Anna Moore

I’m sure I’m the only person who has ever said this: the Bible is intimidating. It’s long. It’s confusing at times. It uses some weird language and phrases. It combines multiple genres of writing. It was written thousands of years ago in a different cultural time. It’s boring at times. The laws! The genealogies! Etc. Etc.

It’s hard. I totally get it.

But, without turning to the Bible, how can we submit to God? If we really want to make Him and His kingdom a top priority, or rather, THE top priority, we have to study His Word. This is how we have access to Him. This is where we can hear from Him anytime we want or need.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:4-5 ESV

If you don’t know where to start with the Bible, I highly recommend the beginning. Genesis. At the beginning of every year, churches, ministries, ministers, etc. often encourage the “read the Bible in a year” reading plan – or some variety of that. Why do they do that? Because it’s so good to read the entire Bible.

What’s the benefit from reading the entire Bible? There are multiple! You make a daily habit of reading God’s Word. You can see the full story from creation, fall, redemption and restoration. You can see what you need to spend more time studying. You can see how books are similar or different from one another. You can see recurring themes, phrases and promises throughout the Bible. And so much more! No matter how many times you’ve read through it or studied different books within it, reading the Bible in its entirety in a year or two offers new insight and perspectives every time.

And if you think the Old Testament is not as important as the New Testament, or you think the OT does not apply to you or relate to us in today’s society…I’d highly encourage you to read it all the more. Learn about how the universe was created. Learn about where you came from. Learn about how sin entered the world (you don’t have to read very far in the Bible to find that!) and how it damaged our relationship with the Lord. Learn how again and again and again and again God’s people prove they need a savior and not a human king/judge/prophet/priest (Again, sin messes things up). Learn about God’s promises. Learn about God’s wrath (yes, even that). Learn about the freedom that comes with following God’s commands and how we as humans complicate that. Learn about the people God used to fulfill His plans. Learn about Jesus’ path to being born.

RESOURCE | I love this article by Melissa Kruger from The Gospel Coalition explaining reasons to read the Bible in a year. She says, “Standing up close to an impressionist painting gives you one view of the master’s work – the intricacies of design, the vibrant colors, and the individual brush marks. However, backing away from the painting allows you to see the picture in its entirety. Just as we need both perspectives to be able to appreciate a painting to its fullest, we need both types of views as we read our Bibles.”

Here’s my experience reading the entire Bible so far

In 2019, I really wanted to read through the Bible from start to finish. I had this ambition to read it alongside the chapter devotionals in the First Five App from Proverbs 31 Ministries (I would recommend that app if you’re new to studying God’s word, by the way). So I started where all the read-the-Bible-in-a-year reading plans start: Genesis.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Okay. I’ve got this.

I’ve started Genesis more times that I can think of, but this time I figured using a resource alongside the Bible itself could help me understand what I just read, making it somewhat easier.

Somewhere around mid-Exodus, I started feeling burnout. Reading one chapter a day with the devotional was exhausting and was going to take FOREVER to get through the whole Bible this way. I mean, there are 66 books in the Bible, and I’m about halfway through the second one. One year may not be long enough.

I can’t remember if it was after I finished Exodus or Leviticus, but I eventually stopped using the devotionals and just read the Word by itself. This helped speed up the process some, but I wasn’t reading every day and before I knew it, the year was ending.

I started 2020 in Joshua. I got a free prayer calendar from the Daily Grace Co. with something I had purchased and inside it had a reading plan for the whole Bible in 2020. I gave myself grace in January and decided to try to finish the Bible that year. Since the plan started with Genesis and I was already in Joshua, I was technically two months ahead of the plan. This gave me some confidence. 🙂

I ended up finishing the Bible in 2020 and making it all the way through the plan, finishing Revelation on Dec. 31. Were there days when I did not read? Yes. Did I ever get behind on the plan? Yes. But I gave myself grace to get caught up on the weekends or sometime when I had some time to catch up.

Whether you read the whole Bible in one year, two years or five years, just try it and do your best the stick with it. I definitely advise using a plan so you can have something to guide you and figure out how much to read each day, or week, or however you are doing it.

After you’ve read the entire Bible at least one time, you can go back to study a book or passage you didn’t quite understand the first time through and go deeper. This is where I’m at now and am looking forward to deeper Bible study in 2021.

Here are some Bible reading plans if you need somewhere to start

• Book Order Bible Reading Plan
• Chronological Bible Reading Plan: Bible | YouVersion | Print Out
• Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan
• Five-Day-A-Week Bible Reading Plan
• Read the Bible in Two Years Plan
• A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace Podcast

I pray you will consider making daily Bible reading a habit, regardless of the plan or strategy you take. If you don’t get through it in a year, or you miss a day or two or 12, give yourself grace and pick up where you left off. The goal is to just do it. Make it a routine. Make it a priority. You will be all the more grateful once you reach the end. And after that, hopefully you’ll have that routine established and you will want to dive back in.

Updated Jan. 1, 2022