I received a copy of this book from Crossway to review. All opinions are my own. 

The Bible is an epic story that tells us how God made the world and why we are here. He tells us that his son Jesus died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead and for this reason we can live with him in heaven forever. God is always good, all the time and his written Word is truthful and worthy of our complete confidence.

Here are 3 tips that I hope will encourage you to start a Bible reading plan on of your own. I am also sharing this to keep myself accountable in 2019! And remember, it is never too late to start reading :).

Don’t Stress, Just Read

Don’t stress so much about what plan you are reading just make sure you are reading. It can be easy to get hung up on finding the perfect reading plan but really at the end of the day what is most important isn’t what plan you used to read your Bible but that you actually read it. It might be easier to start in the Gospel’s or maybe you want to start in Genesis. Once you have determined where you are starting commit to finishing. This goal is worthy to pursue and the truth that will be spoken into your life and that you will be able to speak into the lives of others by reading the Bible is life giving and life changing.

For reference the following is how I have read the Bible different ways over the last 3 years.

• New Testament to Old Testament. Start in Matthew and end in Malachi.
• The Bible Project Reading Plan (Click HERE for PDF version)
• Reading God’s Story: A Daily Chronological Bible

Use The Same Bible All Year

This upcoming year I plan to do something I have never done before. I am going to start with a clean copy of the Bible that I can take with me while on the go, that has wide margins for note taking, and one that isn’t super expensive. I plan to take notes on what I am learning or circle passages I want to investigate more at a later time. In 2019 I am going to be using the ESV Story of Redemption Bible. I appreciate the reader friendly typesetting and wider margin space in this Bible and I am excited to see what the inside of this Bible looks like at the end of the year.

Give Yourself Some Grace

If you miss a day, it is ok. Pick up where you left off and jump back into your reading. Things are going to happen from week to week where you might not be able to read your Bible. It is ok to miss a few days here and there just don’t let it derail you. It might be helpful to have an accountability partner who can check in with you and listen to what you are learning as well as encourage you to continue reading.

Along with this, it is ok if you don’t understand everything you are reading. Try your best to hang with those passages. If something really doesn’t make sense schedule a visit with your pastor, I am sure they would love to help you dissect a passage of scripture that you need help understanding. Don’t skip the genealogies because over time the more read the Bible you might just start to recognize a few of the names in those long lists.

I have learned so much from reading the entire Bible. 2018 was my third consecutive year reading the Bible cover to cover. Here are my brief overviews of the major takeaways I have learned each year if you are interested: 2016, 2017, and 2018.