Practical Steps for Reading Your Bible
Yay! You’ve joined us in our 2023 challenge to get in God’s Word DAILY, consistently. We are SO PROUD of you! We trust God to do a mighty work in your heart this year as you prioritize time with Him.
Short backstory: I (Jennifer) grew up in church, left, and returned in 2013. When I returned to church as an adult, I realized I had no idea how to read my Bible. I dutifully followed the advice of a pastor by reading Romans. And then . . . I was clueless. I read my Bible when prompted in Bible studies, but not daily nor consistently. I had a good stretch of reading Scripture when I was on bedrest in 2014, but that habit ceased when my youngest was born and life resumed. Every now and again I would attempt to read it from start to finish, but y’all let’s be real for a minute: Leviticus is HARD. In 2019, I got serious about reading through God’s entire Word.
That’s also the year I fell in love with Scripture.
THIS is why I am so passionate about women getting in the Word. I’ve experienced a transformation and the Bible is hands down my favorite book. Really. I read a lot, but it’s my favorite.
What I’m going to suggest is not radical, but it can have a radical effect in your life. Full disclosure: 2023 may not be the year for you. It may take reading through the Bible a few times before the words cleave to your heart and soul. That’s okay!
So here’s how you do it: You START.
I know, I know. I just blew your mind. I’ll give you a second to recover.
Yes, you start. You grab your dusty ol’ physical Bible (your phone has too many distractions!) and turn to the four most magical words: “In the beginning, God . . .” (Genesis 1:1). You commit to persevering when it gets hard: read the chronologies (the more familiar I become with the whole story, the more I love these), read the rules and regulations, read the blueprints for the tabernacle. Read when it seems redundant. Read even if your heart isn’t in it that day. I mean, even Mother Teresa had to fake it to make it at times. Give yourself grace if you miss a day or two . . . but don’t give yourself the grace to quit.
Some people believe you should start your day in God’s Word. And that is a GREAT goal. If that’s your time, then do it. However, I believe you must find a time of day when you won’t be interrupted and are fully ready to read. Maybe it’s morning, maybe lunchtime, maybe before bed (although this would put me to sleep). Find what works for YOU, and commit. What works for Jane doesn’t work for everyone, and that’s okay. It takes less than 20 minutes each day to read through the Bible in a year.
Yes, you are busy. I get it. Here’s a hard truth: if you are too busy to open your Bible, I promise you are busy doing things God maybe didn’t intend for you to do. How do I know this? I was the girl who had time to post and scroll social media, but didn’t have time for God. When you want to do it, you will find the time.
Find the time.
Get an accountability partner. Commit to doing this together, and talk to them. Don’t have one? Hit me up – I’ll be yours. I’ll text you every day until you block me making sure that you are getting in God’s Word!
Finally, here are some resources that I’ve used and loved. They’ve been a guide and helped me to stay on task.
Pray through the Bible In a Year — This book has a plan for reading Scripture every day, and she includes a prayer each day. There is also room to journal your thoughts or write out a prayer of your own.
The Bible Study by Zach Windahl — This is a year-long Bible study that will help you understand some important themes of each book. Some weeks are more intense than others, as he takes you through a book of the Bible each week. This is intense for some of the bigger major prophets, but then you have weeks where you read two minor prophets and it takes a day. He also has a few questions with each book to help you comprehend what you’ve read.
The Bible In a Year Podcast — This podcast is a true blessing. I completed this in 2022 and I cannot recommend it enough. Some days I followed along in my Bible, but a lot of days I listened to this podcast while I walked my dog. Father Mike Schmitz does a fantastic job of reading Scripture and pulling out lessons. This is a Catholic podcast, so he covers the 73 books in the Catholic Bible (the Protestant Bible has 66), but this is a fantastic tool for anyone of any denomination. He will explain the Catholic reasoning behind certain beliefs when it comes up (such as why they have 73 versus 66 books) but never in an antagonistic way. His commentary was so helpful and I plan to listen to do this again in the future.
Picking and choosing what to read in Scripture is a strategy I encourage you to steer clear of, especially for the course of a year. Reading the Bible chronologically gives us a bigger, better view of the whole redemption story. I learned recently the Old Testament is a shadow of the New Testament. You can’t read one without the other; they go together like PB&J. There are so many lessons to glean from the Israelites in the Old Testament. Even though it is harder to read, it’s so worth it. Even Leviticus. Y’all, I don’t think you can truly appreciate the work of the Cross without reading Leviticus.
Blessings,
From God Not Her