The following are the unedited words of me, Marsha…

One of the Pastors I listened to in 2023 challenged his church to reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelations in a month every month. His idea was, every time you read Scripture you will learn something, this is true, he also implied that the time and dedication needed to achieve such an act would decrease the amount of time a person has to do non-productive activities. I gave this idea some consideration.
I will not be reading the Bible in 30 days, the fastest I have read it is 3 months and that was not on purpose. I am currently reading the English Standard Version (ESV) in chronological order. I started reading the ESV Tuesday, January 22, 2023 and I am still in the Old Testament, I may be finished by the end of January 2024, maybe not. Next, I will read the New American Standard Bible (NASB, my goal will be to complete it in 3 months.
I wrote all of that to say this: read the Bible at your own pace. I have been stuck in the book of Ezekiel for the past week or so and I just reread chapters 1-8 because there was something the Lord wanted me to see. If the goal is to read the Bible in 30 days rereading chapters could stop you from meeting your goals, not to mention unexpected life events hindering you from reading at all, I do have days when I don’t read my Bible.
The fastest I have read the Bible was 3 months the longest it has taken me to read from Genesis to Revelation is 3 and 1/2 years, both times I learned a lot.
My preferred Bible translation is the King James Version and I like taking my time through its’ pages. The King James is not that hard to understand, like listening to a person whose primary language is not English, the more you hear them speak with their broken English the easier it will be to understand what he or she is saying.
It is more important to develop a lifestyle of reading God’s word with understanding. Regardless as to whether you read the entire Bible in a month, 3 months, 90 days, a year or more, what is important is that you read it.
Proverbs 4:7 (KJV)
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
My take-away from the Pastor’s challenge is to read the Bible and then read it again. Read it at your pace and get understanding with the help of the Holy Spirit. And make sure you own a hard copy of God’s word.

Written by Marsha L Floyd
All rights reserved