I read the bible front to back. Really. I know a lot of people have daily reading plans, morning and evening readings, random flip-to-a-page readings, Old Testament plus New Testament readings, bible-in-a-year readings, etc. But I read it front to back.

The Bible is a Story

Many people don’t realize that the bible is a story. The bible has a beginning, middle, and end. It has a characters who experience conflict and growth, plot and subplots, a climax, resolutions, and an ending. The bible is a book of history but it’s also a story.

So, because the bible is a story, you can read it front to back, and you will gain so much more insight than random readings.

What My Reading Looks Like

When I sit down to read, in the morning, lately, I sit in a comfortable living room chair, with a coffee in hand, a lamp to my left, my phone on my right, and my bible on my left. My phone is where I have a bible app, but I don’t read from it (I used to but don’t anymore), instead I use it for bookmarking my exact position in the bible, whereas bible ribbons or physical bookmarks can only tell you the page.

What I actually read is two chapters per day as I read through the bible, front to back, and one chapter of the wisdom books, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs, to focus on wisdom and to provide variety in the reading. I skip over the wisdom books as I read front to back so I’m not repeating myself.

It Seems Too Simple?

Simple’s not such a bad thing. Consider how often you might get pulled away from reading the bible because it’s too long or too complicated. My dad once told me, never make something you enjoy into a chore. Perhaps it’s a little bit of self-righteousness that makes us think we need to slog through the bible even if it becomes unenjoyable. It shouldn’t be like that. Give yourself a break and read it in a sustainable and enjoyable way.

So Get Reading The Bible!

Start reading the bible today. Just start. And keep it simple so you can keep it up!

Tip: How I Read The Longest Chapter In The Bible

Psalms 119 is the longest chapter in the bible, at 176 verses. It really is a long slog to read the whole way through. Instead, as it is broken up into twenty-two stanzas, I read two stanzas per day. Here’s the note from the NLT version (see footnote) that may help explain what I mean:

This psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; there are twenty-two stanzas, one for each successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the eight verses within each stanza begins with the Hebrew letter named in its heading.

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