Reflections on Reading the Bible in a Year
At the very beginning on 2019, I received a new Bible I had asked for as a Christmas gift. I was so excited to receive it, I randomly decided that I would read the entire Bible in a year. As a result, that became one of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2019. I had always wanted to do it but never put my mind to it—or maybe I just did not truly WANT to do it. This past year I felt like it was the right time. As an adult, one thing I’m pretty good at is accomplishing things once I put my mind to it, and I was determined that I would stick the year out and do it, even though I knew some of the readings might be tough to get through. Because of my dedication and desire, I was able to successfully read and finish the entire Bible in a year—and even finished it two days early on December 29th! I am going to share HOW I did it, what I used, and most importantly—what I learned.
THE HOW
I decided that to be most successful, I needed to have a blended reading of both the Old and New Testaments. I knew I would not be able to complete it if I had to read from start to finish or just start in the Old Testament. I used the following plan (which is free) from Back to the Bible: https://www.backtothebible.org/old-old-and-new-testament-reading-p
This plan gave me a daily reading. In the beginning, I was able to pretty much successfully keep up with the daily readings, but as the year went on, it was a challenge for me to do this, especially as work picked up, I started my online teaching, and I needed to work in the yard. What I started to do was try to do one night a week of reading and dedicate one weekend morning to completing my reading for the week. At times, the readings were long, but this was easier for me to do it this way and not get stressed during the week about not reading. I stuck to it and made sure I kept up with it. This is where that mental dedication is required.
I used two Bibles: the one Bible was a coloring Bible with fun stickers and ways to document your notes and thoughts. It kind of reminded me of what would be an Erin Condren Bible! I also used my tried and true Life Application Study Bible that I had for YEARS. This is a great Bible to assist in understanding the readings, as it has great commentary that helps with interpretation as well as putting the readings into the context of the time with daily application for today’s life.
Shop my Bible picks below! I linked up the two I used (the Life Application Study Bible and Zondervan Beautiful Word Coloring Bible), as well as a new Coloring Bible from Tyndale and an Archaeological Study Bible that I would love to have!
WHAT I LEARNED
I have been a Christian for a very long time. I grew up going to church and even went to private Christian schools since second grade, so I was fortunate to have the benefit of a lot of time spent studying the Bible and listening to intensive and very theological teachings that went down to the nitty gritty of studying and where you stood on many theological questions. Because of that, I do admit that I already had a very sound foundation and Biblical background that had matured over many, many years. Although there is always something new to learn, I honestly did not realize the impact that reading the Bible in a year had on me—from my faith, my attitude, and truly, my entire understanding of my faith system that I already thought was sound. This made me even more solidified in my beliefs. Reading the entire Bible in a year allowed me to see the whole entire story and narrative of the Bible, and everything I already knew even made more sense. Some major takeaways I had included:
I felt that I had a better understanding of WHY bad things happen or are allowed to happen. While it is always hard to understand it and can shake us to the core, I truly had the understanding that we live in a fallen, sinful, and imperfect world, and we will always long for things to be perfect and without sadness and tears (and it will someday!).
I started to look at Jesus completely differently! While loving, Jesus made it clear how we are expected to live our life. I also looked at His death and resurrection from a completely different perspective—not something I just took for granted.
I see God’s plan and HIs story developed in the Bible and developing in today’s world.
The Bible is Living! Every single passage I read I was able to apply to some aspect of my life or what I see in today’s world—from my daily living, relationships, family and friends, people I know, our country, globally—it is never outdated and antiquated.
You look at the nature of humans differently. We always expect these large Biblical characters like David or Moses to be perfect. What I ultimately saw were imperfect humans who desired to be better, to be more like God, and to serve Him, even though they made HUGE mistakes and did not live the perfect life. God often chooses the most unexpected person to carry out His important plans, and only God knows the true heart of someone. We cannot forget this as we often judge others, because they might not “fit” the picture of what we THINK a Christian should be.
I discovered Paul’s writings to be my absolute favorite. I think Paul and I are kindred spirits—we think the same, and everything he said, echoed my thought process and beliefs in my head. While some may think Paul’s writings are controversial, and even I used to be offended by some of his writings on women and marriage, that is because they are often misinterpreted and not put into context of the day’s time. Paul actually praised and prayed for women in many leadership roles within the church.
Not only did reading the Bible in a year shape my faith, I also think it is the best literary work of all time.
While I think everyone should have access to a Bible and be able to read it at any time, I think that reading the entire Bible in a year with little Biblical background can be a challenge and hard to get through. If you decide to do it, I absolutely think you should but here are my recommendations to be successful:
In addition to the some of the resources I mentioned above, I would also be sure to seek out any other resources to help in understanding the readings, whether it is commentary, interpretation, or historical/cultural context.
Have an accountability partner or friend who can help answering questions, discuss, or bring about understanding in your reading.
Reading the Bible in a Year was one of the best things I have ever done. It shaped my life, thinking, and gave me a completely different outlook and attitude on life. If you want to learn, read the best literary work of all time, and strengthen your faith, I highly recommend this!
Shop my belt and similar options to my dress (sold out!) below.
