Reading Through the Bible in a Year

With the dawn of other calendar year just hours away, many of us are considering our New Year's Resolutions and how we can better ourselves in the year 2010. Along with the common goals related to weight loss, kicking bad habits, exercise, etc., one goal that some Christians strive for is to actually read through the whole Bible in a year.

As the most widely read and distributed book of all time, the Bible contains all the elements of any popular modern-day book. There is sex, greed, corruption, love, heroism, evil, good and an overarching theme that is better than anything else ever written. I've heard it said that although there are numerous characters and a large chunk of time that passes between beginning and end, there is one common theme of the Bible: It is of God's perfect creation, our rebellion against Him and His plan to redeem us.

As a committed Christian, I read the Bible for guidance, direction, wisdom and encouragement in my faith. I also read it to learn more about the character of the God I serve and those that have gone before me in a shared faith. It was written by a few dozen authors, over several hundred centuries and on multiple continents. Quite simply, it is the best work of literature that I have ever read.

For the past decade I have read through the Bible each year. I take at least 15-20 minutes each and every day to spend time in the Holy Scriptures. Even though it is the same story and I know how it begins and ends, I learn new things each year. It changes me and makes me a better person when I apply what I read and learn.

There are a plethora of reading plans on how to read through the Bible in a year and they're all good. The plan that I use is found at The One Year Bible Online and is very simple. There is a portion from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Psalms and Proverbs for each day and it takes less than the time it takes to watch a sitcom.

Whether you are a Christian seeking to grow in your faith or a seeker that is wanting to learn more about the Scriptures, there are few things that would be as worth your while as spending a quarter of an hour each day to read through the most popular book ever written. It was written thousands of years ago but it is powerful. As the writer of the book of Hebrews said,

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

Why don't you try to read through the Bible this year? I promise you you won't regret it.