“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living,”—2 Timothy 3:16 (GNT)

Happy 2024!

God’s desire is for us to have an open and teachable heart. When a teacher makes an assignment, they give you directions on how to complete it. You are taught the necessary material to complete the task. God is our teacher. He is going to give us the tools to complete His plans for us. Rather than rely on my limited wisdom on what lies ahead of me, I need to be depending on my loving Father to guide me through His Word.

If you are like me and your mind can easily wander during your Bible reading time, try reading the passage out loud. It helps me take in the details. I also will go to Biblehub.com and look at different Bible translations. It can help me better understand what that scripture is saying. A study Bible can also be beneficial in comprehension. It has footnotes which can help with those difficult reads. It also has a synopsis before each book of the Bible for better understanding.

It is a misconception that reading the Bible takes too much time. One way to try and discipline yourself is by starting with 5 minutes a day. I think you will find; your heart will soon desire more time than that. Pick a time that you know you will be able to do it. Personally, if I did this at bedtime, I know I would fall asleep. Morning is best for me, but it may not be for you.

If you can dedicate 15 minutes a day, finding a Bible reading plan that has a corresponding podcast, is very helpful as well. The Bible is the voice of God in print. It is written for EVERYONE. It is called the Living Word. It lives in us. It convicts, inspires, comforts and changes us.

Reading the Bible helps me to experience God in a different way. I see Him at work not just in the Bible, but in me and in our world. The more time I spend in God’s Word, the more I desire to live and love like Jesus.

If I don’t dig into His Word, the Holy Spirit isn’t able to bring me new insight or mature my faith. This will be my fifth year to read the Bible cover-to-cover. I am going to be honest, the last few weeks were hard to do with the holidays. By the end there is a part of me that says, “maybe you take a break next year and just make sure you stay in the Word.”

I know me. A short break can turn into a long break. I need structure. Committing to some kind of yearly Bible reading plan is the only way I will pick up my Bible every day to read it. The first one I did, which I loved was the Bible Recap..

The 2nd year, I tried one where you read both the Old Testament and New Testament each day. I really prefer the chronological one. My 3rd year I went back to the Bible Recap. This year I tried a new one by The Daily Grace co. called, Eden to Eternity; The Chronological Story of Scripture. This year, they are doing a New Testament reading plan.

For 2024, I think I found one that might better suit me. It is called the Bible Reading Coach hosted by Karl Vaters I chose this one because rather than have a daily podcast that corresponds with my reading, he does one for the week. It is up to me how I want to break up what I read each day.

According to his website, If you've ever tried, but failed to read through the Bible, help is here! This weekly podcast will guide you from Genesis to Revelation. There is also a downloadable printable outline in weekly and daily formats as well as transcripts from each podcast.

I thought about maybe doing a 6-month Bible reading plan because I plan on signing up in the fall for Bible Study Fellowship. It will start at the end of August.  They will be studying the book of Revelation for their study next year. It will be pretty intensive. If I am able to manage doing both, I will. I know God will carve out the time for me, if it His will.

If you haven’t ever done a one year Bible reading plan, I would encourage you to try it for 2024. There are so many out there to choose. If you have the YouVersion app, you can search all of the different ones to see which one suits you the best. Maybe start out with a one week plan and work your way up to longer ones?

Father God,

Open my eyes to learn scripture as I study it. Help me to understand what You are saying to me.  Forgive me when I rush through my Bible reading. Thank You for the Holy Spirit which enables me to process what scripture says. Strengthen me through Your Word. Bring it to life for me and speak to my heart through it. May 2024 be a year of expanding my knowledge of who You are. I pray these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

January Verse

“It is truly wonderful when the people of God live together in peace.”—Psalm 133:1 (CEV)
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