15 “I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.” (Psalm 119.15-16 ESV)
When was the last time you read your Bible? I don’t mean when was the last time you read from your Bible, or the last time you read something from the Bible (which was just a few seconds ago). When was the last time you read God’s Word cover-to-cover?
What if we resolved to use 2026 as a year to learn God’s Word? Not just to skim the text, but a year spent meditating, fixing our eyes upon, delighting in, and inscribing the words of scripture on our hearts?
Here’s how to get started:
- Find a paper Bible in a reliable translation. ESV, CSB, NASB, or NKJV are all good starting places. Don’t settle for reading from an “app on the phone” or the audiobook versions out there: Paper bibles don’t have notifications, never run out of battery, and you can’t underline or highlight an audiobook! (Yes, I said to write in your Bible. It’s a tool, not a magic talisman. Mark it up!)
- Set yourself reminders. This is where your phone comes in handy. Make Bible reading a part of your schedule, whichever part of the day you can devote to it. Set alerts and stick with them.
- Read whole books instead of skipping around: The Bible is a collection of books, and each of those books has its own structure, literary styles, and contexts. In short, they were meant to be read and understood first as individual books, with a few exceptions like Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. If you start Genesis or Luke, for instance, finish that book before moving on to something else.
- Read slowly, deeply, & repeatedly if necessary. The Bible wasn’t written in short, disjointed bursts of information to be read in rapid, nonlinear fashion. David calls us to meditate upon the text (Ps. 1.2), so slow down, focus, give your brain those few extra seconds/minutes to think, marinate in the context, process, and then draw meaningful conclusions.
May we resolve to soak ourselves in God’s word!
Kyle Sanders
Kyle has been preaching since 2016 in Chiefland, Florida and Clinton, Mississippi before coming to work with the Jamestown church of Christ in 2021. Before preaching, he spent several years as a high school mathematics teacher in Indiana, Kentucky, and Florida. Kyle is a teacher at heart and brings his love of studying and interacting with students into his preaching and teaching efforts. He and his wife, a native Hoosier, have been blessed with five children, two dogs, a full house and zero leftovers.