In this post, I share another little hint for Bible reading that most folks would never think of. Read on and see what you think…

A Ponderous Volume

Let’s face it, the Bible is a ponderous volume. It is actually a book comprised of 66 books, 39 in the First Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Taken together, those 66 books are made up of 1,189 chapters, 929 in the First Testament and 260 in the New Testament. That’s a good-sized book by anyone’s definition. Those stats also make it more than a little intimidating to the average reader. But let me offer you a suggestion…

Divide and Conquer

I heard of this method many years ago from Judy Reamer. She, in turn, learned it from Mr. Philp Green (I have written about both of them in a previous post). It involves dividing up the Bible (literally!) into smaller portions so that it looks less intimidating. Breaking the Bible down this way can really help to motivate you in your reading, and also make you feel like you are progressing at a faster rate.

Want to know what it looks like?

Look at the picture at the top of this post. The Bible on the left is my Christian Standard Reader’s Bible. It contains all 66 books of the Bible without the chapters and verses. It makes for a great reading experience. On the right is my current reading Bible (well, 1/4 of it anyway). Which looks less intimidating?

My entire reading Bible is pictured below.

This used to be one whole book. I divided it up into 4 equal sections and made covers for them out of manila folders. The instructions for how to do this can be found here on Judy Reamer’s website. Breaking the Bible down this way, combined with speed reading, is why I am currently on my way through the Bible for the third time this year. If I stay on track, I should be able to read through the Bible 7 times before the end of the year. Color me excited!

Sacrilege!

At this point, someone might be tempted to say, “That’s defacing the Bible and that’s sacrilege!!”

Let’s think about that for a moment.

The Bible is a book. There is nothing particularly magical or sacred about the leather (or paper) cover, the paper, or the ink. What is important are the words this Book contains. This method of breaking the book down is not seeking to alter the sacred text in any way, otherwise, I would completely agree with you. What we are doing is simply seeking to help people find a better way to read the text and incorporate its contents into their lives.

Other Options

There are other Bible reading options that seek to incorporate similar ideas. Doing a Google search on reader’s bibles will help you find several.  What I have presented here is simply one option that is relatively inexpensive, and I have found it to work quite well. What is not optional is having a plan for daily reading the Bible and drinking in its contents, at least not to those who are serious about living in the Reign.

M