Do you want to read the whole Bible for the first time? Excellent! God’s Word is powerful and can transform your life if you let it.
Before you start reading the Bible
Before you begin, ask yourself the following questions:
- How much time do I have each day to read the Bible? Be honest with yourself and set a reasonable goal.
- How soon do I want to read it? In one year? In two? In three years?
- Why do I want to read it?
If in addition to reading the Bible you want to meditate on what you read, you will need a notebook and pencil or your computer. After reading each passage, answer the following questions:
- What does this passage tell me about God, about Jesus and/or about the Holy Spirit? Write it down.
- Can I explain the passage in my own words? Write down how you would explain it to someone else.
- How can I put into practice what I have read? Set a personal goal.
Bible reading plan in 5 steps
This plan is not focused on reading the Bible at a specific time. The idea is to be able to read the entire Bible in order, but moving forward according to the time you have available each day.
The Bible consists of 66 books and has two main sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is best to start with the Gospels, the first 4 books of the New Testament. This is because those books give us a broad view of Jesus, his ministry, and the work he came to do for mankind.
1. Start with the Gospel of John
The Gospel of John is the fourth book of the New Testament. This book inspires us to put our faith in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior.
It is not a very long book, it has 21 chapters. You can read a chapter each day and you will finish the book in 3 weeks. If your goal is not only to read, but also to meditate and reflect, you can go at a more leisurely pace. For example, read half a chapter or read a certain number of verses each day.
2. Read the other 3 Gospels
Continue with the other Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke. Each one will give you a broader view of Jesus and the ministry he carried out.
Matthew presents Jesus as the Messiah King who had been prophesied and expected by the Jews. frames presents him as the servant of God and men. Luke gives a detailed account of the life and ministry of Jesus. It presents Jesus rejected by the Jews and offering his salvation to all, whether they were Jews or not.
You can read one chapter per day or go at the pace that is easiest for you, always having as a goal to read a portion of the Bible each day.
3. The Acts of the Apostles
After the 4 Gospels, read the book of the Acts of the Apostles. This book serves as a bridge between the life of Jesus and the birth of the Church. You’ll find accounts of Jesus’ last appearances after his resurrection, his ascension, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the growth of the early church.
4. Read the rest of the New Testament
Now you can go on to read the rest of the books of the New Testament, beginning with the Epistle of Paul to the Romans and ending with the Apocalypse. In the apostolic letters (from Romans to Jude) you will find teachings about faith and Christian life. In the book of Revelation you will read about the prophecies and revelation of the end times.
The books of the Bible, a brief summary of each book
5. Read the Old Testament
start with the first book of the bible, genesis. When finished, continue reading the Old Testament books in the order they appear in your Bible. You can read one chapter each day or continue reading according to the rhythm you have established during the reading of the New Testament.
Another way to read the Old Testament is as follows. When you get to Leviticus, you can alternate reading the books with portions of the Psalms and Proverbs. That is, you read a chapter of Leviticus or whatever book you are reading, and a portion of Psalms or Proverbs each day.
There are 150 Psalms and 31 Proverbs. They are two very easy books to understand and can encourage you to continue reading the Bible when combined with more arid reading books such as Leviticus or Numbers.
The truth is that The order in which the Bible is read is a very personal thing.. There are people who prefer to start with Genesis and end with Revelation. This is fine too. If that’s your preference, you can. The important thing is to read the Bible asking God for discernment to understand what we read and courage to put into practice the principles he teaches us.
How to read the whole Bible in one year
If your desire is to read the entire Bible in a year, this goal will require a larger investment of time. On average you should read 4 chapters of the Bible every day.
How to do it? An easy way is to start from Genesis and follow the books of the Bible in order by reading 3 chapters from the corresponding book plus a chapter from Psalms or Proverbs. For example, on the first day you read the first 3 chapters of Genesis and Psalm 1. On the second day you read Genesis 4-6 and Psalm 2. And so on until you finish the entire Bible.
Another way would be to follow the plan proposed above, beginning to read the Bible from the Gospel of John. If you want to follow that order, you would start by reading the first 3 chapters of the Gospel of John and Psalm 1 on the first day. The second day you would read John 4-6 and Psalm 2, etc.
Following this plan you will read the entire Bible in another year you will have read the book of Psalms and Proverbs twice.
You can take advantage and write down in a notebook the verses that impact you the most every day. This can help you in your prayer times and help you remember what you have read later.
To read the Bible in two years
This is a more relaxed version of the one year plan. On average you will read 3 chapters per day: 2 from the book that corresponds to you according to the order you want to follow and a chapter from the book of Psalms or Proverbs.
As in the plan to read the Bible in a year, you can start from Genesis and read all the books of the Bible in the order they appear or start with the New Testament. It’s your decision. The important thing is that you read the Word of God and receive the wisdom that God wants to give you every day.
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