It has been months since I’ve posted a blog here. My apologies. I’ve been busy with final edits, and decisions on my book coming out on January 12! Yay!
Nearly two years ago, I read on a friend’s blog that she planned to spend the year reading The Daily Bible—In Chronological Order. She invited her friends to join in. I was intrigued, but I didn’t join her for 2019. There was an excellent reason for this, I’m sure. I just don’t have any recollection of what it was. What I do remember, and thankfully remembered at the beginning of 2020, is that I went ahead and bought it in early 2019 so I’d have it and wouldn’t forget what the title was when I wanted to start it in 2020. (Because, as you may have noticed, remembering isn’t my strong suit.)
You’ve no doubt figured out by now that I didn’t invite you to join me on this one-year journey of Bible reading, as my friend had done. Here’s why: I wasn’t sure I’d actually follow through on the daily readings for an entire 12 months. I mean, come on, Leviticus and Numbers can, shall we say, throw the most devoted reader off track. Now that it’s December 10, it’s safe to say, I think, that I’m going to make it to the end of the year—and the Bible.
And now that I’ve made it through this year, I’d like to invite you to start your own journey through the Bible. It’s a bit shorter than reading the entire Bible because, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, some of the verses/stories of the Bible are in more than one location: the gospels, for example. In this version, you’ll find them combined into one succinct account.
There were a couple of things I particularly enjoyed about reading through The Daily Bible. First off, there are devotional teachings throughout the book. I finally understand a little bit more about the Jewish exile to Babylon. I appreciated the information in all of the devotionals.
Additionally, you’ll find a brief recap of the upcoming verse/s, which for me, helps break up the page, so it doesn’t look so overwhelming. Just like in a regular Bible you’ll, find headings like “The Sermon on the Mount,” in this rendition, you’ll see the same kind of thing, only more often.
I can’t promise that the same thing that happened to me will also be true for you, should you decided to embark on this journey, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it did. I’d be reading through a section, and within a day or two, I’d come upon a teaching about the very thing I’d just read. For instance, this past summer, I was doing Lysa TerKeurst’s study titled Trustworthy. It was all about the kings in the Old Testament. At the same time, my daily reading took me through the books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings. If it hadn’t happened repeatedly, I might have considered it a coincidence, but after the second or third time, there was no denying God wanted to make sure I remembered what I was learning. I love it when God does that!
Each day’s reading in The Daily Bible is about five pages long. It generally took me between 15-30 minutes a day to read through it. The hardest part for me was reading everything in the New International Version (NIV). I prefer the New Living Translation (NLT) as I find it easier to understand, but if I felt lost, I’d just look the section up in the NLT.
If you don’t already have a Bible reading plan set up for 2021, I would highly recommend The Daily Bible. Who knows? God might open your eyes to something new and exciting. He’s good like that.
Order now, so you’re all set up by January 1 (because it’s easier to start on the first day than to try and catch up after a week.) Whatever plan you decide to incorporate into your daily devotions in 2021, I pray your time with God will be filled with joy and blessings.
Cover photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash