Greetings, evangelical sisters and brothers!

The ability to read and write, more than a human ability, should be seen as a kind of gift, an opportunity given by God so that we can absorb the knowledge both from men and from His word, which comes from the biblical texts. We cannot underestimate this ability, nor have prejudice against our sisters and brothers who, as a consequence of a hard life, have not had the opportunity to become literate.

Bible reading is necessary, as often as possible, at times when one can do it calmly and consciously, seeking to reflect on the word of God, on the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and all the holy books. It is not enough just to look at the words and read them, it is necessary to go to meet Jesus Christ in the Bible.

For this, all the prophets of God and Jesus Christ left a very generous inheritance: their experience is not expressed in secret codes, nor does it require a great capacity for interpretation in order to be understood. Although, in the case of Jesus, the parable is the main way of transmitting the word of God, these parables can be read together with the example of Jesus' own life, narrated by his Apostles in the New Testament.

In other words, reading the Bible is easy, insofar as the conduct of Jesus and the prophets and what messages they wanted to pass on are clear and evident. The word of God is explicit, clear, evident, but at the same time it demands that the reader live the truth of the Gospel in his day-to-day attitudes.

For this very reason, the attitude of sitting down every day and reading the Bible is perhaps one of the great virtues of the evangelical Christian. Biblical knowledge is a patrimony of the evangelical people and for this very reason it must be taken care of responsibly. 

We, evangelicals, must take care that the exercise of reading the Bible does not happen with the intention of reinforcing dogmas, prejudices or interpretations far from the experience of Jesus, but that it is an exercise of life, of manifestation of faith in Christ and in his teachings.

Another important point to practice daily Bible reading is to recognize the physical limitations of the reader. Thus, a person who cannot see well because of a congenital or acquired visual impairment must look for adapted Bibles so that he can understand the word of God in its entirety, either through larger fonts or even Braille Bibles, already available on the market.

Similarly, those who are still in the literacy process or have impaired literacy, such as people living in remote rural areas or children, should be introduced to a Bible that avoids second person plural language. Bibles that abuse the you, you are, etc. contain the same divine word as those that sought to be translated into easy Portuguese.

On the other hand, unfortunately, there are Bibles with alterations, often published by churches or associations that are not identified with our evangelical faith. These Bibles can confuse us by including texts that our faith does not recognize as coming from the legitimate word of God. Look for Bibles recommended by your pastor and sisters and brothers in Christ.

The sacredness of the Bible should, by itself, be enough attraction for every Evangelical to want to read it daily. However, God wanted the Bible to be not only sacred, but also pleasant to read. The experiences of the men and women described there, who built the Christian faith, are beautiful, inspiring, wonderful. Once the challenges of interpretation and reading have been overcome, you, the evangelical, will be able to feel, just by reading the sacred book, the excitement and happiness that fills your heart in the services.

Ah, and in case reading is difficult because of your daily tasks, don't be discouraged, there are many options of applications that provide biblical content, as well as many bibles already in audiobook, so that you can read daily in the car or in the transport on the way home or to work.

Read the Bible, live the Bible, and whenever possible, do it daily. Not only because God wanted us to do so, but mainly because it will enhance our lives significantly.