The beginning of a new year is a good time to start a new, healthy habit. Daily Bible Reading is as good a habit as any, so here are some helpful tips in starting and maintaining daily Scripture reading.
Three Tips to Get Started Consistently Reading God’s Word
1. Make a Plan
It’s always good when you’re setting out to start a new habit, or revive an old one, to make a plan. Like the old saying, “If you fail to plan you plan to fail.” Jesus said it like this in Luke 14:28:
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?” Luke 14:28 (NIV)
Jesus was talking about considering the cost of discipleship, but the principle applies to starting a new, godly habit. If you’re going to be successful, you’ll want to make a plan.
We’re talking about starting the habit of reading God’s Word, daily, so you need to plan the medium you want to read. A physical Bible? On your computer? A phone or tablet app?
Plan that. Download the app. Get a new Bible.
Then, choose how you’re going to read it. Are you simply going to read from Genesis to Revelation? Are you going to use a Bible Reading Plan?
A simple plan is what I call the 3/5 plan. Read three chapters a day and five on Sundays, you’ll read through the Bible in a year.
Another way to do it is count the number of pages in your Bible. Mine has 1,042. If I divide that by 365 I get 2.85 pages per day. Well, it’s hard to figure out the 0.85 pages, so read three pages a day and you’ll get through it in a less than a year.
Here are a couple of resources that are super helpful to keep you on track.
This website is produced by the same people who publish the YouVersion Bible App for your smartphone or tablet. You can sign up for a free account and it will track across all your devices. It’s an incredible gift to Christians around the world. The app has been downloaded onto 455 Million unique devices around the world. There are dozens of English translations, there are dozens of different reading plans.
I highly, highly recommend you check out this app and website. It’s great! I thank God for the folks at Life Church out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for sharing these wonderful resources.
Another website and app that I find helpful:
This is a wonderful site that also has free apps for your smartphone and tablet. It follows the Daily Office Lectionary and daily prayers from the new Book of Common Prayer, the 2019 version produced for the Anglican Church in North America. I’ve used the Daily Office Lectionary for many, many years for my daily devotions and Bible Reading. It’s the pattern John Wesley followed. I figured if it was good enough for him, it’s good enough for me. The Daily Office offers a one-year cycle of readings that can be adapted to a two-year cycle. In one cycle, the Old Testament is read once each year (with a few short passages left out here and there). The Gospels, Acts, and Epistles are read in their entirety twice in a year and the Revelation of John is read once. The Psalms are read on a thirty or sixty day cycle according to your preference. For millennia, the Psalms have provided the backbone of prayer for the people of God. When you pray with the Psalms, you’re in good company.
However you choose to plan to read the Bible, let me encourage you to plan to read the whole Bible with a systematic approach. You want a plan that takes you through the entirety of the Scripture in a set amount of time, whether that’s ninety days, one year, two years, or three years. Whatever you choose to do, choose to take in the whole counsel of God.
Here are a couple of other things that will help you build this new habit: A. Choose a time of day and keep it consistent. B. Choose a place and keep it consistent. When I first started reading the Bible seriously, I read it at night, right before bed. Some people find early mornings work best. If you have small children and home, you might have to get creative. But keeping a consistent time and place will go miles toward helping you build a habit that sticks.
2. Share Your Plan
You don’t need to announce it to the world, but an accountability partner or small group can be a helpful way to keep on track. Invite them to hold you accountable to your plan. This is a big, important step in your spiritual maturity, don’t keep it to yourself. Share your plan with someone. If you’re married, your spouse can help remind you. They might even start to see the change God brings about in your heart and life because you’re giving him the opportunity to produce the fruit of discipleship in your life.
“Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17 (CSB)
Almost anything you do in life that’s going to improve your life requires the assistance of others. Accountability is one of the bedrock principles of Methodism because it works. Share your plan. It will help you keep on track.
3. Work Your Plan
This is the Nike step. Just do it. As they say, “Plan your work and work your plan.” In the words of that great philosopher-poet, Larry the Cable Guy, “Git ‘r done.”
When’s the next best time to start reading your Bible? Right now. Today. Make your plan. Share your plan. Work your plan. Those words aren’t going to read themselves.
What do you do when you forget to read or you don’t prioritize it one day? The temptation is to beat yourself up and quit. Do not do that! Nearly every person starting to read the Bible daily will find that this new habit begins with fits and starts. It’s not easy to develop a new, healthy habit. But it’s worth it. You won’t be perfect. You’ll have a bad day here and there. You’re going to be tempted to quit. This is the one personal spiritual discipline, yes it’s a discipline, that will make the biggest difference in your life. Regular, systematic, Bible intake combined with faithful worship attendance are huge keys to building spiritual maturity. The Devil does not want you to do it. He’ll throw up every road block he can imagine to keep you from experiencing the fruit of discipleship in your life. Just remember: God is with you!
“No temptation has seized you that isn’t common for people. But God is faithful. He won’t allow you to be tempted beyond your abilities. Instead, with the temptation, God will also supply a way out so that you will be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (CEB)
Reading the Bible’s like learning how to ride a bicycle. You’re going to fall off. Get right back on and give it another shot. You’ll be so thankful you did and this new holy habit will position you to experience the kind of flourishing, Spirit-led, grace-filled life you’ve always wanted to live.
Make your plan. Share your plan. Work your plan.
Hang in there. Don’t give up if you miss a day here and there. You’ll reap the rewards God wants to produce in your life if you’ll be faithful in reading your Bible.
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