Guidance for Reading through the Bible in a Year

What follows is an email that I sent out to the group of people who are journeying with me through the Bible this year. I am copying it up here because there may be some who are not on the emailing list I have, and I thought I’d share it. If you want to be on my emailing list for Through the Bible 2011, please drop me an email at this address:

Through the Bible 2011
“Teach me, Lord, the way of Your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.” (Psalm 119:33)

Thank you all for signing up to read through the Bible with me this coming year. I am really looking forward to all that God has for us on this journey. I know that our dedication to read the Bible will be both challenging and rewarding.

BIG PICTURE
We must remember that the big picture of this endeavor is to know God more and be transformed through His word.  God is not very interested in us simply checking off that we have read all 66 books in roughly 365 days. He wants to meet with us as we read and reflect on the Scripture readings each day. He wants us to be changed to be more like Jesus in our daily thoughts, words, and activities.

PRACTICAL TIPS
I’ve heard from a lot of people that they’ve tried reading through the Bible in a year before and didn’t finish it. That’s happened to me, too, so I wanted to share four tip that may help us all finish well:

• Regular time & place: Having a regular time and place where you will do your Bible reading is helpful. It provides a steady routine for this endeavor. Think through when and where you will do your Bible reading.
• Divide up the readings: You may want to do some readings in the morning, some at midday, or some before bed at night. This makes it easier to complete all the readings in the day without having to slog through all of them at once.
• Read with someone: Reading with a friend or spouse not only keeps you accountable to someone, it is also a great way to think or pray through what you have read with another.
• Listen to It: If you have time in the car or while working out, you may want to listen to some of your readings on CD or mp3. This allows you to take in God’s word through your ears and not just your eyes.
• Focus on one: I was encouraged to hear that John Stott, a great Christian thinker, read through the Bible annually, but usually only picked one reading per day to dwell on in greater depth. I have found it helpful to do the same, choosing one reading a day – maybe one entire book, like the Gospel of Matthew to start – that I will think and pray through, while simply reading straight through the others each day.

IF YOU FALL BEHIND
If you fall behind in your readings, don’t give up! Here are some things you can do:

• Add one extra reading per day until you catch up
• Set aside an extended time one night or on the weekend to read a longer stretch
• Start at the current day’s and agree with yourself to finish the other readings you missed at another time

PRAYER
In all of this, pray. Pray that God would help you be disciplined. Pray that God would help you hear from Him as you read. Pray that God would transform you to be more like Jesus. And pray all of those things for the others who are reading each day as well.