Check This Out!

Monique is back reading again! She grew up hiding under her covers with a flashlight and an enjoyable book (like The Boxcar Children!) long after her dad warned her to go to sleep. All during our dating years and early years of marriage she was always reading little paperback romance novels or something by Danielle Steel. I was never at a loss for book ideas for her on special occasions like her birthday or our anniversary.

Use Your Local Library! It's Free!!

Of late, she is back at our local library, most Saturday mornings, checking out a stack of books for her week’s reading. Recently, I was tickled to see that there was a half-dozen boys’ and girls’ bicycles parked (with helmets attached!) at the front bike rack. Monique reported to me the number of hugs those kid-readers gave to their “favorite retired sub” as she was checking out!

I did not grow up with an appreciation for reading. My parents were task-oriented and “doers” by personality type, but not readers. My childhood days were full of outdoor activities with friends that included sports, exploring open spaces and wooded areas in the summers and sledding and fort building in the winter snow. I was never bored, but I just never learned to sit still long enough to read a book.

It wasn’t until I was well into my middle-adult years that I discovered joy in leisure reading of criminal suspense, action-adventure, and legal-based novels. I began reading everything by Michael Connelly and John Grisham. I later added J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series of wizardry fantasy to my regular reading repertoire. I was hooked on reading for the first time! Since those years I have built quite a library of diverse readings using my Kindle app.

One especially inspiring recent read I can recommend is entitled, Theo of Golden, by Allen Levi. I offer no spoilers but hope that more will be inspired by the examples of kindness and service that stirred me throughout that book. Do you prefer to read a hardback or paperback book from the library or bookstore? Or, like me, do you read on screens from a tablet or mobile device? (There are only about 9% of us who read e-books!)

It is well-storied that Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president, used to read as a young boy by candlelight on a cabin dirt floor near the flickering light of a fireplace. He was self-educated with borrowed books that would carry him on adventures to places and people in the Bible, history, or fables. He had little formal education, but his love of reading gave him a wealth of knowledge. Reading informed his writing, speech, and stimulated his imagination. Reading books equipped him to become a lawyer, statesman, and one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States!

I tell our grandchildren, if you can read, you can learn anything! I thank God that my seminary studies at the masters and doctoral levels put me in classes and seminars where professors were used by God to benevolently require me to learn the biblical languages and to study the Old and New Testaments, as well as the disciplines of church history, biblical backgrounds, philosophy of religion, systematic theology, missiology, Christian ethics, and the practices of church ministry. My required reading included multiple books totaling two thousand pages for each course!

In the gospel of Luke, we get a glimpse into the childhood of Jesus. Two times there are summary verses of His development, “And the child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.” (Luke 2:40, 52, NIV). This was the response of the teachers in the Temple when He was only twelve years old. “Everyone who heard Him was amazed at His understanding and His answers.” (Luke 2:47). Even as a boy, Jesus knew the Scriptures. He read them and memorized them!

It is expected that every Christian will read the Bible. The Bereans were exemplary in Bible reading and “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11). Paul charged his mentee, Timothy, regarding the value of reading God’s Word. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16).

How is your Bible reading plan going as we near the mid-year mark of 2026?

Bible Reading: Get Shaped  Smart Dogs  Reading Aloud

Mike Keppler, retired pastor,
active churchman and
doting grandparent.
Contact: drmjkeppler@gmail.com
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