It's been about ten years since I've read through the entire Bible from cover to cover. It's been about five years since I read the entire New Testament through.
Every year, hundreds of Canadian Christians commit to reading the Bible in one year. Hundreds of pastors say they will, too. Far fewer do it.
Maybe it seems to hard, or too long, or we think it will be boring. But there it is, the book upon which all of our faith, doctrine, and practice is based, and many of us go our whole lives without reading the whole thing.
So, this year, I decided that it had been too long, and I was going to do it. But I decided that I didn't want to take a year. In fact, the last time that I read the New Testament through, it only took me about two weeks. I had a paperback copy of the New Testament, about the size of a novel, and I just carried it around with me and read it like I would any book. I didn't know how long it would take, and to be honest, I was shocked at how quickly I was done.
It really isn't as long as you think.
So, since I knew it could be done, I decided at the beginning of the year to read through the New Testament in three weeks.
And it was far from difficult, long, or boring. Quite the opposite. Even with taking notes as I did it, I only had to read for about ninety minutes a day to finish by my goal. Most people spend more than that much time every day just watching TV.
How did I do it?
Well, I started with a reading plan. My Youversion "Holy Bible" app on my personal mobile device led me to a plan called NewThru30, which a very nice church put together for their congregation to read the New Testament together in one month. Great!
Even more great was that the reading plan had ten "grace days", meaning that it actually split the 260 chapters evenly over twenty days. Worked for me, since I wanted twenty-one.
But I don't like splitting up books too much, so I still needed to tweak it a little.
Using their plan as a guide, here's how I planned for twenty-one days through the New Testament:
(Each day I would read up to, and including, the reference listed.)
Matthew 14
Matthew 28
Mark 16
Luke 8
Luke 16
Luke 24
John 10
John 21
Acts 9
Acts 18
Acts 28
Romans 8
Romans 16
1 Corinthians 16
2 Corinthians 13
Ephesians 6
2 Thessalonians 3
Philemon 1
1 Peter 5
Jude 1
Revelation 22
This is far from even, but it got me through without ever having to stop in the middle of a rant by Paul, or a sermon by Jesus. I like complete thoughts. I did have to think ahead to whether the day would be a heftier read, though. I think the longest day is the whole book of Revelation on day 21.
If this is a little too complicated for you, how about the New Testament in a month? Just commit to read nine chapters a day during the week, and eight a day on Saturday and Sunday. You'll finish the New Testament in thirty days. Why not split it up morning and evening? Read four or five chapters when you wake up, and again before you go to bed. This is painless. Honestly. The rewards are amazing.
If your experience is anything like mine, you'll find that you don't want to stop at the end of your daily plan. On the contrary, I was reading and taking notes for about ninety minutes a day at the beginning, and by the end, I was marking up my margins for three hours or more every day. It was amazing.
And for the faint of heart, how about this - The New Testament in one year.
365 days
minus 104 days of weekend
equals 261 weekdays a year
260 chapters in the New Testament means that this brief glance of just one chapter a day from Monday to Friday will get you through in one year, with a day to spare.
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