Why Read the Bible In A Year

1. For His glory
2. For our good

Right up front, those are the biggest reasons we should commit ourselves to reading the Bible, to reading it daily, and to reading all of it. But there's more than that.

Praise God, because he has told us even more clearly several specific reasons. Let's take a look!

Read it daily as long as you live. That way you will learn to fear the Lord your God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent you from becoming proud and acting as if you are above your fellow citizens. It will also prevent you from turning away from these commands in the smallest way.

Introduction

Whether you count yourself as an unbeliever, a new believer, or an experienced believer, I am confident you generally strive to do things which are good for you and to avoid things which are unhealthy or unhelpful. I suggest to you that there is nothing better you can do for your own health than to commit to daily reading of the Scriptures because they are given to us for our own good, because they are useful to us, because they bring us joy, and because they refine, train, and prepare us for living life.

Below I will explain all of this. In separate posts I will offer guidance and resources for how you can successfully adopt this practice for yourself and share with you the plan which helped me develop the discipline of daily devotion has a lifestyle, a habit, a way of life — and I invite you to join me in it!

Outline

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You might very well wonder why people even bother to read the Bible at all. I take as a starting point that we agree that the Bible can be trusted. And since we agree that we can trust the Bible, I will highlight passages that make it clear why we should read the Scriptures ourselves, not merely relying on what we heard from others or learned as children.

(If you do not share that assumption, please humor me while you read, as that debate is outside the scope of this piece. Consider resources from Answers in Genesis addressing that topic, such as their Pocket Guide, The Bible: How do we know it can be trusted? (view PDF or order a copy).)

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Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.

God explained through the prophet Moses that obedience to his commands is for our own good.

And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day.

And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

Selfish as it may seem, that we do something for our own good, this isn't the only time God uses our natural human self-interest as a way of explaining things to us—see Ephesians 5:28-29 (View on BibleGateway).

So let's consider one particular command God gave to the men who would become kings among his people.

When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.

God commanded the king to read his scroll because it would make him a better king and he and his descendants would enjoy the rewards over many generations. On the flip side, even the citizens are better off when the king reads the scroll daily — "we the people" ought to desire that our king be committed to these regular readings!

So why read the Bible at all? Because reading the Bible makes us better, brings us blessings, and makes life better for those around us.

But wait, there's more!

The Word of God is not only useful in our meditations and decisions. It is a weapon that we use to battle evil! Know your weapon well!

Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, he defeated each temptation by quoting Scripture. That's the example of how to use the Word as a Sword in battle.

How can we follow Jesus' example if we have not read scripture enough times to quote it? How many movies can we quote? How many songs can we sing by heart? So let us learn Scripture by heart! Let us hide the Word in our heart, as it says in Psalms 119:11 NLT.

I have hidden your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.

And what's more, not merely is Scripture for our own good, and not only is it powerful, but it brings us joy! Consider these passages:

Joyful are people of integrity,
    who follow the instructions of the Lord.
Joyful are those who obey his laws
    and search for him with all their hearts.

Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.

But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
    Sinners will have no place among the godly.
For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
    but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

Oh, how I love your instructions!
    I think about them all day long.
Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
    for they are my constant guide.
Yes, I have more insight than my teachers,
    for I am always thinking of your laws.
I am even wiser than my elders,
    for I have kept your commandments.
I have refused to walk on any evil path,
    so that I may remain obedient to your word.
I haven’t turned away from your regulations,
    for you have taught me well.
How sweet your words taste to me;
    they are sweeter than honey.
Your commandments give me understanding;
    no wonder I hate every false way of life.

So now you see: we want to read the Bible because

• God commanded us to obey his commands, and regular reading helps us obey them
• Obeying the commands results in our own good, and blessings follow for us, our descendents, and those around us
• The Word is a weapon for us to use in spiritual battle, so we must know it well
• We experience joy and bear fruit when we obey and when we meditate on His words
• The commandments we read and obey give us understanding and guide us in life decisions

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Let me re-visit a passage I quoted above and draw your attention to a portion you might have missed.

When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.

So it isn't merely reading the scroll just once which provides all those benefits, rather it is the regular reading, daily as long as we live, which yields the benefits.

This also is the basis for my decision to read the entire Bible every year for the rest of my life. The mentor who taught me this also modeled it for me by reading the entire Bible annually for over 42 years, and counting.... Now that's a high-score worthy of striving to match!

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For this, too, we turn to the Scriptures. After all, why should we lean on our own understanding now?

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

So we must be sure that we read "All Scripture" since it is all useful to us.

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
    and a light for my path.

You may notice that my profession is to serve people who desire confidence in their finances and are striving to build wealth. While I would be honored to serve you in that area, I know this area of your life is so much more important than your finances.

Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.

My local friends know how I encourage so many people to join us at the YMCA in the mornings, yet a devotion to daily reading of Scripture is even more important than physical training.

Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.

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Now that we know why we should read the Bible, ALL of it, and daily as long as we live… now what?

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I invite and implore you directly: make it your own priority to spend time reading scripture daily.

And if it is a priority, that may mean that you have to rearrange your entire daily routine. That's what "priority" means!

And rearranging your life to set something apart as most important (or "holy") is exactly what we should do for something as vital to our own good, for something as powerful, for something as joyful, as useful, as our daily devotion to God by reading his Word.

Ready? Let's do this!

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I am writing a couple separate posts with more details on how I do this.

Until then, here's the summary:

• Review your regular daily routing (and if you don't have one, this is the kick in the pants for you to establish one) and locate the time each day you will devote to this purpose.
• Mentally accept that it will take you practice to stick to this as a new habit, and it may include trying a couple different options.
• Pick a daily reading plan and pick how you will read, whether digitally or on paper (see my resources here)
• Ask another real-world person to do it with you to keep you accountable

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The more that you pursue real-world connection with others who share your dedication to the discipline of daily scripture reading, the more likely you are to find opportunities to attend Bible study groups. It is natural to begin to consider any reading for the study group discussion as meeting the role of daily reading. If you would take my advice: do not consider it as such.

Group study meetings are often rescheduled, delayed, skipped, or missed, and that irregularity flies in the face of the "regular reading" we strive to perform. The consistency of our devotion is important, and substituting the reading for your Bible study in place of the daily reading of your reading plan will lead you to inconsistency.

Instead, you should look to expand your daily reading time to include the additional reading for your study group (it's often only weekly, anyway). Stick to your plan.

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These three things will enable you to develop the discipline of daily devotion to scripture reading. They worked for me, and they'll work for you.

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Don't just open the Bible and read whatever page comes up.

I use a plan which progresses through the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament in parallel, which I describe as a "windshield wiper" method because it begins on January 1st in Genesis 1 and Matthew 1 and moves left to right, ending on Decemnber 31st in Malachi and Revelation 22. You can get a daily reminder of the day's reading on my blog or on Facebook, or download a printable version to keep with your Bible, or even ask me to send you a free set of bookmarks on my Bible In A Year page.

Whether you choose to use the same plan I use or prefer a chronological reading plan or some other plan, your key to success is that you must set about your task with a plan already in your pocket.

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Practice reading every day. In the beginning, don't worry about "catching up" when you miss a day… you'll get there, though.

To establish any new habit takes consistency over time. Accountability helps. Guilt doesn't. Any resources you find about how to establish new habits will be useful in this effort, too, such as the concepts in James Clear's book Atomic Habits.

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Invite another person to read the plan with you, and check in with each other. It works just like when you invite a friend to the gym with you: some days one of you won't want to let the other down, and other days vice versa. Give your friend a copy of the plan you are using. It sounds cheesy, but it really is wonderful to talk with others who are reading the same passages each day that you read and to exchange with one another what you learn.

If you've struggled in your personal walk with Christ to live out the Great Commission, to go into all the world and make disciples, then you may find that what begins as mere accountability can become a way that you fulfill that commission.