For many years, I have followed a Bible reading strategy that has been transformational to me. I’ve described my steps below:
- I choose a daily reading plan from an online source. My preference is to follow a plan that includes both Old Testament and New Testament readings each day, though I have tried several different approaches. I encourage you to be consistent in your reading, regardless of your reading plan.
- I purchase a new study Bible each year. A good study Bible is not inexpensive, but it can help you understand the Word without requiring other devotional resources. I look for a study Bible that gives just enough notes to be helpful—not so many they draw my attention from the Word. In 2027, I plan to use the Christian Standard Every Day Study Bible.
- Each year, I prayerfully choose a set of topics to study throughout the year. This step is the one that has been most important to me, as these topics guide my reading. One year, for example, I focused particularly on humility, peace, thanksgiving, and strength in weakness. I always remain open to whatever the Lord teaches me as I read through the Bible, but I especially watch for texts that speak to my selected themes for the year.
- I purchase a new set of Bible highlighters for the year (preferably Zebrite highlighters that are less likely to bleed through Bible pages). I then assign one highlighter color to each of the chosen topics, and I note the colors/topics on the inside cover of my Bible. Thus, the inside cover of my study Bible for the year I noted above shows:• Highlights in green: humility• Highlights in pink: peace• Highlights in blue: thanksgiving• Highlights in orange: strength in weakness• Highlights in yellow: other topics or notes that just grab my attention during my reading (and, sometimes these topics become my studies in future years)
- As I read each day, I watch for texts or notes related to the above topics. I highlight the text, pause to meditate on it, prayerfully consider how it might apply to my life, and perhaps write a few notes in the margin to help me reinforce the application.
- With each highlighted text, I pray briefly in response to what God teaches me. Prayer ought to be our natural response when the Word of God becomes so real to us. Good Bible study is dialogical.
- I send a brief email to a group of brothers to show them what the Lord has taught me. That way, they know I’ve read. They know I’m learning. And, perhaps they’ll learn, too. Actually, these emails have now evolved into the subscription devotions I now write for my personal website at www.chucklawless.com.
- At the end of the year, I then have a study Bible with every text related to particular topics highlighted. Remember, the notes on the inside cover quickly show me what topics are highlighted in that Bible.
Here’s why this approach works for me. First, it’s a plan; that is, I know each day what I will read. Second, I enter the text excited about what God might show me that day. I don’t always find something related directly to the chosen topics, but I always find something that teaches me (and would thus be highlighted in yellow). Third, it really does allow my reading to be conversational as I respond in prayer to whatever the Lord shows me in His Word. Finally, this approach gives me a resource for later use, and—if Pam and I had children—a marked-up, worn out Bible I could give to the next generations.
Maybe this plan will work for you in 2027.
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