161
T h e
K i n g ’ s ' B u s i n e s s
April 1932
C^j3ible (Pleading Q t t e t U iLai BLESSES By CHESTER E. SHULER Newport, Pa.
“ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psa. 119:11).
S ome one has said that the Bible is “ the most bepraised and the least beread book in the world.” And it is certain that it is not being “ beread” in our Sunday-schools as it should be if our young folk are to know its truths. ere is a plan which was tried thoroughly in a small city school some time ago. It met with even more success than its sponsors had hoped for, and resulted in a better knowledge of God’s blessed Book than had ever been known there before. Inasmuch as a bird’s-eye view of the Bible is essential before one can begin to study efficiently the deeper truths, this plan is especially helpful in securing that knowledge. At least, it proved so in the school where it was tried— and today, after several years, its beneficial effects are still present among those who faithfully followed the plan. The system is best begun at the beginning of a year, or at the opening of a “ quarter:” However, the first of any month will do. The main thing is to get it started, for God will bless it in a marvelous manner after it has been begun in earnest. In the school of which we write, it was begun January 1. The plan was made known several Sundays before the end o f the previous year. The first of the new year fell on a Saturday, and there were great things to report the next morning in Sunday-school! Each person was urged to begin reading at Genesis 1 :1 on the first day of the year and to read straight through the Bible, as rapidly as possible, to the end of Revelation. Rapid reading was stressed. An individual record was kept in the class book, or in a blank book especially ruled for the purpose. The record was read to the class at the close of the lesson. The total number of chapters read was placed on the class black board. The grand total read by the entire school was recorded on the general bulletin board, where every one could see. This created and maintained more interest than the attendance or the offering figures. But that was not all. It was felt that some additional incentive would be helpful, so it was decided to present an. attractively printed cer tificate to each person who read through the Bible that year. On this certificate was provided space for seven stars. It was thought that it
would hardly be possible to read through the Book more than seven times in one year. And when the seven stars had been secured, a new certificate could be issued. These cer tificates were signed by the pastor of the church and the superintendent of the Sunday-school. Spaces were also provided for the dates on which the various readings were completed. An announcement was made that an honor roll would be provided, on which would be placed, in their proper order, the names of all who read through God’s: Book dur ing that year. The first to finish would be recorded as “ No. 1,” the second as “ No. 2,” and so on. The date each finished reading was also shown. This honor roll was posted in the Sunday-school room where it could be ob served and examined by any one interested. O f course this plan will not “work miracles” in a school. But it will help to promote more Bible reading in any school or other organization where it is given an honest trial. Naturally enough, like any other plan, it must be helped along with plenty of enthusiasm on the part of the superintendent, the pastor, and the teachers. Some surprising results were had during the initial year of the plan’s trial. A general interest in Bible study was inspired—and it reached much farther than mere reading. * The first person to read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation accomplished the feat in twenty-eight days. He was a working man, too, who could read only evenings and during the noon hour. A sick man read it through in twenty-five days the first time, and in twenty days the second. A mother with four children and the cares of a household finished in forty- nine days—perhaps the most outstanding accomplishment,
when all the circumstances were considered. Three months after this plan was placed in operation, eighteen souls were saved for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Living Word, and taken into church fellowship in that church. No one doubted that much credit was due the Bible reading, because all these young people had been reading the Word assiduously^—which they probably would not have been doing, had the plan not been operative. And God does bless this plan.
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