The Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) has urged Christians to cultivate the habit of reading the Bible daily.
Pastor Samuel Sanusi, General Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the society, made the appeal on Sunday in Lagos at a news conference to mark the opening of the 20th edition of its Marathon Bible Reading (MBR).
The theme for the 2022 edition of the Marathon Bible Reading is “The Word is God.”
“We encourage people to imbibe the culture of reading the Bible daily.
“You can imagine what will happen if Nigerians read their Bibles daily, inculcate biblical virtues and live according to the will of God.
“No doubt, God will be pleased with our country.
“I, therefore, want to use this medium to call on Nigerians to return to God by reading and obeying His Word.
“If we do this, corruption and other social ills prevalent in the country will be minimal,” Sanusi said.
According to the CEO, Marathon Bible Reading is one of the ways to help people engage with the Word of God, which also achieves a part of the mission statement of the society.
He said that MBR was an annual, weeklong, non-competitive Bible reading that allowed participants to read the Bible in any language of their choice uninterrupted for five days.
Sanusi said that the programme was designed to stimulate the dying culture of reading the Bible and encourages people to read the Word of God for their blessing and growth.
“Marathon Bible Reading traces its roots to the book of Nehemiah where the Priest Ezra summoned the children of Israel before the Water Gate and read the Book of the Law to the assembly from early morning until midday.
“This years’ edition takes off on Monday, Sept. 5, in 93 different reading centers across Lagos state.
“Interestingly, this programme will hold simultaneously in 117 additional centers in 18 other states of the country.
“The states are: Nasarawa, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Borno, Yobe, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Taraba, Kogi, Kwara, Ogbomoso, Imo, Edo, Abia, and Abuja.”
The climax of the conference was a marathon reading of the Bible in five different languages.
Certificates of participation were presented to five of the readers by the society.
The CEO expressed gratitude to the parishioners and Priest of Williams Memorial Methodist Church, Ebute-Meta, for allowing the society to use the church for the opening ceremony.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bible Society of Nigeria is a nondenominational organization vested with the translation, distribution and publication of the Bible.
The society makes the word of God affordable and available for people to read.(NAN)