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A small crowd gathered on the Troup County Juvenile Courtroom steps early Wednesday morning to participate in a Bible reading that was simultaneously happening around the state of Georgia. The reading began at approximately 7:14 a.m. on the steps of the Juvenile Courtroom as other counties around the state were preparing to do the reading of their own section of the Bible, Grubbs said.

The 7:14 time was chosen to share significance of Bible verse 2 Chronicles 7:14.

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.”

“I was delighted to see this little group here,” Grubbs said. “I’m so glad Troup County participated in this.

The Bible was divided into 159 sections to be read in Georgia’s 159 counties.

The scripture assigned to Troup County this year was 1 Kings 9-12, which tells the story of certain moments in King Solomon’s life, including a visit from God. 

Including Grubbs, a total of 16 participants took turns reading sections of the passage, some with their own bibles while others had the verse pulled up on their cell phones. The entire reading of the passage took less than 45 minutes.

One participant, Cindy Miller, came in her work scrubs so that she could go straight to work following the reading.

“I think this is something we really need right now,” Miller said.

Grubbs shared a similar sentiment.

“I just think it’s important that people hear the word of the Lord and understand it,” Grubbs said. “You want it to become more than a word, you want it to become an action.”

The Statewide Bible Reading Project was started in Iowa by Dianne Bentley in 2018.  Last year, 16 states and 57 countries participated, Grubbs said in a previous article.