by Pastor Patrick Cho

Many people make it a resolution each New Year to read through their Bibles. Perhaps that is your resolution this year. And if you are like most individuals, even now in the month of January, you are already behind. Year after year, this resolution is made, and it seems year after year, the resolution is broken. I wanted to offer some thoughts to help you keep this resolution in 2011.

First, it is helpful to consider some not-so-helpful motives for reading your Bible:

1. Please do not read your Bible because you think that God will do nice things for you if you do. God probably won’t miraculously make that Porsche appear on your driveway just because you read your Bible this year.
2. Please do not read your Bible as if it is a chore that needs to get done. Reading your Bible should rank higher on your list of priorities than doing your dishes or washing your car. If all you are trying to do is to get to the end of the year to be able to say that you did it, that won’t benefit you much.
3. Please do not read your Bible solely to impress an individual of the opposite gender. That is all I’m going to say about that.
4. Please do not read your Bible because you think you are better than others and spiritually superior to them. That was always a pet peeve of mine when someone would ask (looking down their nose at me), “Did you read your Bible today?” just because they had read theirs that day.

I’m sure there are many more not-so-helpful motives for reading your Bible, but these were just a few that came to mind.

So, why should you read your Bible this year? Why put in the effort knowing that it gets difficult once you get past all the narrative sections? Why trudge through the Old Testament Law or Prophets? Why try to make it all the way to Revelation in such a short time? Here are a few reasons:

1. By reading the Bible at that quick of a pace, you will not lose sight of the overall theme of the book. At a church like LBC where we listen to verse by verse exposition, sometimes it is easy to forget overarching themes. We can get so focused on details in the minutia that we miss how those details contribute to the whole message of a book.
2. By reading the Bible in a year, you will see how the drama of the Bible unfolds from book to book. You’ll see how Genesis flows right into Exodus. You’ll see the connection between Deuteronomy and Joshua. You’ll sense the flow of narrative from the Gospels into Acts.
3. By reading the Bible in a year, you’ll see how the different books of the Bible are interrelated. You’ll see the significance of the genealogy of Matthew 1 in light of the promises of the Old Testament. You’ll also see the familiarity of most of the book of Revelation because of what you read in the Old Testament prophets.
4. By reading the Bible in a year, you’ll become familiar with portions of Scripture you’ve never read before. You’ll see exactly how encouraging Habakkuk is as well as how sad Lamentations is. You’ll walk through all the rich themes in the Psalms. Just think, you’ll crack open all the places in the Bible where the pages are still stuck together from the gild.
5. By reading the Bible through each year, you can focus on various themes as you read. Perhaps the first time, you can do a study of the Messiah and focus on all the passages that speak of the coming Christ. Then the next year, you can do a study of God’s attributes. Maybe the year after that, you can study the ugliness of sin in the heart of man. There are so many great themes in the Bible that you will never be able to exhaust them all. In other words, you won’t be able to read through the Bible enough!
6. By reading the Bible in a year, at least in 2011, you will be a doer of the Word and not merely a hearer only by putting your love for God and His truth into practice. You’ll support in your reading your confession of commitment to the Scriptures.

I’m sure there are many other great reasons for reading through the Bible in a year, but these are just a few to motivate you!

Still for most, it’s difficult to practically accomplish this goal. Most people are self-proclaimed non-readers. If this is you, here are some practical tips for reading through the Bible:

1. Remember that you are reading the Bible – God’s Holy Word. Pray before you read that God would help you get the most out of your time in it. Try not to get in the habit of reading just to check off a box. In fact, read deliberately slowly to help ensure you catch the things you might have otherwise missed.
2. Use a Bible reading plan to help you pace yourself. Professor Grant Horner of The Master’s College has a helpful Bible reading program that will walk you through several passages of Scripture from different genres at the same time so that you aren’t just reading the book cover to cover (that way you won’t spend a great number of days only in Leviticus or the Prophets, if this is helpful for you). I have a Bible reading plan that walks you through the books in a more chronological way so you can see the story of the Bible unfold chronologically rather than thematically.
3. Break up the reading if necessary. My Bible has 1328 pages, so dividing that by 365 days, it comes down to a little over 3.6 pages a day. That doesn’t seem like a lot of reading to me, but for some people that is difficult to do in one sitting. If that’s the case for you, read half of it in the morning or midday, and read the rest in the evening.
4. Prioritize your day. You don’t need to do this legalistically, but you can make your Bible reading a priority. One year, I devoted myself not to eat anything until I did my Bible reading for the day. This was easier for me since I do not typically eat breakfast. There were some days where I made an exception, but generally it helped me to be consistent. If you are reading something else (especially if it is not spiritual like the Twilight series or something like it), commit yourself not to read that before reading the Bible.
5. Get accountability. It is often helpful to read together with someone. That way, not only can you hold each other accountable, but you can also share observations you’ve made or lessons you’ve learned. More importantly, you can walk through together how you will apply the Word to your lives. One idea would be to start a private blog together with your accountability partner where you both could record what you learned online.
6. Find an undistracted time to read. This is sometimes the hardest thing to do. You want to read, but you can’t find a quiet minute to do it. For moms (who are typically busier than most), try to read after you put the kids down or while they take their naps. Instead of wasting time on Facebook or surfing the web to “unwind,” pray and read God’s Word.
7. Buy a good reading Bible. It is helpful to purchase a translation that is easy to read but still faithful to the text. I would recommend the ESV translation because of its readability. For the same reason, I would generally discourage reading the KJV. Also, get a Bible that is portable. That way you can take it with you and read whenever it is convenient (e.g. waiting at the DMV, in the bathroom, on the bus, before class begins, on your lunch break, etc.).
8. Remember that practice makes perfect. Many people tell me they are not readers. I typically respond by telling them there is little hope for them to be the men and women God wants them to be unless they develop this discipline. My high school English teacher once told me, “The best writers are often those who hate to write.” Reading, in the same way, is a discipline that can and should be cultivated. Get in the habit of reading and make it part of your daily routine. Before you know it, you won’t remember what life was like without it.
9. Don’t quit. Some people get so far behind in their Bible reading plan that they throw up their arms, give up, and hope for better in the following year. I never really understood this. Why give up? Just pick up where you left off and keep going. Otherwise you will read Genesis every January and never make it to Kings. Just keep reading and whenever you finish, do it all again striving to be more consistent.

These things are written for your benefit and I hope you find it to be helpful. My purpose in writing is to cultivate in you a greater love and appreciation for God’s Word and a greater devotion to Him. Please understand that the majority of what I have written is in principle, not command. There are many ways to help an individual develop a discipline. These are merely some suggestions to help you accomplish your goal of reading the Bible in 2011.