Sunday, May 14, 2023

How to Read the Whole Bible for the First Time

 

The Bible can be intimidating if you've never read something like it before. It's very long, and some of its texts are more easily understood—or misunderstood!—than others.

It's become a cliché that many who attempt to read the Bible straight through crash out around Leviticus.

I recommend the following sequence of biblical books for your first read-through:

  1. Mark. The shortest account of the life of Jesus (New Testament).

  2. Genesis. The first book of instruction, which is the account of origins (Old Testament).

  3. John and Matthew. The last of account of the life of Jesus and then another that is more similar to Mark (NT).

  4. Luke and Acts. A two-part account, first of Jesus's life and then of how God founded his church (NT).

  5. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The other books of instruction, which are the account of how God founded his nation, Israel (OT).

  6. Hebrews. A letter to the church about how the instruction relates to Jesus (NT).

  7. Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. The history God's nation, Israel, and stories of people who played a part in it (OT).

  8. Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Letters to the church about how Jesus helps us (NT).

  9. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Wisdom about how to deal with evil and suffering (OT).

  10. 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Letters to the church about the end times and life together (NT).

  11. Song of Songs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations. A love poem and then longer writings warning and encouraging Israel along with some accounts of visions from God (OT).

  12. James, 1 & 2 Peter, and Jude. Letters to the church about how to follow Jesus (NT).

  13. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Shorter writings warning and encouraging Israel along with some accounts of visions from God (OT).

  14. 1, 2 & 3 John. Letters to the church about God's love (NT).

  15. Ezekiel and Daniel. Accounts of visions about God's plans for history and the end times along with some stories about how to deal with powerful people (OT).

  16. Revelation. A letter warning and encouraging the church along with accounts of visions about God's plans for history and the end times (NT).

Tips:

  1. Set a consistent time for reading the Bible every day and set up reminders for yourself.

  2. Plan to read for a minimum of five to ten minutes at a time and increase it as your attention span grows.

  3. Pray before you start; ask God's Spirit to help you find something that lets you know Jesus better.

  4. The Bible rewards a lifetime of reading, so don't try to understand everything the first time.

  5. When you feel like you don't understand all of what you're reading, keep reading until you find something you do understand.

  6. If you get bored with what you are reading, you can either pray and try again, skim ahead until you find something more interesting, or stop and come back to it tomorrow.

  7. If you feel like you understood less than half of what you read or didn't understand anything at all, ask someone more experienced to help you with its meaning.

  8. Wondering What Bible Should I Read? See my recommendations here.

    If you want to know How to Use Digital Bibles, click here. 

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