2025 is my year to read through the entire Bible – again.  And I thought it was a good time to invite you to read through it with me.  I will be reading the One Year Bible and sending out a weekly e-mail to encourage you and give you some background information on what you are reading.

I have read through the Bible many times – at least 35 – I continue to do it for several reasons.

First is the discipline of being in God’s word daily.  The Bible is a letter from my best friend telling me how to live my life and give me direction.  It is full of wisdom, inspiration, and comfort.  No matter what your situation, you can find a parallel in the Bible.  No matter how you are feeling, you can find a Psalm or passage that will resonate.  Reading through the Bible in a year keeps me grounded and centered on the God I love.

Second is discovering new things about God and my relationship to God.  Every time I read through the Bible I discover a new story.  I often wonder “how did that get in there?” and “why didn’t I notice this before?”  God speaks to us in new ways depending on our situation in life.  The Bible contains life lessons that I wasn’t ready to hear before.  Letting God speak to me through the Bible teaches me new things about myself and challenges me to become more like Jesus.

Third is the satisfaction of wearing out a book.  My One Year Bible is a mess.  The edges are frayed.  The binding is bent.  There are passages underlined, starred, and notes in the margins.  The book has accompanied me as I have visited and lived in different states.  It is well-used which means it is well-loved.  I have another Bible that I have read so much that I had to have it rebound.  Do I spend time in God’s word?  Just look at my Bibles for proof!

I would like to challenge you to read the Bible all the way through in 2025.  Maybe you have done it before.  Maybe you started but got bogged down somewhere along the way.  The One Year Bible makes it easier to stick with reading through the Bible in a year.  I read the New International Version, but it is available in many translations that cover the same verses each day.  You can even get an audible version and listen to it instead of reading it.

I like the One Year Bible because it divides the Bible into reasonable chunks.  Most people who decide to read the Bible in a year start with Genesis, get bogged down in Leviticus, and quit by they time they get to Numbers.  The One Year Bible covers two chapters of the Old Testament, one chapter of the New Testament, one Psalm and a few verses of Proverbs every day.  This way, there is always something interesting to read.

So, what do you think?  Are you ready to join me in reading through the Bible in one year?  You can sign up for my weekly e-mails by sending me (hartleyfam@aol.com) your e-mail address.  The first e-mail goes out on December 31!