Reading the Bible the entire way through has been a routine for Peter and me the last three years. There is not a single thing that has changed our lives as much as reading through Scripture as a whole.
God’s Word says this:
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of the soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Reading the Bible will change us. It transforms us and shapes us to be more like Christ.
Here are a few reasons that you should read the Bible through every year:
1.) Reading Scripture all the way through in one year provides a plan. I am always tempted to read my favorite books of the Bible or return to my favorite verses but when we have a set plan to read through God’s Word, you don’t have to guess what will be in your quiet time that day. The guess work is done for you. It will also help you to circle back to those books that you don’t always enjoy. The entirety of God’s Word should be consumed by us, not just what we want to read.
2.) God speaks to us through Scripture. One way that God has chosen to communicate and commune with us is through His Word. When we are meditating on God’s Word daily, He reveals things to us in a unique and personal way. Many times things will jump off the page and right into our hearts. It helps us to have a deeper relationship with our Creator.
3.) It shows us who we are in relation to God and it teaches us much about God’s character and love for us. One of the biggest things I have learned by reading scripture is that God is a holy, just, and loving father. I have also learned that I am a sinner who deserves hell. The most fantastic news is that my loving father has created a way for me to be with Him in eternity instead of giving me what I deserve. When we read through scripture we see who God is and we see how far we come short of His glory and how loving He is to create a way back to Him.
4.) It helps us sin less. Back to the Bible research shows that someone who engages scripture 4 or more times a week looks radically different from the life of someone who does not. I’d encourage you to click on the link and explore some of those research findings. God’s Word really does change and transform us.
We have been reading The Bible all the way through for three years now. We have done this with help from many different resources and I would like to share some of these here with you. This is not an exhaustive list but they truly have been helpful to us in getting started and understanding God’s Word.
1.) This sermon by David Platt outlines how we can approach God’s Word. It is a good starting point for reading the Bible.
2.) The Bible Project This website has so many helpful videos to understanding the Bible. They are about 10 minutes in length and they give an outline of each book of the Bible. We watched these videos this year with the Read Scripture App. It was nice to get an overview of each book of the Bible and general themes of the Bible. It was really well done.
3.) David Platt also has a resource called Secret Church that they put on every year. The first three years focused on intense study of God’s Word and were very helpful to us when going through Scripture.
Secret Church: Survey of the Old Testament
Secret Church: Survey of the New Testament
Secret Church: How to Study the Bible
4.) You Version Bible Reading Plans
You Version App has many different plans to choose from. You can decide how you want to read the Bible in a year.
5.) Well Watered Women Reading Resources
Well Watered Women has a great resources page for help with reading the Bible. You can sign up for an e-mail that has many apps and helpful tools for studying God’s Word.
6.) Right Now Media Book Studies- Right Now Media has so many Bible studies to choose from. Peter and I enjoyed going through different books of the Bible with different pastors on Right Now Media.
Other Resources
1.) The Biggest Story by Kevin Deyoung is a children’s book that tells the Bible in story form. It shows how the Bible is not a disjoint book but one that has one big story. I would highly recommend it for children and adults!
2.) Another way you can get your feet wet in the Bible is to read a Proverb one for each day of a month. There are 31 Proverbs and some months have 31 days in them.
However you feel would best work for you I pray that you would get into God’s Word this year and read it in it’s entirety. I pray that 2020 would be the year that your life is transformed by God through His Word and you see Him more clearly. I know that we can always think of excuses like I am too busy, I am too old to get started, I may not understand it all, etc. but all of those excuses are going to hold you back from unlocking what God has in store for you. It is never too late to get started and we are never going to be Bible experts because our finite minds can’t comprehend all of God, but we should be learning as much as we can and allowing God to transform our lives! Let 2020 be the year that you read through God’s Word.