I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried to read the Bible through in a year. I’ve had checklist charts with little boxes and even special Bibles with divided and dated readings all laid out for me. But nothing has worked.
Trick for Reading the Bible Consistently
What helped my friend Jim was his portable kitchen timer (which is no longer in the kitchen!). If one of your new year goals is to read the Bible through this year, then simply adopt the “timer before TV” rule that worked for him.
Jim reads for 15 minutes before he will watch the news, watch a weekend game, or turn on a nightly downtime or unwind program.
He started with the New Testament and discovered that with only 15 minutes a day he finished the entire 27 books of the New Testament in about three-and-a-half weeks! Then he was on to the Old Testament.
Benefits of Regular Scripture Reading
Something else happened to Jim in the process. He changed. And he also got more out of the messages he heard at church. Rather than feeling like he was “hearing things for the first time” as the pastor read a passage or verse, Jim reported that he could connect better to the message because the scripture was familiar. He would elbow his wife and say, “I’ve read that.”
Becoming familiar with the Bible makes you a more educated person and brings context to everything from art, literature, history, law, and even advertising, according to the Bible Literacy Project. There seems to be a consensus among both educators and scholars of its value.
My Year to Use Jim’s Trick
Jim’s success has motivated me to try again. So rather than worrying about tracking verses to check off boxes or reading the prescribed number of pages until I come to the little stop symbol (and being preoccupied wondering when it will show up), I will simply read for 15 minutes.
I know I can read until the bell goes off. I know 15 minutes is achievable. I know that 15 minutes will get me to my goal. The Bible is not really that big a book and yet, in 15 minute bites, I can be faithful. And if I prioritize it above TV time, I am making a pretty valuable statement to myself and to my family, as well as to my God.
I’ve made my trip to the dollar store to pick up a kitchen timer that is now by my favorite reading spot. And I feel confident, for the first time really, that I will achieve my goal of reading the Bible all the way through without the annual fizzle.
