The Unclothed

View Original

Cover-to-Cover: Let's Read The Bible!

Rachel Andorfer

Alright dude, you know me. I can’t do anything without researching first. That said, I’ve spent the last few years dabbling in The Bible but I have never read the entire book cover to cover. And it’s time. If you don’t know my history with it, I encourage you to come hang out during one of my LIVEs. I am happy to talk about my walk with the Lord and how I found Him in 2018 after my daughter passed away.

Anyhoo, its time to read the Bible cover-to-cover. Thing is, I have ADHD so sometimes the verbiage throws me off and I struggle with comprehension. (That’s where a Common English Bible helps a bit). I like to read from my Common English Bible and compare it to my NIV and King James.

That said: its time for you to get your Bible if you haven’t already. Just about everywhere sells them. Check out Ollie’s or even Goodwill. (Goodwill always has them; very inexpensive if not free).

1. The Plan (Overview)

I did some research and found a Bible reading guide/plan that really stood out to me. It was developed by Professor Grant Horner. Per his website, the idea is pretty simple:

  • we aren’t reading to study deeply or to memorize

  • we are reading quickly (but not speed-reading)

    • we should be reading right in between a super-quick skim and a careful moderate-paced read

  • we aren’t back-reading or looking up cross-references

  • we aren’t looking up anything we don’t understand because it will come through to us by contextualizing the text over time… its about getting through the text and familiarizing ourselves with scripture

The reading is fairly simple, too.

You (I/we) read one chapter from every list (there’s 10 of them) every single day. If you miss a day, catch up or just pick up where you left off. It isn’t that serious but you can’t give up. That’s why we are doing this together - starting now! My hope is to keep us all accountable and “enthused." What’s cool is we will never again read the same set of ten chapters together.

2. The Ten Lists

  1. THE GOSPEL

    • Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

  2. THE LAW; AKA THE PENTATEUCH; THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS; THE FIVE SCROLLS

    • Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

  3. LETTERS

    • Romans, II & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Hebrews

  4. LETTERS & PROPHECY

    • I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James, I & II Peter, I, II, & III John, Jude, Revelation

  5. POETRY

    • Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

  6. PSALMS

  7. PROVERBS

  8. HISTORY

    • Joshua, Judges, Ruth I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

  9. PROPHESY

    • Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

  10. ACTS

* Have no fear, I broke down this plan day-by-day. That’s where I come in to help you.

One of my favorite aspects of this Bible reading plan is how it constantly interweaves throughout the stories. (Again, how great is this for ADHD?!) I love Proverbs. The wisdom parts of the Bible. But, unfortunately, that isn’t how this works. We have to understand better. Strive to give Him our heart and attempt to learn as much as we can every day. Right? That said:

EVERY YEAR, WE WILL END UP READING

  • the Gospels four times,

  • the Pentateuch twice,

  • Paul’s letters 4-5 times each,

  • the Old Testament wisdom literature six times,

  • all the Psalms at least twice,

  • all the Proverbs as well as Acts a dozen times,

  • and all the way through the Old Testament History and Prophetic books about 1 ½ times.

“It is like no other system... it provides constant variety (which humans love) as well as consistent conviction (which humans hate).”

3. Accountability

We’re in this together. I broke down this entire system, made a spreadsheet, and now can clearly see what 10 chapters we will be reading each day. What I encourage you to do is:

  1. Join the group chat on Telegram.

  2. Check the ☰ Main Menu here at The Unclothed each morning for the assigned readings, the word of the day, and the vibe of the day.

    • If you’re like Molly and I, you probably like to cross things off to feel accomplished. We recommend grabbing a notebook/journal for each day. At the top, date it. Then, write the assigned ten chapters. Cross them off as you read them. Then, come to the group chat and let us know what you think, your favorite verse, thoughts, questions etc. This is super informal. This is primarily about getting in The Word each day.