How to Focus on God's Word

Focusing on God's word is an important part of focusing on God. Learn how to focus on God's word today!

5 Questions to Ask Yourself While Reading the Bible

How do we get the most out of our quiet time when we read the Bible? As we study scripture it's important that we ask the right questions in order to properly understand the passage we are reading. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself while reading the Bible.

The Best Year-Long Bible Reading Plans

Using a daily Bible reading plan can help you stay on track and help you grow in your walk with God. Check out the best year-long Bible reading plans today.

I like to read the Bible, and I like to learn more and grow in my walk with God. But I am also a slow reader and struggle to be disciplined when it comes to reading God's word everyday. And while I don't believe that a person has to read a certain amount per day, or that they need to finish the whole Bible in a certain length of time, I recognize that having a plan helps most people. Having a Bible reading plan is a smart, focused way for a Christian to grow in their faith.

Reading the Bible isn't always easy, and sometimes we need tools to help us understand the Bible. A Bible reading plan can be one of the tools we use to help us remain consistent and make sure we don't stop reading the Bible.

Having a Bible reading plan looks different for the individual Christian. Some people need a "Bible in one year" plan. Others simply need a plan that will get them in the Word everyday, regardless of how much or little they may read on a given day. For me, I never dive into a plan that is for reading the Bible in one year, because I am such a slow reader that the task is too much for me to handle. Then, when I fail, I get bummed out and give up. But for some people, the challenge of reading the Bible in a year (or less) is exactly what gets them reading more consistently.

Whichever category you fit into, the point is not who reads the most or who reads the fastest. The point is communion with God and making sure that it is a daily priority. So today, I am sharing a few Bible reading plans that can help you get in the word daily so that you can grow in your walk with God and know Him more.

Related: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself While Reading the Bible

The Best Year-Long Bible Reading Plans

Word to Worship by Amy Gannett

I follow Amy on Instagram and I am so encouraged by her. I also really wish we could hang out in real life, because she seems like my kind of person, ya know?
Amy wants to help women get in the word of God every day, so she created a plan to help us do just that. Get the Word to Worship plan here.

Daily Biblical Reflections by Alastair Roberts

My husband has been listening to these Youtube readings by Alastair Roberts since the start of the new year. Though Alistair Roberts has more of a theologian brain than I do, the nice thing about these videos is that he reads the entire passage to you and then gives a commentary on it. He does this with both the Old and New Testament readings each day. That way, if you would like to hear commentary on the verses, it's there for you, but if you want to go straight from the OT reading to the NT reading, you can just skip past the commentary and still get the Bible reading. Plus, if you like awesome accents, this will be a treat!

The Read the Bible Plan with Crossway and The Gospel Coalition

The Gospel Coalition and Crossway have partnered together to create a Bible reading plan for 2020. Despite the fact that this is a dated plan (meaning it technically starts January 1st, 2020 and ends December 31st, 2020), you could still do it at your own pace, or from whatever day you decide to start. There are also other resources they've provided to go along side this plan, which you can find in this Gospel Coalition blog post.

5 Day Bible Reading Plan by Lower Lights Publication

My pastor suggested this reading plan. It's what he is using and what other members of our church are using. The benefit of this plan is that it's only 5 days a week, so you can use the weekends to catch up if you miss a weekday. A friend at church told me that this feature has been helpful for her.

Read Your Bible

Friends, whether you choose a Bible reading plan or you choose to read at your own pace completely, please be in the Word of God. It takes discipline and patience and endurance, but God's Word is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12) and really does transform us. Let us rely on God's strength and ask Him to help us. Let us commit our time to Him and remember it's importance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should I only start a Bible reading plan in the new year?
A: Bible reading plans can be started at any time. Even a "read the Bible in a year" plan can be adjusted to your timeline and done in one year from whenever you started. Sure, the days may be off, but it's still accomplishing the same thing.

Q: What if I miss a day of reading?
A: If you miss a day of your Bible reading plan, you can either read extra the next day to catch up, or you can simply be a day "behind". Again, the point of a Bible reading plan is not to achieve a certain mark. The goal is communion with God and you can have this whether or not you have missed days on your plan. Each day is fresh with mercy (Lamentations 3:22-23). Catch up, or start from where you left off, and just spend time with your Creator.

How to Focus on God (and Not the World)

A Christian should have their focus on God and not the world. But how can we focus on God when there are so many distractions throughout the day? Learn how to focus on God (and not the world) with these 5 helpful tips.

5 Tools To Help You Understand the Bible

Do you struggle to understand the Bible when you read it? Do you find scripture to be confusing and mysterious? You are not alone, but there are plenty of tools out there to help you understand the Bible. Here are 5 tools to help you understand the Bible that you can start using today!

5 Common Reasons Christians Stop Reading the Bible

Why do Christians stop reading the Bible? Here are 5 common reasons that Christians stop reading the Bible.

Are You Willing to Persevere for Jesus?

Have you ever read Hebrews 6? I had a long time ago, but it had been a while until Bible study this week. And this passage is HEAVY, y'all! I'm talkin' an elephant-sized amount of heavy! Because reading about apostasy two weeks in a row, and discussing how people can see Jesus, hear His word, but in the end decide to reject it, it's just hard. But it's written so that we will persevere. In fact, that's one of the main reasons the book of Hebrews was written- to encourage us to persevere for Jesus and not give up.

The thing about apostasy is, no one ever thinks it's going to be them that turns their back on Jesus. Sometimes, people are blind to their own rejection of the faith, because they've invented a false version of Jesus that they follow until the day they die (in other words, "Christian" false teachers). 

My Bible study leader pointed out that even in the case of Judas, everyone thought that he was a true follower. When Jesus told His disciples that one of them would betray Him, no one said, "Well it's pretty obvious that it's going to be Judas. We've been seeing signs for months". On the contrary, the disciples started worrying and asking Jesus, "Is it me, Lord?" (Mark 14:19).

But the thing we need to realize is, apostasy can be avoided. That's the whole reason the author of Hebrews took the time to warn his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. He knew that a warning like this- one full of hard truths- would encourage them to persevere until the end. Because the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. And the truth of the matter is that we just need to finish the race.

Most of you have probably heard by now that Billy Graham passed away. And when we talk about perseverance, Reverend Graham definitely fits into the category of someone who ran a long, hard, and fulfilling race for Jesus, and now he has finally entered his true home.

There's a lot about Billy Graham's life that I hope to emulate in my own. I want to share Jesus with others in a way that speaks to their hearts. I want to glorify God until the day I die, no matter what I go through before I get there.

But persevering doesn't mean we all have to be preachers or missionaries. Perseverance simply means running a faithful race for Jesus through the ups and downs, the fruitful seasons and the fruitless seasons. Persevering for Jesus means that even when we feel like we can barely hang on, we hang on anyway, trusting God to keep us.

But how do we do this practically? How can we make sure we persevere until the end? How do we make sure we don't give up?

"And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises." -Hebrews 6:11-12 (ESV)

Stay in Scripture

God tells us that His word is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12), and that it is useful for correcting us and training us in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Something that powerful has the ability to shape us and renew our minds (Romans 12:2). It's no wonder that God tells us to write His word on our hearts (Deut. 11:18).

 Pray, Pray, and Pray Some More

God tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:16-18). He tells us to bring all of our requests to Him (Philippians 4:6). And so that we have a good example to go by, He even tells us how to pray (Matt. 6:9-13). He doesn't expect that we always pray the same things or the same way, but He asks that we come to Him, trust Him, and commune with Him. And as we commune with Him, He will strengthen us with patience and endurance (Col. 1:11-12).

Seek Godly People

Whether we like to admit it or not, there's always power in community and accountability. The more we surround ourselves with people who love God, and who encourage us to seek Him and love Him more, the easier it will be for us to persevere until the end. People who do not surround themselves with wise and godly believers will tend to have a harder time persevering when the going gets tough. (Proverbs 11:14).

Unsure of where to find these godly people? Start by getting involved in a solid, humble, and Bible-believing church. From there you can meet Christian friends, get plugged into small groups, and find areas to serve (which also helps you meet people). Trust me, even the hard-core introvert needs godly people in their lives.


Persevering until the end is not easy. In fact, just like a marathon runner has to discipline themselves and train in order to finish the race, we also will have to discipline ourselves to take the steps necessary to finish the race. We can't just pray a prayer asking for salvation and then assume that we will make it until the end with no extra effort. No, we need the strength of God to carry on. Thankfully, He'll give it. 

The good news for us is that anything that God asks of us (including persevering until the end), He also gives us the strength and ability to do. He is the one who carries us through. Jesus is our salvation, not our own abilities. So while you should actively persevere, you can also trust that when your efforts are imperfect (as they will be) you have a savior who makes you righteous and will carry you to the finish line!

4 Reasons Why Christians Stop Growing in Their Faith

Is your growth in your relationship with God stunted? Learn 4 reasons why Christians stop growing in their faith, and how you can start growing again.

Why We Can Come To God With Confidence

The Bible tells us that we can be confident when we come to God in prayer. What makes this truth a reality and why can we come to God with confidence? Learn why we can boldly come to God today.