I sat down to read my Bible one morning and just stared at the cover with a glazed look. Where do I even start? What do I even read?! This book is HUGE! How in the world do I “study” it?

If you’ve ever had a moment like mine, this post is for you.

I’ll be totally honest. I’ve gone through seasons of my life where I wasn’t sure what to read in my Bible, or even how to read it. I’ve gone through seasons of feeling totally disinterested in God’s Word altogether.

As I’ve looked back on my Bible reading habits over the years, my “low” moments always have this one thing in common – no plan.

Whenever I sit down to read my Bible and I don’t have a plan for how I’m going to read it, I end up just staring at the cover for a while wondering what to do. On the flip side, when I come up with a plan for what I’m going to read and how I’m going to read it, I never get stuck on the cover.

Over the years, I’ve tried many different ways to read and study my Bible. Everyone is different, so some might work better for you than others. However, the first key is to simply start doing something.

Reading the Bible on a daily basis is so important for us, as Christians, because it tells us how to live and how to think about life. It keeps our minds focused on truth and the gospel as we live in this crazy world.

As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

Here are 5 helpful ways to read your Bible this week:

1. Start in the Beginning

If you haven’t read through the entire Bible, you absolutely should! It’s extremely helpful in gaining a bird’s eye view of what God is teaching from Genesis all the way to Revelation. If you start in Genesis and read 3 and ¼ chapters a day, you will finish the entire Bible in one year! This is an easy, non-complicated way to read the Bible every day.

2. Combine the Old and New

This is what I’m currently doing for my Bible reading time. I’m reading through the Old Testament in a year and taking time to study specific books in the New Testament. This won’t allow me to read the entire Bible since I’m diving in deeper to New Testament books.

I read 1-2 chapters in the OT every day (starting in Genesis), then I pick a small book of the NT and read the entire thing every day for one month (I’m currently studying Ephesians this way). This allows me to stay in touch with the OT while diving deeper into specific books in the NT.

3. Get a Little of Everything

Another option is to read a little of everything every day. I’ve heard of many people who like this plan because it helps them stay in touch with the OT, NT, as well as the Psalms and Proverbs.

So basically, you read one chapter in the OT, one chapter in the NT, one Psalm and one Proverbs every day (starting at the beginning of each book). This is a great plan for covering a little of everything in an organized way.

4. Read the Bible in Chronological Order

I’ve done this and loved it! The entire Bible isn’t arranged in chronological order according to date. For example, David wrote a bunch of the Psalms, but you don’t read those during the time period of his actual life.

You read them as a group in the book of Psalms. When you read the Bible in chronological order, you will actually read the specific Psalms, Proverbs and other events that actually happened in the same time period. It’s very cool!

You can find some great chronological Bibles here, or an easy reading plan here.

5. Follow a Daily Reading Plan

There are dozens and dozens of interesting Bible reading plans available out there. In fact, this website lists a whole bunch that you can download for free. You can even “join” a plan and commit to following it every day.

With the dozens of Bible reading plans out there, you will never have to wonder what to read when you wake up in the morning. You can kiss that glazed look goodbye!

So there you have it! 5 of my favorite ways to read your Bible every day.

I encourage to begin reading and studying your Bible today. Just pick one of the methods I mentioned and make it happen for yourself. As pastor John MacArthur so beautifully reminds us, “Even with today’s wealth of books and computer helps, the Bible remains the only source of divine revelation and power that can sustain Christians in their ‘daily walk with God.’”

Christian books, blogs, and Bible studies are all good, but the only way to know God on a personal and intimate level is to spend time with Him through prayer and reading His Word.

If you have a favorite way to read the Bible, share that with me below!