Bible Reading Advice

Let's look at some tips for Bible reading for the New Year. These are taken from "Developing a Daily. Devotional Time with God."

1. Stay balanced.

Don’t be crazy.

There is a large amount of information in front of you now. We have gone through several different ways to get into the Bible and pray.  You have to pace yourself. 

Professional marathon runners start at 5K’s. They slowly work themselves up to an increased level of endurance. In the same way, don’t try to be so devoted to devotions that you set impossible goals for yourself. If so, you won’t enjoy your daily devotional time with God. That would be a horrible result of this booklet! I speak from experience in this area. At times I’ve tried to accomplish such a big portion of memory or reading that it actually had a negative effect in some ways.

On the other hand, don’t finish this book, then ignore its advice. I am trying to present a pattern of spiritual breathing that every believer must practice. This is not just for pastors and extra-spiritual people. If you are a believer, God calls you to breathe. Don’t be crazy and throw it all away.

I want to encourage you to attack this with zeal. Often the best things of life are attained through greater effort. The Lord wants you to pursue Him in His Word. And yet He wants the pursuit to be enjoyable. Don’t be crazy and bite off more than you can chew or refuse to eat altogether.

Do be intentional.

If you are just beginning, start small and work your way to more time and more involved time. Let’s overview each of the things we have spoken about so you can get a look at what would be a good plan for you.

If you are just getting started in this, let me encourage you to pick one of the reading plans in the plowing section to commit to daily. Also, develop the prayer time in all three areas of prayer. The Scripture mining may need to be saved for one or two days a week, perhaps on the weekend.

Most people will divide their time with God in half, between inhaling and exhaling. Regardless of the amount of time, try to do this consistently. If you have thirty minutes, plow or mine for the first fifteen minutes, then pray for the last fifteen. Using the suggestions in this book, you will find more than activities to occupy those moments. The reason I’ve included several different study habits is so you can experience different ways to study your Bible. Mix and match these in different ways for variety’s sake; just make sure you are inhaling and exhaling every day. That is the essential thing. Breathe, Christian, breathe!

2. Choose a strategic time and place.

Setting or situation may not appear to be important, but experience tells us otherwise. Our environment does affect the way we perform. If you have a distracting work space or a cluttered office, your productivity and ability to concentrate will be affected. Set aside a strategic place and time for this private communion with the Lord each day.

This principle applies not just to your job, but to your time with God. I’m spoiled in that I have access to a private office for my quiet time. Yet I still need a strategy to maximize each day. You may not have ideal settings. Your family may cram six people in a two-bedroom apartment; your coworker’s loud lunch room chatter may keep you from concentrating in any meaningful way. For your specific situation, try to meet the following practical, strategic goals.

A Private Place and Time

It is helpful to pray and read out loud. You will want to find a scenario where you can express your emotions without embarrassment or reservation. For this reason, sitting in the subway on your morning commute may not be ideal since it does not give you great privacy (unless you use headphones and pretend to be on the phone). If that is your only time in the day, it is better than nothing, but try to carve out a private time where no one but God is around.

A Quiet Place and Time

This is similar to having a private place. Here, though, I want to highlight the absence of noise, not just absence of other people. Try to find a place and time where there will be the least amount of distractions.

You will be surprised by the amount of things that happen as soon as you begin to pray. The enemy knows the power of private worship and will distract you. Your phone has been silent all day; but when you begin to pray, you will receive a text, notification, phone call, knock on the door, or a natural disaster in that moment. Take these interruptions as faith-building. What you are about to do is most important.1 

So plan ahead – find a place and time when you will experience the least distractions. Many people find the quietness of the morning or just before bedtime as ideal because of this principle. Just as important, try to eliminate technological distractions. Try to put your phone on airplane mode or, if using your phone for Bible reading, turn off notifications from other apps. You must do your best to give undistracted attention to God.

A Consistent Place and Time

Be consistent. We are creatures of habit. Repeating the same time and place each day will go a long way in helping you develop this habit. Some people have more obligations than others, but we all have the same amount of time. You need to carve out of your busy schedule a slice of time that is holy – put a wall around that time and allow yourself to spend time doing what is best.

You remember Jesus’ instruction to Mary and Martha. Mary set aside time from the busyness of serving and sat at Jesus feet, listening to Him. Martha confronted Mary – “Lord rebuke her for she is not doing she is sitting before you.” What was Jesus' response? He praised Mary for choosing the best thing. Activity is not always good, especially if that activity distracts you from the glory of a personal devotional time with the Lord.

“But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her’" (Luke 10:40-42).

An Optimal Place and Time

You need to find the time that is best for you. I won’t belabor this point, but some people believe it is extra spiritual to get up at 4:00 am for devotions, as if that is the only time the Lord listens to us. And that may be the best time for you. But that may also be placing temptation in front of you – the temptation to fall asleep. 

9:00 am may be the most productive time for your mind and body that you can give the Lord. You need to find the point in your schedule that is optimal for you in both your ability to think and your ability to be alone.

If you choose an early rise—that is often the most practical—then you must choose an early sleep. The key to getting up early is going to bed early. It’s that simple.

3. Mark in your Bible.

It took many years and many times reading through the Bible before I felt comfortable marking my observations in the margins. You still may have a hard time doing this. But be assured; God’s people have been doing this for ages. If it helps you, consider that the earliest copies of Scripture were all hand copied. God is holy, His Word is holy, but pages are not. As you record your communication with Him, you are recording your heartfelt thoughts and experiences you have had with the Lord.

It is convenient to have that record for future study. Another benefit is that the inductive book study (Lesson 3) is much easier if you are recording these things right in the margin. You can highlight the themes of a book with different colors allowing the themes to jump out in front of you. Computer programs can do this as well, but it is nice to have that page in front of you for the rest of your life. You will forget your discoveries if they are not recorded. But if you don’t record them where you will see them, then you will forget them anyway.

If you do not have a Bible to use in this area, let me recommend again the New Inductive Study Bible. This Bible actually walks you through this process and outlines how to study each book of the Bible inductively. I have found it an extremely helpful study tool personally.

Let me encourage you to begin writing, even if you use mechanical pencil that can be erased if needed. Eventually, you will want to find a quality, fine tip writing pen. This may sound simple, but I have to recommend this or you will run into some problems. The Micron Pigma series of art pens are great for this purpose, and they are not too expensive. They come in different thickness and colors. I find .005 to be a good thickness to help you write small and neat. You can also use the different colors to mark different themes in your book studies.

4. Utilize resources.

We have examined several resources in this booklet. Let me give you an overview of these resources and information on ways to purchase or utilize them online. We are so privileged in our day to have God’s Word in our hands. Now we have it on our phones! Don’t miss out on the wealth that is yours.

Study Bibles

Each of these study Bibles can be found at a local Christian book store, Amazon, or CBD.com. Each of these study Bibles will help you answer the questions that we suggested in Lesson 4.

New Inductive Study Bible (Harvest House) – As I’ve mentioned before, this is extremely valuable. This is a true study Bible. The others are “studied Bibles” that share with you what someone else has studied. This one walks you through how to study the Bible yourself. You’ll also benefit from Kay Arthur’s How to Study Your Bible as a partner guide. 

ESV Study Bible (Crossway) – With over 250 pages of extra material, this Bible gives numerous notes, charts, maps and articles. It offers several interpretational options for controversial passages, so I would disagree with some of the notes; still, this is probably the most substantial study Bible available.

Life Application Study Bible (Tyndale) – This is a practical resource with helpful notes.

Other helpful study Bibles are: MacArthur Study Bible (Thomas Nelson), Ryrie Study Bible (Moody), Scofield Study Bible (Oxford University Press), and NIV Study Bible (Zondervan).

Websites and Apps

There are so many of these available. I will name just a few, but you can find many others.

www.lumina.bible.org – Valuable for searching topics as well as a commentary on each passage that is usually more in depth than others that are available free. It is usually Biblically accurate.

www.biblegateway.com (and app) – Both the website and the free app allow you to read and search Scripture in several different versions, as well as basic commentaries. It also gives a great audio option for the ESV.

www.youversion.com (and app) – Valuable in providing both text and audio Bibles. The app and website also work together to help you keep track of your Bible reading plan. This is extremely valuable for those of you who are trying to read during a commute or lunch break along with other study time at home.

Commentary Series

The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Thomas Nelson) – This is a shortened edition of John MacArthur’s NT series.

Bible Exposition Commentary by Warren Weirsbe (David C. Cook) – A condensed edition of Wiersbe’s practical commentaries on the books of the Bible.

Other commentaries are available for free online. If you would like recommendations for single commentaries on any one particular book please contact me. You can find valuable insights or bankrupt heresies in human opinions, so choose these carefully.

Reference Books and Software

BibleWorks Bible Software – This has gone out of commission since first printing this book. I leave it here to commemorate a huge blessing to me as a pastor and as a shout out to anyone who wants to through some millions of dollars into a very good cause. I’m not sure why the owners discontinued updates. But it is a shame; it was the best tool I have ever used in studying and preaching God’s Word. www.Bibleworks.com.

Logos Bible Software (and app) – If you want to build a robust digital library, this is the program to consider. You can order just about any Christian book or series of books through this software. It is also a valuable resource for searching and studying texts (similar to Bible Works). Warning: this can be costly, depending on the package. Go to www.logos.com to order.

Naves Topical Bible (Hendrickson Publishers) – A helpful summary of different topics in Scripture. You may have one in the back of your study Bible, but this is more exhaustive. You can also use this online for free.

Introducing Christian Theology by Millard Erickson (Baker Press) – This systematic theology is the abbreviated edition of a longer work. It includes detailed explanations for essential Christian Doctrines. 

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) – R. A. Torrey’s valuable resource gives hundreds of thousands of cross-references for every theme in Scripture. After a phrase, the Treasury will give you a list of several other verses that are related to the verse you are studying. It is available in print and also free online as well as in most Bible software packages.

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This booklet is now available on Amazon. The Kindle version is available for free download till Sunday... Get it while its free please = )

• Developing a Daily Devotional Life with God (Print Version)
• Developing a Daily Devotional Life with God (Kindle Version)

The companion workbook is also available now. This is a helpful way to journal your quiet time with God in Bible study and prayer each day.

• Developing a Daily Devotional Life with God Workbook 

1 D. Edmund Hiebert puts it well in his book Working with God through Intercessory Prayer: “[Prayer] is the essential element for Christian victory. Without it, all other means are powerless and ineffectual. Without prayer, toil we ever so hard, our labors for God are vain. The Devil cares but little how many activities we engage in or how many organizations the churches develop, so long as he can keep believers from intensive prayer. Without prayer all the machinery is useless for lack of power” (Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 1991, p. 9).