Hi Parkwood Church Friends,

I am taking a journey and I would like for you to come along. It is a journey through the Bible, with a goal of reading the entire Bible through in one year. You may be ahead, behind, or beside me at various times as we travel. The important part is that we go forward together and encourage each other on the way. We probably won’t take precisely the same paths or learn exactly the same things, but I plan to grow—I believe I will grow and that you will, too—in several ways, including:

            1. knowledge of the Bible,

            2. to know and trust God more deeply, and

            3. in friendship and relationship with God.

Here are some things that will be good to remember going into this endeavor.

The first day is crucial and sets the stage for the rest of the year. This is true because every journey begins with the first step. It is also true because the first three chapters of Genesis tells us about our beginning: where we came from, that God is sovereign and in control, that we were created by God to be like Him in many ways, how humanity fell into sin, why we all die, why we need a savior, and it gives the first prophecy about One who will overcome sin. These three chapters also provide the foundation upon which all of the rest of the Bible is built.

You are not going to get all that the Bible has to say in one reading. Don’t be dismayed, daunted, or discouraged by this.

We will have many questions that are not easy to answer. Know that God is bigger than our questions and that He welcomes our searching for answers. Many of our questions may be answered by what we read elsewhere in the Bible, by people we know and trust, including each other, and by other Bible resources such as a commentary or online resources such as The Bible Project.

Know that God can be trusted. As we read the Bible, one thing we are looking for is ways to see that God can indeed be trusted. Also, God is looking for us to be trustworthy to Him.

Read and underline, yes—but it is also good to listen to the Bible being read to you, so read using a Bible app on your phone or any other way to read the Bible. What is most important is to get the Word of God into your mind.

Encouraged or puzzled by what you read, or want to dive deeper into a chapter or topic? Do it without worry and catch up later. Use available resources to help you to understand or find answers to your questions. Yes, the goal is to read the entire Bible in one year, but don’t miss opportunities for deeper understanding or building your relationship with God just to check all the boxes on all the right days.

If you get behind, keep moving forward even if you have to skip a section to catch up. Maybe you can read that section later. It is OK to read at your own pace—but keep going and don’t quit.

Pray as you go for more understanding and a closer relationship with God. Remember that He wants the same thing—a closer relationship with you—for Himself! He, that great, magnificent, awesome, most powerful being in the universe, wants to develop an ever-deepening friendship with you. Even if you don’t have or know all of the right answers. Even if I have an urge to be rebellious or turn away from Him, he wants to have a relationship with me that will eventually draw me back to Him. God is big enough for you and me and our questions, powerful enough to know and even to have made all of the answers, and smart enough to provide each one of us with what we need when we need it.

Let’s do this! Together. Encouraging each other, striving to reach the goal, and remembering the reasons we are doing it: to gain greater knowledge of the Bible, to know and trust God more deeply, and to develop deeper friendships and relationships with our God.

Sincerely,

Harold Reeve

The Bible is a special book and ought to be read, and read in a special way. It contains none other than God’s holy words and is intended to guide the people of God. Here are some recommendations I have for reading the Bible through in one year. The two most important are to pray for the Holy Spirit to speak to you from His Word, for His guidance and understanding, each time before you read, and to mark your Bible or take notes as you read. Remember that these are my recommendations: they are not mandates.

1.  Use a print Bible whenever possible. There is something about reading and using a physical book that helps you to learn the locations of stories and texts as well as the organization of the book. The Bible is a book for reading, but it is also a reference book that all Christians should know well and find their way around easily. This is better done with a physical book.

2.  Underline and mark your Bible as you read. One of my most valuable possessions is my well-marked bible. Underlining helps guide my reading and helps me to easily find special passages again. It guides me to favorite verses and points me to important concepts, which I then read within the context of other verses around them. I think you will also find that having a marked Bible is something you will treasure and find very useful. I recommend that you use colored pencils and a clear 6” ruler for underlining. Test them to be sure the pencils will not bleed through the pages.

3.  Either have your print Bible available every day, or also have a Bible app on your phone or computer. If your Bible is also on your phone, you will always have it with you and can read a portion when you have a few minutes. Make the Bible app your go-to app rather than social media, a game, or a movie – at least until you have done your Bible reading for the day and are up to date on your schedule for the year.

4.  Read a modern version of the Bible, such as the New King James Version, the New International Version, the Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, the Good News Bible, or the International Standard Version. The English language used in these versions is more approachable and easier for most people to read than is the King James Version. There are many versions available.

5.  If you do not have a high-quality Bible and forgot to put one on your Christmas wish list, consider purchasing one to use this year. You will invest a lot of time in reading the Bible, during this year and in the years to come. Investing some money in having a quality book will be well worth it. I recommend the Andrews Study Bible, available in the New King James Version and the New International Version. The leather-bound version is expensive, but it is the finest Bible I have owned.

6.  Have a commentary available as you read and study. I find Bible apps on my phone to be useful for reading, but not so much for study or research. When I read my Bible, I like to keep my computer nearby with an app called e-Sword running. (It is free from e-sword.org.) It provides me with many free versions of the bible and a commentary on the entire Bible written by Matthew Henry that I like. I often use e-Sword to read difficult or obscure passages from other versions. The commentary helps to explain them as well.

When I decided to read the Bible through last year, I purchased the first volume (Old Testament) of the Andrews Bible Commentary. The second volume ( New Testament) was released in July 2022, just in time for me to purchase and use it while reading the New Testament. It was an expensive purchase, $120.00 for the two volumes direct from Andrews University Press (www.andrews.edu/universitypress; currently $160.00 on Amazon), but I consider it a worthwhile investment. If you read the overviews of the books of the Bible I will write and make available on the Bible Reading Year website, you will see this commentary referenced frequently.

7.  Read with friends or family members. As with almost anything, it is also fun to read the Bible with others. This helps motivate you and them and gives you the opportunity to talk about what you read with someone close to you as well. Reading the Bible provides for very personal time and communication between you and God, but it is also good to read together.

8.  Study along with your reading. You won’t do this every day when reading the entire Bible in one year, but when you are intrigued by something or moved by the Holy Spirit, take the opportunity to read more about it, to read related verses in the Bible, to study it out.

9.  Think about what your read. Along with underlining important verses, think about what it is that God would have you learn from the reading. How does what you read relate to other verses in the Bible, to your own daily life, to your spiritual journey, and to what media and the world tries to tell you about God?

10. Most importantly, pray for understanding and the instruction of the Holy Spirit every day before and while you read from the Bible.

I hope very much that you will read the entire Bible and therefore be successful in completing our Bible Reading Year. I plan to share an overview of each book of the Bible to you by email or on the website prior to the dates scheduled for the reading of the Bible, as well as a weekly email about the current reading. Please encourage your friends who are reading to continue on and to share your experiences with each other. I believe that God will speak through his word to each of us and that we will grow in relationship with Him while we do this. That alone will make this a positive and beneficial experience.

Remember that God wants to be in relationship with you as much or more than you want to be with Him. Also, he wants to save you from your sins and this world as much or more than you want those things for yourself. In Matthew 1:21, part of the Christmas story, an angel tells Joseph about Mary’s pregnancy with these words, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

If you stumbled across this website or were pointed in this direction and want to join us in reading the entire Bible through during the calendar year 2023, please email me at hreeve[at]cvcaonline.net and I will add you to the group and provide you with a Bible reading plan paper for you to keep in your Bible and use to keep track of your progress.

Let’s do this together!