Resources

Read Through the Bible in a Year

There are many good plans available for you to follow for reading through the Bible in a year. Most of them are free. Get a Bible App on your phone & it will even read it to you! I have done the Chronological One Year Bible on my Bible App and it was great! I didn’t finish it in a year, but I enjoyed having it read to me. Another place to find bible reading plans is on esv.org.

The most important thing is to take your Bible and read it, praying to the Father that the Spirit will take what all the Scriptures teach about Christ and apply it to your mind and heart and life

A Word About Translations

I read from the ESV and the NIV. I do not have a preference but will comment on one thing. A direct translation by multiple scholars is the Bible translation you should read. Paraphrases can be nice, single person translations may be easier to read and may even help you understand a specific word or passage, but they can be misleading and biassed if not developed from the original languages and scrutinized by many minds.

I read from the ESV because it is a word by word translation so I know it’s accurate.

I read from the NIV, which is a phrase by phrase or thought for thought translation, because it can make awkward passages easier to understand. I also appreciate it’s translation of the Greek New Testament word ἀδελφός (adelphós) as ‘brother and sister’ which is translated as ‘brother’ in the ESV (and other translations). I don’t believe it is adding to the text, as the Greek word itself means ‘a fellow disciple or member of your faith community’. I believe this is more linguistically accurate to the Greek word used.

My Daily Devotional Tool

Devotions

I use a daily devotion with my husband, and you should do that too if you’re married. I read it on my own or with him, as a tool to focus our attention on a lesson for the day. It is not a substitute for other Bible reading. I would encourage you to find something short and easy for you to access so that you have a way to set your heart and mind for the day. Don’t ever use daily devotional web-sites or books or apps as the only way you ever look at scripture. You will not grow in your knowledge of God’s word if you only do devotions and don’t read the Bible.

They also have an App for your phone for easier access.