So you want to read the Bible, but you don’t know where to start. It can be intimidating…its a BIG book, especially in the world we live in where everything comes in text message length tidbits.
Without a doubt, the greatest thing you can do in life to learn more about who God is and energize your faith in Him is to spend time in God’s word. But so many Christ followers fail simply because they don’t start reading the Bible with a good plan. To help you get started and continue reading God’s word regularly, I want to share some of my favorite reading plans and resources with you today.
When I first became a Christ follower, I made the same fatal mistake so many make…I attempted to start at Genesis and go all the way through. I didn’t know at the time that the Bible is unlike any other book in the world. For example, the Bible was not written in exact chronological order.
If I could go back in time…
If I could go back in time to when I first began following Christ and tell myself how to dive in to God’s word, I would say to read it in this order to begin with:
- John
- Mark
- I John
- II John
- III John
- Genesis
- Luke
- Matthew
- Ephesians
- Galatians
- Romans
- I Corinthians
- II Corinthians
- Psalms
- Proverbs
READING PLANS
Maybe you want to start smaller with a more focused form of reading. If you have the Bible App for your Android Phone or Apple device, they have the best plans built right into the app. Check out my favorites below. NOTE: DO NOT DO ALL OF THESE. PICK ONE AND GET ROLLIN!
- The Essential 100. I love this plan. Its 100 days long and each day focuses you on one of the top 100 essential passages of scripture. The whole Bible is essential and important, but this plan helps you start good by hitting some BIG stuff. You can also click here and download a PDF file of this plan.
- Psalms and Proverbs. This is a simple plan that will get you through ALL of the Psalms and Proverbs in 31 days. A little more intense, but FULL of great wisdom from God’s word. The Psalms and Proverbs are filled with songs, poetry, and writings – expressing true worship, wisdom, love, desperation, and truth. When I am dealing with tough stuff in life, I always run to the Palms or Proverbs.
- The Gospels. This plan helps you read through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in about 30 days and will give you a firm grasp of Jesus’ life and ministry in a short span of time. Powerful stuff!
- The Essential Jesus. This plan takes 100 days and helps you discover who Jesus is and why he is so significant. I love it because it uses both Old and New Testament readings to show us why God sent Jesus, what Jesus taught, how he treated people, why he did miracles, and the meaning of his death, the significance of his resurrection, and what the Bible says about his second coming.
Maybe you are not in to the whole “Bible on you phone” idea. A great place to get going right now is the book of John. Just grab a Bible and open it up! You can even click here and download a 10 days study PDF that will help you go through it step by step.
