Bible intake is essential to Christian discipleship (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Josh. 1:8; Rom. 15:4; Heb. 4:12).

If you don’t have a plan, you will find your Bible reading sporadic.  Don’t read the Bible like a yearbook (looking in the back for pages that apply to you) or a fortune cookie (hoping that the random passage will be God’s answer for you today).  The Bible has a beginning, middle, and end.  Each book has a logical train of thought.  God designed it that way.

Learn to read the Bible the way that God set the table rather than treating it like a buffet-line.

I recommend reading through the entire Bible but don’t attempt it until you have successfully read through a few books of the Bible.  Take a gospel and read it all the way through.  Read through Acts.  Study through an epistle.  Work your way up to a reading plan that goes through the entirety of the Bible.

Have you ever wondered how long it takes to read through each book?  There are 66 books in the Bible.  They vary in length.  While the Bible is a big book, you can read it in book-sized pieces.

Did you know that many of those books can be read in less than an hour?  40 out of the 66 books (61% of the books) can each be read in less than an hour?  In fact, some of the books will take the average reader 2 minutes to read.

The average American watches TV for approximately 3 hours a day.  That may or may not be your statistic.  But if you took the time watching TV and applied it to reading the Bible, you could read through one of the books each night.  In fact, 61 of the books (92%) could be read in one day’s television consumption.  The only books you couldn’t read in an average television watching span would be Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (but it’s not that far from being able to read them).

What about binge-watching series on Netflix?  Ever done that?  I have!  The entire series of Lost would take you 5 days and 1 hour to watch.  4 days and 4 hours of Walking Dead episodes are available right now.  Have you seen them all?  I’m not saying you can’t watch all these shows, but I am saying be careful with your excuses.

Don’t use time as an excuse to avoid the Bible if you have ever binge-watched a series on Netflix.

You can read the Bible if you want to read the Bible.  You just have to make the time.

Average Reading Time

1. Genesis– 3.5h
2. Exodus– 3h
3. Leviticus– 2h
4. Numbers– 3h
5. Deuteronomy– 2.5h
6. Joshua– 1.75h
7. Judges– 1.75h
8. Ruth– 15m
9. 1 Samuel– 2.25h
10. 2 Samuel– 1.75h
11. 1 Kings– 2h
12. 2 Kings– 2.25h
13. 1 Chronicles– 2h
14. 2 Chronicles– 2.5h
15. Ezra– 40m
16. Nehemiah– 1h
17. Esther– 30m
18. Job– 1.75 h
19. Psalms– 5h
20. Proverbs– 1.75h
21. Ecclesiastes– 30m
22. Song of Solomon– 20m
23. Isaiah– 3.75h
24. Jeremiah– 4h
25. Lamentations– 20m
26. Ezekiel– 3.75h
27. Daniel– 1.25h
28. Hosea– 30m
29. Joel– 12m
30. Amos– 25m
31. Obadiah– 4m
32. Jonah– 8m
33. Micah– 20m
34. Nahum– 8m
35. Habakkuk– 9m
36. Zephaniah– 10m
37. Haggai– 7m
38. Zechariah– 40m
39. Malachi– 11m
40. Matthew– 2.5h
41. Mark– 1.5h
42. Luke– 2.5h
43. John– 2h
44. Acts– 2.25h
45. Romans– 1h
46. 1 Corinthians– 1h
47. 2 Corinthians– 40m
48. Galatians– 20m
49. Ephesians– 20m
50. Philippians– 14m
51. Colossians– 13m
52. 1 Thessalonians– 12m
53. 2 Thessalonians– 7m
54. 1 Timothy– 16m
55. 2 Timothy– 11m
56. Titus– 7m
57. Philemon– 3m
58. Hebrews– 45m
59. James– 16m
60. 1 Peter– 16m
61. 2 Peter– 10m
62. 1 John– 16m
63. 2 John– 2m
64. 3 John– 2m
65. Jude– 4m
66. Revelation– 1.25h

You can work your way through the Bible.  Pick a book and get started.

Image from Desiring God.