Bible reading shouldn’t be something you do just to tick off your list as a daily routine. From the moment you start to treat it like a chore, it will begin to feel like one.

When you now miss out on a few days for whatever reason, you’ll feel so guilty as if God will look at you any differently. You are loved regardless. Read to learn, read because you love reading. Read because you genuinely want to, not because you have to.

Also, don’t just read from cover to cover, Genesis to Revelation. You’ll only end up confusing yourself. The Bible isn’t one sole book, it’s a compilation of 66 books. Take your time. Read about the new covenant first, then you’ll understand a bit more about the old one.

The 66 book Bible you have today isn’t even in the chronological order that it was written in. It has been restructured so that it starts off with the Torah (the 5 Mosaïc law books, Gen to Deuteronomy). If you’re a new believer: for your own sanity, read that part last. Trust me.

The 66 book Bible is separated into the Old Testament (39 books starting w/ Law) and the New Testament (27 books starting w/ Gospels). The Gospels are witness accounts & recounts of Jesus’ life, law-based answers & Grace teachings on Earth from birth up until the finished works.

Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.

For a new believer, John is the only Gospel that starts to be much clearer about the new covenant. John is where Jesus declares the works as “finished”. I personally quite like John, but Romans (one of Paul’s epistles) really details grace.

Paul’s epistles are seriously quality when it comes to understanding grace and understanding the new covenant, especially Romans, 1 Timothy, Ephesians & Galatians. Top quality letters which can be cross-referenced with Jesus’ teachings. Definitely a good starting point.

Even 1 Corinthians is quality. Also, cross-referencing with original translations, alternate translations and the original manuscripts will help a LOT. You don’t want to misunderstand something because you didn’t understand the word used. The resources are all available online.

Also, CONTEXT. I cannot stress it enough. Context is so important, ESPECIALLY when it comes to understanding what Paul was writing to the specific churches & why, and understanding what parts of Jesus’ speech were grace teachings vs law-based answers. Context is KEY.

DO NOT JUST READ THE BIBLE AT FACE VALUE. I repeat. DO NOT. JUST READ. THE BIBLE. AT. FACE. VALUE.

Why?

1. You will confuse yourself.
2. Unbelievers do this, hence why they think it’s a whole load of contradictory rubbish (which it isn’t)
3. The Bible isn’t ONE book.

When you read a book or watch a movie, usually you’ll look more into it, no? You’ll maybe look at people’s reviews, look up if it’s a true story, maybe look up the characters? The same applies to the Bible. The Bible contains people’s real lives. Do your research.

Lastly, DO NOT just pick one verse and take it for what it is without reading the previous and following verses. That has to be the most stupid mistake to ever make and I say this with love. Read the whole chapter and save yourself the confusion. God bless you all