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Have you read through the entire Bible?
By Pastor John Carroll | December 27, 2006
Have you read through the entire Bible? About the time I finished High School, I got the idea that I should read through the Bible as part of becoming an educated man. I sat down and calculated the number of chapters in the entire Bible and discovered that if I read a chapter a day I could finish in about 3 years. So with an unmistakably proud desire to improve myself, I began to read every day, beginning with Genesis in my King James Version.
Before I was halfway through, God had brought some believers into my life who shared the gospel with me both in word and deed. On a November afternoon in my second year of college I became painfully aware of how spiritually lost and headed for hell I was, daily Bible reading notwithstanding. I called on the Lord and He reached down to me and drew me out of the pit.
Naturally I didn’t stop reading the Bible but rather read it with new eyes and heart. Instead of reading to check off a duty on my do-list, I read with hunger to know God better. I read early in the morning before class as I prepared for the day. My experience was similar to that of Jeremiah: “Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16 ESV).
Someone challenged me to read through the Bible, not in three years, but in one year. I picked up the pace and for most of the years since then I have read through the Bible on an annual basis. There are a number of “plans” by which to do this. Here are some:
- The simplest annual Bible reading plan is to begin in Genesis on January 1 (or whenever you begin) and read 3 chapters a day and 5 on Sunday. That should get you to Revelation 21 by about December 31 (or 12 months after you begin). This can be tough going for those who are reading the Bible through for the first time when you reach books like Leviticus. However, you can subscribe to this plan on line at http://bibleplan.org/ and apparently receive a daily email to help you keep going.
- There is a morning and evening plan for reading through the Bible. It has you start on January 1 in Genesis in the morning and in Matthew in the evening. This has the advantage of giving you some time in the Old and New Testaments each day. Even if the Old Testament reading seems tedious then the New will not be. I have used this plan several times and it is a good one. This plan is available on line at The Heartlight website.
- Discipleship Journal publishes several Bible reading plans. One that I have used has you read in four places each day. You begin in Genesis, Psalms, Matthew and Acts. This plan gives you a daily reading diet containing Old and New Testament, historical books, poetic or prophetic books, the gospels and the epistles. It also has the flexibility of assigning only 25 readings a month, so you have 5 or 6 days each month to catch up if you get behind (and who doesn’t?). You can find this plan and others by going to the NavPress website.
- Bible software programs. This past year I discovered that my Bible software (Logos) has a feature which allows me to design my own Bible reading plan. I got a late start on my annual reading but was able to design a program which allowed me to begin on January 7, read in the Old and New Testaments each day and have only five assignments a week so that I had a built in “catch up” feature. I am scheduled to complete my readings on Friday, December 29.
Whatever plan you use, it is important for everyone who would grow in faith to be taking in God’s Word on an on-going basis. Lane Joffrion’s post on this website entitled “What is faith? Do you have it?” provides great motivation for beginning or continuing this practice. I hope you will make it your goal to read through the Bible in 2007.
Topics: Bible, Christian Life |
January 21st, 2007 at 7:55 am
Two thoughts:
1. I have found that if I read 2-3 pages a day (in any translation or size of print) I can read the Bible in a year. This approach allows me to be responsive to the Holy Spirit as I finish one book and start on the next.
2. I read the Bible aloud to my wife in 12-13 months. This was an exciting time for both of us. i recommend it as a concept.
Bob
February 2nd, 2007 at 10:36 am
Thanks, Bob. Those are helpful suggestions. My wife and I often listen to the Bible on MP3 when traveling, too. It seems like different things stand out when you hear the Bible read than when you read it. A friend told me he is listening and reading at the same time. The ESV website provides both the text and MP3 files with Max MacLean reading. (Sorry for the delay in responding.)