A long, long time ago.
Okay, not really. It was only like three and a half years ago but that was 2019 and it seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, way back in 2019 I was challenged to read through the book of Luke in my Bible. All that was required was a Bible, a notebook, and 24 days to read 24 chapters.
I’ve read through Luke before, but I was down for a challenge so I accepted. Over the next 30 days, I read and took notes on the 24 chapters of Luke.
It was life-changing.
At first, I didn’t know why. I mean, I’d read through my Bible before. I did regular study, devotionals, and reading plans but this was different. It felt different. I learned new things and saw the words on the page in a whole new way.
When I completed the book I had a little party for myself and immediately decided to jump into the book of Acts. I didn’t have an agenda or timeline but I’d found a good rhythm for my study and I wanted to keep going.
Jump forward over two years. As of right now, I’ve read 40 of the 66 books of the Bible, I’ll be finishing my 41st book next week and moving on to book number 42.
Needless to say, I’ve learned a few things in the past couple of years. First and foremost, I’ve learned about God. I’ve learned about His Word, about His character, about His son Jesus, and even a few things about myself. I’ve seen old, familiar passages in a new light. I’ve discovered new stories and concepts that I may have read in the past but never noticed.
Funny how that works. Every time I read my Bible I learn and see new things.
Does that happen to you too?
Now, you might be saying to yourself, “Who cares? I’ve read the Bible before.” And that’s fantastic. Me too. But I have no recollection of anyone in my life, my parents, my pastor, my mentor, or teachers, suggesting I read through my Bible in this particular way. And to be perfectly honest, I’m stumped as to why not.
I have heard people talk about reading through the Bible in a year. I had a pastor challenge our congregation to do that one year when I was just out of college and he even gave us a plan, which I still have. But I have never been invited by anyone to read through my Bible slowly, with purpose, and to take notes at the same time.
I’ve been a Christ-follower since I was five years old. I attended a Christian high school and college and even graduate school. I am now many decades into this relationship. And nothing has been more meaningful or had more impact on my daily walk than taking this very long, slow journey.
In the last couple of years, I’ve started to hear rumblings from a few women who are teachers of the Word about biblical literacy. The voices seem to be getting louder too. But it feels like we’re just supposed to know how to do this without anyone telling us.
What, like osmosis from sitting in a sanctuary seat or something?
I guess.
Just recently I finally heard someone talk about a method similar to the one I’ve adopted. Finally, after all these years, a beautiful, honest teacher finally said, “Hey, grab your Bible and a notebook and start reading.”
Truthfully, it’s incredibly easy. But I suppose the church isn’t any more immune to the marketplace than the rest of the world. Books sell. Books about the Bible, books about topics in the Bible.
All this to say, this is your official invitation to take what I like to call the #LongWayThru the Word of God. Yup, I totally made that a hashtag, because I live in the 21st century and that’s how we roll.
Now that you’ve been invited, here’s how it works.
- One book.
- One chapter in that book per day.
- Five days a week.
- Take notes as you read.
What? You were expecting something complicated? No way my friend. This may be a long, slow journey but it’s easy peasy lemon squeezy.
One Book
You are going to be reading one book at a time. This is not a topical study where you jump all around. Just read one book and read it well.
What you read and when is up to you. You may want to start at the beginning, in Genesis. But you don’t have to. I started in Luke then went on to Acts and then jumped into the Old Testament.
Read the books that go together in succession. 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, read them together one after the other. Read 1 Kings and 2 Kings together. They were written on the original scrolls that way, so don’t bail out in the middle of the story. Keep going.
When you finish a book or grouping of books, go on to the next book of your choice.
One Chapter Per Day
The #LongWayThru is not a race. It’s a slow, methodical process that allows you to think and process what you are reading. Therefore, only read one chapter per day. Some days this will be short, others long, but it should only take 15 minutes or so for you to read.
Do the reading before you start taking any notes so you get the whole story. Sometimes it will pick off from where you left off the day before. In some chapters, several thoughts are presented. In others, it’s just one main idea. Remember, this is the crockpot of Bible reading, not the Instant Pot.
5 Days Per Week
A main goal of the #LongWayThru is to read the entire Bible. If you try to stick to a rigorous schedule you’ll give up about two books into the whole thing. Read five days a week. use the other days to catch up or read other parts of the Bible or a devotional.
Reading your Bible shouldn’t be a chore or something you dread or feel guilty about missing. Give yourself plenty of grace and time to read. Life is different for everyone but we all have stuff. Sometimes that stuff needs our immediate attention and focus to the expense of other things. That’s okay. When you have a plan it’s no big deal. You’ll be back on track in no time.
Take Notes
What makes this method of studying your Bible different than just reading is taking notes. Grab a notebook. It can be as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be. You just need space to write the book and chapter you are reading and the date along with any pertinent notes.
Write down your thoughts, questions, insights, and anything else prompted by your reading. Use one notebook per book, except for the really short ones, then you can consolidate. Write in paragraphs, bullet points, skip lines, or don’t. It’s up to you how you take notes, there is no one right way.
Guess what? That’s it. One book, one chapter per day, five days per week, and take notes. Simple and doable, even for you.
I do have some suggestions on tools to use and some tips to help you study well. But for the actual reading, there’s not much to this. All it takes is a little dedication by you and I guarantee that you will gain much more than you ever imagined when you take the #LongWayThru.
5 tools for studying the Bible:
5 tips for studying the Bible:
5 reasons for studying the Bible:
This post is part of the SEED Project. You can join the SEED Project for free by signing up for my email list on the form below. To get more info and see all the videos produced so far, check out my YouTube channel. Just click the graphic below.
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So, are you ready to take the #LongWayThru?
Photo by Alexandra Fuller on Unsplash
Photo by Brendan Steeves on Unsplash 
