The Bible is the Word of God. It is absolutely crucial to life. Christians ought to be Bible readers, but the Bible ought to be read by everyone. These days it is easy to find copies of the Bible both in book form and online. What is harder is to establish a habit of reading it. The Bible as a whole speaks to us so we should read from all of it. To help and encourage you in Bible reading I post below links to some really useful resources...

Where to start? How can I get a sense of what is in it? Which parts might be the most helpful for me to focus on as I try to get to know the Bible better? To encourage anyone who has not much experience in reading the Bible and may feel daunted by its size, I suggest you click here and read a short article by the late R.C. Sproul about getting a basic overview of the Bible. Anyone who has not read the Bible, including Christians who have not really got into the idea of reading large amounts, let alone the whole of the Bible should find this a help.

Then, the second resource is a list of Bible reading plans. These will help steer you through reading in an organised way parts or the whole of the Bible. You can use them at the pace they suggest, or go slower or faster. The point is that they encourage you to keep going. It is possible to read the whole Bible in a year without finding it too time-consuming. Following a plan like this also has the benefit of getting you to read less familiar parts of the Bible. We do have a tendency to return to certain parts, say the Psalms or the Gospels, and neglect others.

However you go about it, the best thing is to start. It doesn't matter if a plan commences on 1st January. Just start! Then keep going. A plan can be a big help and motivation to keep going, but the best motivation of all is to appreciate that I can read what God has said. May you be blessed by the Lord as you read His Word.