This Lent I sensed God nudging me to read the entire Bible through in 40-days preceding Easter. I selected The Message Bible for its readability and fresh prose. I invited people to join in. More than 5000 people around the world downloaded The 40-Day Bible Reading Challenge.
Over the last two months, I’ve heard from pastors, friends, moms, dads, grandmas, and more who have been diving into the Scripture and drinking in the fullness of God’s Word at the pace of about 30 chapters a day.
But along the way, I’ve also heard from many of you who said, “I wish I would have known sooner!” and “I really want to do this!”
So we’ve created a 40-Day Bible Reading Challenge that you can download for FREE that will help you read the entire Bible in 7 weeks.
To download the Free 40-Day Bible Reading Challenge, sign up for the RSS subscription: click here. [Tweet this]
Grab a friend. Invite a co-worker. Ask your daughter or son. Call grandma or grandpa. And join in on diving into the great big story of God.
For those of you who joined in to read the entire Bible during Lent, what advice, tips, or insight do you have for those just beginning this journey? [Tweet this]
Please comment below.
Just Read. I loved just reading the Bible. Not to figure out what something meant or try to decipher what someone meant – I just read. But, somewhere along the line, God showed up {He always does} and showed me things I had never thought of before. Reading His Word is a precious time and I love it – so much I’m now reading it (The Bible) again – this time Chronologically. Thanks again Margaret for being sensitive to the Holy Spirit and putting this together.
Lorna, so glad God revealed Himself in new ways to you during the 40-Day Challenge and am praying for you as you reading it again!
I would echo Lorna’s reply. Just read. It’s not a Bible study, so you aren’t going in-depth. Just keep reading. Also, I found YouVersion to be incredibly valuable. I have ADD, so it was extremely hard to read while my husband was watching TV. With YouVersion, I could read and listen at the same time and was less distracted by the TV.
Lorna, I am doing the same thing, although not at 30 chapters a night. I decided I would just start with April 1 and dive in there and read each day’s amount. It goes so fast!
I did a combination of listening and reading….I also had a note book to jot down new insights God gave while I read ….now I want to go back and dig into those a little deeper ….I too can’t just stop….I am doing a read through of the New Testament ….also starting the wonderstruck study tomorrow….I think it is the perfect timing ….because doing the 40 reading left more more wonderstruck with God…He is so good…bringing treasures aiong the way.
I loved reading the bible in lent this year. I would recommend reading it in a version you don’t normally read so that you don’t skim too easily over the text and take every opportunity to read or listen. Some days when I drove a lot I listened to almost the whole portion for the day asi traveled around.
Thanks for doing this Margaret. I couldn’t keep up with the first challenge, but I really wanted to keep going (eventhough) I was super-behind all of you. So awesome!! I’m up for the 7 week challenge. I’m gonna invite some friends this time. Blessings
Elisa – Love YouVersion. I’m trying to read it from April 1 until Pentecost (May 19th). Since the New Living Translation that I will be reading from is much easier to read, I’m hoping it will be smooth sailing. Will be praying for you as you read. ~Lorna
Thanks
Do this!
And don’t get discouraged if you get behind. Keep reading.
I started the challenge late. I hesitated to commit because I was concerned that reading Scripture would become a chore, that reading so much would reduce the chapters to a task to get checked off.
Instead what happened is I fell in love with the Bible all over again.
I got a big picture of what God has done, is doing, and will do in the future.
I haven’t finished yet, and yes, it will take me about 50 days to finish, but I can’t emphasize how amazing this challenge is and how much God will bless you if you just immerse yourself in His words to us.
Of note, I read the Voice translation. It reads comfortably, like a story, and that makes it easy to follow.
Great advice, Ro!
Loved listening to the bible, Sarah. Thanks for sharing.
Woohoo Doe! Can’t wait to hear how it goes this time around 🙂
50 days is still great Erin. So glad you decided to participate and so thrilled God has been revealing Himself to you!
I really enjoyed the Lenten challenge. I read The Message version and found it very easy to keep going. Yes, there were days when it was heavy slogging, but most days I enjoyed Eugene Peterson’s way of writing. I liked reading the whole Bible in this short amount of time; it gives a different feel to it and shows how everything is interconnected.
I am really interested in getting friends and church members involved in readying the whole Bible for 2024. Please share how I can get the calendar and instructions.
Thanks
That’s wonderful! Unfortunately we don’t have this particular calendar any more, but there are lots of other free Bible reading plans you can find online! 🙂 Blessings!
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