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15 Ways to Feed on God’s Word This Year
By Brian Hedges
Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4), and the prophet Jeremiah wrote:
“Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O LORD, God of hosts.” (Jer. 15:16)
And yet, believers often struggle to regularly and intentionally read and study the Bible. Sometimes it helps to get fresh ideas for feeding on the Scriptures.
Here are 15 ways to feed on the Word this year.
- Read through the Bible in a year.
Don’t write this off as overly difficult or too time-consuming! The Bible contains about 800,000 words, which the average person can read in just 54 hours – or about 8-10 minutes every day of the year. In contrast, some surveys indicate that the average person spends 5 hours every day watching TV, plus another 1-2 hours on social media. You have time. You just need a plan. Here are Bible reading plans.
2. Journal through a book of the Bible.
I first learned this from Jim Elliot, the famous 20th-century missionary and martyr. When I was a teenager, someone loaned me Elliot’s journals. Most of his entries were short meditations on a chapter from the Bible, interspersed with the personal details of his life. I started following his example and filled more than a dozen journals over the next decade.
The method is simple: pick a book of the Bible and read a passage each day, whether a single verse or one or more chapters. Then write your observations about the passage. It doesn’t have to be eloquent or scholarly or profound.
It just needs to be something based on the text. Then, write out a brief prayer. You may be surprised at how much you grow.
3. Read through a book of the Bible with the help of a study Bible or commentary.
Sometimes the Bible can be a difficult book. It is filled with unfamiliar names and places and often uses theological terms we don’t understand. This is where a good study Bible or commentary can be helpful. The eighteenth-century evangelist George Whitefield reportedly read through the entire Bible four times with the help of Matthew Henry’s commentary, the last time on his knees. “I began to read the Holy Scriptures upon my knees,” he wrote, “This proved meat indeed and drink indeed to my soul. I daily received fresh light and power from above.”
Using a commentary has helped me, especially when reading difficult books in the Old Testament, like Leviticus.
For an excellent one-volume commentary on the whole Bible, produced by a team of top-notch evangelical scholars, check out the New Bible Commentary, 21st Century Edition, published by IVP.
4. Read through one book of the Bible every day for a month.
I learned this method from John MacArthur. The idea is to take one book of the Bible, such as Ephesians or 1 John, and read it every single day for a month. When taking a longer book, such as the Gospel of John, MacArthur recommends breaking it down into smaller sections (e.g., John 1–7 every day for the first month, then John 8–14 the next month, and so on). By the end of the month, you’ll have read the book thirty times and be more familiar with its themes than ever before.
5. Read through a genre of Scripture in search of a particular theme.
With this method, you take one genre of Scripture (e.g., the Gospels, the Minor Prophets, or the Letters of Paul)
and read through in search of a particular theme. You could trace prayer, wisdom, justice, mercy, kingdom, discipleship, or the character of God.
6. Read the Bible before meals.
Many Christians pray before every meal. Have you ever thought about reading the Bible before (or after) each meal?
This is a practice I observed at a Bible college in Africa. My friend, Carrie Ward, read through the entire Bible aloud with her children by reading a chapter a day at breakfast. She chronicles this in Together: Growing Appetites for God.
7. Mark up your Bible!
Studies show that writing uses a different part of the brain than reading. Marking up your Bible helps Scripture sink deeper into memory and heart. For help, see Jim Hamilton’s article How I Mark My Bible.
8. Use a journaling Bible.
Jonathan Edwards inserted blank pages into his Bible to record notes. Today, journaling Bibles provide wide margins for this purpose. See options in the ESV and NASB.
9. Write out a full book of the Bible in a journal.
The kings of Israel were required to copy the law by hand (Deut. 17:18). This practice slows the reader and deepens meditation. You can use journals designed for this purpose.
10. Memorize Scripture.
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Ps. 119:11). Both long familiarity and focused memorization help store Scripture in the heart. For help, see How to Memorize for Life: From One Verse to Entire Books by Andy Davis.
11. Read a daily devotional.
D. A. Carson’s For the Love of God is a faithful companion to daily Scripture reading.
12. Read a children’s Bible storybook.
Well-written story Bibles help readers grasp the big picture of Scripture:
13. Watch the Bible.
Watching Scripture can supplement reading.
14. Listen to the Bible on your smartphone.
Audio Bibles make Scripture accessible through the ESV Bible app.
15. Listen to expositional preaching on the Bible.
Personal study matters, but God also feeds His people through the preached Word in the local church. There is no substitute for gathered worship.
For more from our latest series visit: Starting the Year Rooted in Christ
Brian Hedges is the lead pastor for Fulkerson Park Baptist Church in Niles, Michigan, and the author of Christ Formed in You: The Power of the Gospel for Personal Change (Shepherd Press, 2010) and Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin (Cruciform Press, 2011).
