Here’s a post that discusses why you should read the Bible and how to read it through a year.

During this time of the year we commonly hear of “New Year’s resolution”. It is when we make a commitment that we will start doing something at the start of the year, January 1. Many of us probably have made New Year’s resolution at least once in our lives.

Do you know the most common New Year’s resolution? According to Time Magazine, the following are the top 10 most common New Year’s resolution:

10. Drink less
11. Volunteer
12. Be less stressed
13. Travel to new places
14. Spend more time with family
15. Get out of debt and save money
16. Eat healthier and diet
17. Learn something new
18. Quit smoking
19. Lose weight and get fit

This is a good list of New Year’s resolution that you might want to try. All the items listed in this post is good. However, what if I can tell you a New Year’s resolution that will change your life forever? This New Year’s resolution will not just benefit your life today, but also tomorrow, the next week, month, year, and even in the life to come.

In this post, I strongly beseech, convince, and persuade you with every ounce of my being to make this as your New Year’s resolution. I am talking about reading the Bible through a year.

Why read the Bible?

Throughout the history of man, the Bible has consistently been the world’s best-selling book. According to Guinness World Records, it is estimated that there have been over 5 Billion copies of the Bible printed. To have an idea how big that number is, consider the next best-selling book. It is the “Little Red Book”, a collection of the Quotations of Mao Zedong, 800 million worldwide. That’s according to Huffington Post. The same figure can be said about the Quran.

There is no doubt that the Bible is the best-selling book. But how many of us really read the Bible? And if we read it, how often do we do it?

President Quincy, the sixth President of the United States of America, once said:

“So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens to their country and respectable members of the society”.

Abraham Lincoln, 16^th president and revered to be the one greatest presidents of the US, said this:

“I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from The Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book”.

Let’s see what the Bible says about God’s word. II Timothy 3:16 tells us:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

The Bible is the living word of God. According to Paul, it is the given by the inspiration of God and if you look into the Greek word of this passage, it simply says, the scripture is divinely breathed by God! The same breath that give the life to the first human beings!

Imagine, the Creator of this vast universe, the Supreme Being who possesses all power, majesty and infinite wisdom, the God who gave us life made His WORD available to us through the Bible.

It is through the Bible that God communicates with us and it is only when we start reading this book that we gain access to the crucial knowledge and wisdom that will positively impact our lives.

Every time you read the Bible, you are reading the VERY WORD OF GOD. In effect, you are reading the MIND OF GOD! How awesome and terrific would that be? Do you now see the magnitude and the importance of reading the Bible?

Our daily spiritual bread

Remember what Yahshua or Jesus said when He was tempted by the devil to turn the stone into bread?

He boldly told the devil, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

We eat food everyday so that we can have the energy and strength to make it through the day. Without food, we can easily become hungry and weak, irritated, and have difficulty to concentrate and do our activities. Without consuming food within a few weeks, we will eventually die.

Now think of that with your spiritual life. Jesus said that we shall not live by bread alone – meaning eating physical food will not be sufficient for us. We need to take in spiritual food for us to be spiritually strong! Just like skipping a meal, we can easily be tossed to and fro without consuming our daily dose of spiritual food, which is the word of God.

Jesus Christ teaches us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Though this might obviously refer to our daily sustenance, it is also proper for us to think that we need to have our daily consumption of spiritual food – and you only get the food when you READ the Bible.

Read the whole Bible

If there is only one book in this world that you and I ought to read, from cover to cover, that would be the BIBLE.

It is the book full of wisdom and practical knowledge on how to live this life. With this book, you will be able to build a closer and more intimate relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Undoubtedly, it takes time, effort and motivation to stick with our commitment. Thus, I suggest that making it our goal to read the whole Bible within a year will give us the structure and the inspiration to stick with our reading program.

There are many sources where you can find a guide on how you can systematically assign scripture to be read each day of the year. Here’s one example.

Staying committed with our goal

Reading the Bible within a year is a big and serious endeavor. The Bible is not like other books that you can simply throw away when you don’t feel like reading it anymore. Therefore, it is crucial that you gain the motivation to really read the chapters assigned to that particular day.

There is no doubt that there will be many distractions that will come our way throughout the year. These distractions will easily detract us away from our commitment. Therefore, you need the help of God. Pray to God and ask Him to give you the strength and inspiration to really read the Bible.

Not only that, don’t read the Bible just for the sake of reading it. Read the Bible with the intent of understanding and living a life inspired by the word of God.

When Moses died, God spoke to Joshua and said these words:

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8

There is power in the word of God and you can only experience it when you read the Book. After a year of reading the Bible, I can confidently tell you that you can consider this as one of your GREATEST achievements in life. Yes, it might be difficult, but when you finally come to December 31, you can look back and realize… that it’s all worth it. 🙂