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Bible reading is a little bit like weight loss, if you could pay someone to get the benefits from it, you probably would. Many people start off reading the Bible with excitement, but discouragement can set in. Most of us aren’t great readers, to begin with. And when we do read books, we usually aren’t reaching for ones that are 1,200 pages long and 2,000 years old! Our motivation for reading the Bible is that God is trying to speak to us through it. And that conviction alone is enough to get you started. But there are three ingredients that I've found to be important in helping someone maintain a regular habit of daily Bible reading. Let me share them with you.
1. A Plan
People say that a lack of a plan is actually just a plan to fail. There are many great plans for Bible reading.
Discovery: One of the easiest plans is called "Discovery," by Scripture Union. By subscribing, you get a free e-mail every day with a section to read from the Bible, a short reflection on the passage and a question to help you apply it. You can learn more at the following link and subscribe to get started. https://scriptureunion.org/featured-resources/
The Bible Project: If you've never read through the Bible in a year, I'd encourage you to try. It will give you a great overview of God's message and take you to passages you wouldn't otherwise read. The Bible Project helps you to do this with a list of daily readings and short video overviews of themes and books of the Bible which are visually stunning and theologically rich. You can sign up for daily e-mails at the following link (https://thebibleproject.com/) or get the "Read Scripture" app which comes with the ESV text and videos built right in (http://www.readscripture.org/).
SOAP Method: Reading through large portions of Scripture can be very rewarding, but sometimes people complain that they read, and nothing seems to stick. The SOAP method has you taking a chapter of the Bible a day (which you choose) and then reflecting on the meaning and application in four steps: Scripture, observation, application and prayer. Find out more here: https://soapstudy.net/
2. Answers
Once people start reading the Bible, they inevitably have questions. What does that word mean? What is it talking about? What's the take-away? When people can't answer these kinds of questions, they often get frustrated and are tempted to give up. At that point, having a good Study Bible can make a huge difference. There are many good ones available, but there are two that I recommend the most.
The ESV Study Bible: It provides brief notes and insights on every key verse in the Bible and answers most of the questions you will ask as you read with reliable answers from top scholars.
The Gospel Transformation Study Bible: Instead of providing details on individual verses, it helps you to see the big picture of chapters of individual passages and helps you see how they fit into the overall message of the Bible.
The only problem with a study Bible, whichever one you choose, is the size! That's what makes electronic apps like Olive Tree (https://www.olivetree.com/) so helpful. The app is free but if you purchase a study Bible on it, you can use it across all of your devices and carry it wherever you go.
3. People
The final ingredient in a healthy habit of daily Bible reading is other people. In fact, the Canadian Bible Engagement Survey concluded that the single most important factor in determining whether people will read the Bible consistently or not is whether or not they have conversations about the Bible outside of worship services. Like most areas of the Christian life, Bible reading is tough to do alone. Our life groups at Grace are places where we encourage each other in our personal reading and often that encouragement is just what we need to carry on when we're tempted to give up.
I'm convinced that there's nothing that will help you grow more than daily time in God's Word.
God bless,
Paul
