Little details in life amount to bigger things. For example, many people read through the Bible multiple times throughout their life. Wouldn’t it be neat to keep track of each time?
In 2011, I decided to start documenting that myself. I don’t follow any special read-through-the-Bible plan; it’s simply a certain amount of time I spend reading God’s Word each day. Some days I read more chapters than others because there are parts that go much quicker (aka: genealogies!) than the New Testament. I will also occasionally take a break and read in a different book such as Psalms.
This week, I finished another read through. I keep track of the beginning date and end date in the front of my Bible. It’s a special way to chronicle journeying through the most precious book in the world! Try it!
Love,
Sarah
“Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.”
Psalm 119:68
Yay, Sarah! Good for you!! I’m looking at finishing my 9th Bible read-through in December!! Best ever book to read, memorize, meditate, love!!! 🙂
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Good job, Alyssa. Way to go!
Your post made me smile, precious Sarah. 🙂 Because I also am keeping track of each time I complete another “read-through” of my Bible. The first couple of times I read from Genesis to Revelation, but the last few times I’ve prayed for the Lord to show me which book He would have me read next. It amazes me how I continue to find treasures in passages that I’ve read before – – yet didn’t remember. I still have much to learn! 🙂 And you are so right—our Bible is the most precious book in the world.
Love, Mrs. Patti
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Thanks, Mrs. Patti. You are sweet.
What an encouragement!
I have been wanting to read through the Bible and I have all different ways of doing it. However, I like yours the best! No pressure, just a date when you started and the end date. I think I will do the same and I will encourage my daughter to do it too. Any other insights or suggestion, I’m sure your readers would love to hear.
Thank you for sharing it!
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I love my Scripture journal; I journal a verse that I can apply to my life. My prayer journal is also a favorite. See this post: https://blog.titus2.com/2014/04/17/the-blessing-of-a-prayer-journal/ So I have two journals: a prayer one and then a daily one I journal a favorite Scripture and my thoughts about it.
I like your idea of marking the dates in the front of your Bible. If you don’t mind me asking, how many times have you read through the Bible since 2011? 🙂 Also, do you ever repeat a section within a “read-through”? I like to read Proverbs and Psalms frequently, so I tend to read those books more than others, unless I make a plan otherwise.
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4. Also, yes, if I stop and go to say Psalms, I don’t count that as my Psalms read-through ;). A person easily could, but I don’t ;).
I love that you keep a record of it! I usually pray before I start my personal bible time, mostly because I find the Lord just knows exactly what I need to read/hear that way. I also love that no matter how many times I hear a certain passage, I get something else out of it.
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Elyse–Thanks for sharing. You’re right. God’s Word is so rich!
Several years ago, I was going through some things that had been passed down to me from my grandmother when she had died. One of those treasures was my great-grandmother’s Bible. As I looked through her Bible, she had recorded things like the date she was saved (at the age of 40!) and when she and my grandmother were baptized. She also recorded the dates that she had read through the whole Bible – 27 times! I remember her being in her 80s and very feeble, and by then she could no longer read her Bible, but continued faithfully to listen to the Bible every day on cassette tape. She was a wonderful, godly lady who KNEW her Bible, and I want to pass on that same heritage to my children and grandchildren.
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Awww. That’s sweet.
Bless you, Sarah! That’s a great idea! Why did I never think of that? If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of Bible do you use? I love how it’s laid out.
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I have a Thompson Chain reference Bible.
We recently met a family that shared how they have a family celebration for each child when they read through the first time. We have started this with our children, too. I like noting it in your Bible. We will be adding that to our celebration.
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Wonderful idea!
Love that idea, Sarah! We started doing family devotions years ago after hearing you all speak on them, and have read through the Bible each year since as a family! Such a precious time spent together each evening to end our day- not one moment wasted.
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That thrills our hearts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for sharing this thought and enthusiam, Sarah. What a great idea to record your complete readings of the Scriptures…and the dates. Right in your Bible itself where it will remain.
Our family does the same with a list of the Bible verses we know as songs…this gives a great resource for impromtu music ministry opportunities…straight from The Word which never returns void, founded on by God’s promise.
Now, your post and discussion inspired in me the thought to add a listing in our Bibles of the Scriptures that we have committed to memory, dating that would also be great…perhaps even adding review dates for those longer passages?
Also, Nancy’s family tradition to celebrate with each family member when they complete a reading is good too. Thanks for sharing.
Sarah, your post jogged my memory from way back to the first time I read through the Bible. My Father, who was an Atheist, read the Bible a number of times while incarcerated for 7 years when I was very young. When he came home, the things he told me made me realize that I needed to read through the Bible for myself. I was only 12 then and didn’t understand a whole lot of it. I have since read it through twice more and every time I do, I find something knew but I also realize that I may still not completely understand everything that there is to learn from it.
My father accepted Christ on his death bed. I thank God for those 7 years he had little to do and read the Bible. I know now that he knew the truth all along, he just for some reason wouldn’t admit it. Not sure why.
Just my story.
Blessings,
Johnna
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Johnna,
Thank you for sharing your story! Wow, how exciting your father accepted Jesus before he died.