In grade nine, I read the Bible cover to cover. This experience helped me get what I call a first-hand faith. Not the faith of my parents, or the faith of pop culture, or even the faith of other Christians. Don't get me wrong, I believe the Church is necessary, and Christian upbringing invaluable. But there is no subtitute for reading the Bible, which "is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV).
Reading the Bible in a year is an attainable task. It's as easy as reading three chapters a day and five on Sunday. Another option is to print off a reading plan from eartlight.org. Personally, I'm printing off the one that has part of the Old and New Testament each day. That way I can check off my progress and stay on track even if I miss a day here and there.
Some good non-printable options exist at Back to the Bible, including the one in chronological order of events. There's also scads of options at BiblePlan that can be emailed to you each day. You can also design your own plan at BibleReadThrough.
If you run into problems, there's lots of good resources online, especially from Crosswalk and BibleGateway. I like to read from the NIV Study Bible myself. The historical, textual, and archaeological notes make things easier to understand. Otherwise a person can easily get lost in places and names or miss out some things.
The Bible is a classic book worth reading, even if you're not a believer. I hope you'll take the plunge and read it cover to cover. P.S. Don't quit in Leviticus!
Lee Harding is a freelance journalist in Regina, Saskatchewan. A former Mennonite Brethren pastor turned Pentecostal, he has previously worked as a television reporter with CBC, CTV, Global, and 100 Huntley Street. He has also written for Reuters and been published in the National Post. He and his wife Tanis have a daughter, Aliyah. He also writes for and maintains ReginaLink.org and eternalee.blogspot.com.
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