3 Easy Ways to Start Reading the Bible

Whether you are a new, returning or seasoned in the Christian Faith, it is no secret that many of us across the globe struggle with reading the Word of God daily. If more of us were completely transparent, you will find that many of us hardly read our bible outside the 4 walls of church. Here are 3 easy ways to reading the bible regularly.

But first…Reasons to read the bible

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Sidenote, the bible is a collection of several books that are grouped into 2 major categories; the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is a collection of books compiled before the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah while the New Testament includes accounts of His birth onwards.

You will find that these books are written in different styles and we can logically assume that they all had different purposes. Books can be categorised into one of the following:

Law
Historical
Poetic
Wisdom
Prophetic

Reasons to start reading the bible

Firstly, the bible is accepted universally as the Living Word of God.

Once you read the history of the early church in the book of Acts, you will find that many of the leaders appointed by Jesus, died horrific deaths for what they believed in. This trend continued in the Roman Empire and became a common fate shared by many of the early Apostles (Church leaders) even outside the empire. Needless to say, we must examine why exactly, would so many people knowingly risk and continue to risk their lives in some parts of the world today.

It’s an amazing spiritual guide!

The books of the bible that are Poetic in writing style as well as those in the Wisdom category (eg: Proverbs) are so rich in spiritual and practical life advice that even after hundreds of years, they remain relevant and potent to this day.

Some expressions have been borrowed from these books so many times that we don’t even realise its origin. Even non-religious writers have borrowed a couple lines or two (eg: As a thinketh, James Allen, 1902).

It’s an excellent historical book

Several books are great capsules of historical events and often highly descriptive in location, makes note of prominent figures and customs that can be easily supposed by secular resources around distinctive time periods

1.Where to start reading the Bible

Pick a translation(Version) and medium

The Translation

There are A LOT of translations of the bible. There are some translations that you may have heard of already. Some of the most popular include:

King James Version and New King James Version (KJV, NKJV)
New International Version (NIV)
English Standard Version (ESV)

To be clear, the main original languages of the bible were Hebrew – for the Old Testament and Greek – for the New Testament. The Bible was then translated from those languages to all that we have accessible today.

As with any language, some expressions cannot always be translated literally. Which will explain partly why there are so many English language bibles. Some are translated with the aim of matching the words as closely as possible while others try to convey the general ‘idea’ as clearly as possible.

See spectrum from Bible Gateway ranging from Word -or-word to Thought-for-thought https://www.biblegateway.com/learn/bible-101/bible-versions-guide/

How to pick a Translation and Recommendations

Ideally, you should pick a version that is somewhere in the middle of expressing thought and matching word-for-word. What would this look like?

For most people, this will be the English Standard Version or the New International Version. My personal recommendation however, is usually the New King James Version or the New Living Translation.

Bible Version based on your Goal

You might have noticed that my top two recommendations are almost on the extreme opposite ends of the spectrum and that is because I often recommend them to two different types of people.

Many people who grew up hearing the King James Version in church tend to hold the view that this ‘the best’ english translation. To those people, I suggest the New King James Version. Yes, I’m aware that the two are not significantly different and that’s the point. The main difference is that it does not use words or tenses that modern English speakers no longer use (eg: hath, spake, knoweth…etc). Just replacing those words can make the content more reader friendly and is helpful for in depth study.

On the other hand, the New Living Translation is what I recommended to everyone else. It’s simply easy to read without straying too much from the original text such as The Message or The Passion Translation. NLT is not my top pick for detailed studies but is an excellent starting point for all age groups.

Check out my recommendations for NKJV and the NLT

2. Tools to Help you to start reading the Bible

The Medium

Do you like audio books or print? Or maybe you like both?

Believe it or not, I was never the type to read books recreationally growing up. This may also be the reason I struggled reading the bible. But what changed the game for me was combining the audio bible WHILE following along in my hard copy.

You can easily find your preferred translation on YouTube for free but if you want to have several at your fingertips while on the go I highly suggest a free bible app like YOU Version that has several translations in one place. It’s so convenient that I often play it in the car while commuting

**Caution: Audio bibles should be used as a supplement, not replacement to the hard copy

Aside from the physical copy, if you plan to study and not simply read the bible there are several tools that can help you out:

A study bible that contains additional commentary or devotionals can be great.
I encourage you to write down any questions or ideas that come to mind in a dedicated journal and highlight any key verses that jump out to you

Check out these cute bible study stationery items!

3. How to form a routine

Doing a 7 day or 30 challenge is great but often not sustainable. I found the best way to form a habit of reading is to read it in a more natural order and to sneak it in.

I often recommend start with one of the accounts of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) then read Acts of the Apostles, which documents the early church after Jesus’s ascension to heaven. Next you will read 2 – 4 letters to the churches that were established in different places and then repeat until you finish the books of the New Testament.

P.S. Save the book of Revelation for last since this is a prophetic book

Your instinct may be to start reading the bible at Genesis. But start reading the Bible in this sequence. Here is the order again:

1 Gospel book

Acts

Romans

Letter 1

Letter 2

Letter 3

Next Gospel book

Letter 4

Letter 5

etc.

Sneak it in

Link it to your existing prayer or worship time. I know you have heard the critique before that we often spend much of our prayer/worship time in a one-sided monologue and that we should listen to what God has to say as well…but they never tell you how exactly do you hear from God? One way to hear from Him is to literally just read the bible. Reading after prayer/worship can make your heart more open to what He has to say. It’s that simple. There’s a reason that this compilation of books was diligently preserved for generations.
Drive time audio bible. Pick one of the translations I shared above paired with reading sequence and you will feel like your listening to a podcast story
Have conversation with other Christian about things you are currently reading. Chances are the person may have additional commentary on what you read OR what usually happens is that they engage you in other areas you have read. The point is to be honest about the gaps in knowledge (or memory). This is enough to inspire some persons to read for themselves in order to form counter arguments or even just fact check.