Old Testament” and “Books of the New Testament.”

Over the course of a few weeks, the children memorized both songs. On the big day, one of the third graders proudly told everyone she was going to read Habakkuk. That’s an Old Testament Minor Prophet in case you were wondering.

To this day when I look for a specific book of the Bible, I hear those songs in my head faithfully guiding me.

Do What Works

I’m sure there are other songs out there which are more hip or contemporary. These happen to be the ones that helped me find those elusive Bible books. Pick the melody that aids your search. You may soon find this method of scripture search is music to your ears.