5 Bible Reading Strategies I Love and Recommend
It’s been years since I started Bible reading and really began enjoying it. I’d say my zeal for reading Scripture is evidence that Christ is at work in me. That I’m growing to be more like Him. That my faith is maturing.
Don’t read this wrong. In no way am I trying to brag about being a great and diligent Bible reader. There are seasons that are harder than others. But usually reading is something I find pleasure in doing. Believe me, there are plenty of areas in my faith walk that are in need of improvement.
And here’s something weird about me liking Bible reading so much. I am really not much of a reader. I’m a listener. I like audiobooks, podcasts, and talk radio. Those kinds of things. When I was a kid my parents had a grand collection of those read-along-books that came with cassette tapes. I remember sitting in front of our large stereo system, looking at the pictures while the narrator did the hard work of actually reading. Oh, and joy of joys when I got my very own Teddy Ruxpin for Christmas! A talking teddy bear that read aloud. Yes please!! Really when I graduated from books with pictures to books with chapters the appeal was pretty much lost on me.
I really consider my date of Salvation to be sometime around age 13. (Shame on me for not knowing the exact day.) After that I had more interest in reading the Bible. But I still preferred to use the children’s NIV my church had given me at age 7. Basically because it had a few pictures in it that I could look at.
Eventually, I did graduate to a Bible (and other books) without pictures. First a teen Bible. Then a more adult version. My love for reading grew and grew. And years later when I discovered commentaries and interlinear resources I was a full-fledged Bible geek. I’m a curious kitten by nature. Those resources, while not adding to the Word, definitely helped answer questions that would pop in my mind. They gave me a better understanding of culture at the time the Bible was written. I have grown to understand the overall timeline of Scripture and see its bigger picture.
Maybe my most favorite part of Bible reading is that it never gets old, tired or boring. I can read and reread the same passage and the Holy Spirit still has new things to teach me. I’m giddy just writing this. I kind of want to stop and go pick up my Bible instead of sitting at the computer. I’ll finish what I started here though.
Gushing aside. I really didn’t mean to sit down to tell you how great I am at Bible reading. Or how much I love it.
I sat down because I know you may not be as big of a geek as me. Which is totally fine, and even preferable in many circumstances. If you struggle with reading, or getting excited about reading, here are some plans that I know and love. I hope they’ll help you out. The Word is so sweet and I just know if you stick with it, if your interest can be piqued, you’ll soon have cravings for it. Cravings even stronger than my cravings for Culver’s butter burgers and custard. (Anybody with me there??)
Let’s go.
Chronological
The first time I read the Bible in chronological order my whole understanding of Scripture was rocked. In a good way. The Bible is a very unique book. It’s put together in an order that makes sense. But that order is not what we modern Westerners are used to. Instead of being laid out in order, the books are grouped by genre. This means books of the law are together. Books of poetry are together. Books of history are together and books containing letters are together. You get the idea.
Also you might have noticed the Bible is looooong! Like longer than Gone With The Wind. (Which is the longest book I think I’ve ever read.) There’s a lot of information. And hundreds and hundreds of years are covered.
Reading through in chronological order helped me understand the “big picture” of the Bible. It also helped me make sense of the Old Testament. Which, by the way, is now one of my favorite things to study.
One of the really cool things about reading this way is that many of the Psalms are fit into to the “story line” where scholars believe they would have been written. This gave me a new understanding of David and how to pour my heart out to God.
Links to Chronological Bible Read Plans
I like this plan so much I created my own chronological Bible Reading Strategy through it a few years ago. (With Derek’s help.) Now you can have it too! Just click here or go to the tools page. FREE! ***Now, I need you to know this guide is NOT, daily reading. It’s just a list of chapters to read, in order. I’m never good at staying on those daily reading plans. So I just work through it at my own pace, reading some each day.****
If you prefer a daily chronological schedule I’ve got that too. This is a one year plan from Blue Letter Bible. (Which by the way is my go-to study site/app!)
The other explanations won’t be this long! Promise.
3 Month Challenge
For those of you who are ambitious Bible reading challenge. Two summers ago a friend said she was reading the entire Bible in the course of three months. YES. THREE MONTHS. I decided to try it too. Annnd, I fell just a bit behind, but finished in about 3 months, 3 weeks.
The great thing about this was that I got a great overview of the Bible as a whole. I tend to forget some things if I read over a year (or two). But since this plan was so quick, and had large chunks of reading each day I was able to retain the story. This really gave me good insight into the “main points” of the Bible.
Now, before you write this off as too much or too scary, just listen. We’ve already discussed that I’m not the best “text” reader. So, I actually listened to most days reading. I was doing this challenge while working on the Kautzmann’s house. Every day I’d listen to the daily reading. It took about 20 minutes. Most days I’d listen to it 2-3 times. And it really didn’t cramp my style or interfere with work. If you’ve got a commute, you could be doing this on your drive in and your drive home. If you go to the gym you could listen on the treadmill. The possibilities are endless.
If you like reading the actual book it’s still doable. Most days the actual reading would take just about the same amount of time for me to work through. Maybe slightly longer because I’m a slow reader. The point is, you can do it.
Links to 3-Month/90 Day Bible Reading Plans
Here is a printable, chronological plan complete with check boxes.
Bible Study Tools has a “straight through” plan. You can get that here.
Bible Gateway offers a “straight through” version that brings up the daily reading in the app or site. From there you can choose to read, or hear the audio. And you can opt to have reminders sent to you. Make sure the calendar is set to January first to get your first day’s reading.
The Proverbs
If you are trying to make Bible reading a habit, the Proverbs can be a great place to start. There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. There are usually 31 days in the month. Just read one chapter per day. Because the Proverbs are not narrative, you can start anywhere. Whatever the date, start with that chapter. If you miss a day, don’t worry. Just start again with the chapter that matches the date. Proverbs is a collection of practical wisdom. It’s useful Scripture and this simple practice can get you in the habit of getting in the Word. It’s also simple enough that you can easily add this practice to another reading plan you are working on.
Acts and The Epistles
First of all, “epistle” is a fancy word for “letter.” This refers to letters in the New Testament written to new churches. Books like Galatians, Romans, and 1, 2, and 3 John are epistles.
This Bible reading plan takes you through the years after Christ ascended to heaven. It puts the events in Acts in order with letters to churches. It’s also got cool bonuses for geeks like me, including a timeline of the year with each reading, links to maps, and illustrations. Although it’s not broken down into “daily” readings, many are short enough to read in one sitting. You can see the plan from Blue Letter Bible right here.
Thematic Reading
I’ve gone through seasons when I just wanted to know what the Bible said about a specific topic. Anxiety/fear was one. What God is like as a Father was another. What the Bible had to say about using foul language was another. Maybe this is where you are. If that’s the case, I highly recommend popping over to Bible.com. They’ve got a HUGE selection of thematic reading plans. They vary in length, so I’m sure you’ll find you like.
3-Day Kick Start
Oh, and if you are wanting a boot in the booty to get you hyped, I HIGHLY recommend getting my 3-day Bible Reading Kick Start. It’ll come straight to your inbox. (I won’t spam you, pinky swear and your email address will be safe with me.) You can go through it solo, or with a friend. Up to you. It’s designed to get you excited about the Word and I really hope you like it!
Tomorrow I’ll be sharing my favorite ways to plant Scripture in your heart. Ways to make sure I’m not only being a hearer of the Word, but a doer also. (See James 1:22.)
Amy
