Start with the Gospel of Mark. Read one chapter a day, in a modern translation written in plain language, and before you open it, ask God in one sentence to help you understand. As you read, ask three simple questions: What does this show me about Jesus? What does it show me about myself? Is there something here to do, trust, or stop? That is the whole method, and it will carry you a long way.
Do not start at Genesis and try to read straight through to the end. Many new believers do this, hit the long lists of laws and genealogies a few weeks in, and quietly give up. The Bible is a library of sixty-six books written over many centuries, and there is a wiser order for a beginner. Below is a plan, some help for the hard parts, and what a normal week of reading might look like. You will not understand everything. Nobody does. You are not reading to master a textbook; you are reading to meet a Person.
Why this book, and why now
The Bible is not a collection of religious advice. Christians believe it is God’s own word, given through human writers, and that it does something in a person who reads it. Paul wrote to a young pastor:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work. — 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Instruction, conviction, correction, training. That is what you can expect it to do in you over time. And the psalmist describes what it does for a person trying to find their way: God’s word, he says, is a lamp to his feet and a light to his path (Psalm 119:105). Notice the modesty of the picture. A lamp to your feet shows you the next step, not the whole road. That is usually how Scripture works. You read a little, it lights the next step, you take it, and tomorrow you read again.
Where to start, and where to go from there
Begin with the four accounts of Jesus’ life, because the whole Bible is about Him. John explains why he wrote his Gospel:
But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. — John 20:31
And after His resurrection, Jesus walked with two disciples and showed them that the Old Testament had been pointing to Him all along:
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself. — Luke 24:27
So a good order for the first few months is this. Read Mark first; it is the shortest Gospel, moves quickly, and puts Jesus in front of you with very little commentary. Then read John, which is slower and explains more of who Jesus is. Then read Acts, the story of what the first Christians did after Jesus rose, which will help you understand church and baptism. Then read Romans, Paul’s fullest explanation of the gospel. After that, read Genesis and a Psalm or two alongside whatever New Testament book you choose next.
If you want to understand more of who you are reading about before you begin, who is Jesus and why did He die is a good companion to Mark.
How to read it
Pray first. The Bible is unlike other books because its Author is alive and present. Before you read, ask Him for help. The psalmist’s prayer is a good one to borrow:
Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law. — Psalm 119:18
Read slowly, and read whole chapters. Do not hunt for a verse that sounds nice. Read the chapter, notice what happens, and pay attention to the context. Many misunderstandings of the Bible come from pulling one line out of the story it belongs to.
Ask the three questions. What does this show me about Jesus (or about God)? What does this show me about myself? Is there something here to do, to trust, or to stop doing? Write a sentence or two in answer if it helps. You do not need to find something profound every day.
Get help. Reading with others is not cheating; it is how the Bible has usually been read. In Acts, an Ethiopian official was reading Isaiah in his chariot when Philip approached:
So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. — Acts 8:30-31
Ask a Christian to read with you. Join a small group at a church. A good study Bible with short notes at the bottom of the page can also help. How to find a church explains what to look for.
Do what it says. James warns that hearing without doing is self-deception:
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. — James 1:22
If you read that Jesus told His followers to forgive, and you have someone to forgive, that is your reading for the day. The Bible is understood best by people who obey it.
What to do with the hard parts
You will meet passages that confuse you, passages that seem harsh, and passages that seem to contradict something else you read. That is normal, and it does not mean the Bible is broken or that you are failing.
Keep a list of questions. Write down what puzzles you and move on. Some questions will answer themselves as you read more; others you can bring to a pastor or a mature Christian. Do not let one difficult chapter stop you reading the next.
Remember what you are handling. The writer of Hebrews says:
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. — Hebrews 4:12
Sometimes a passage is uncomfortable not because it is unclear but because it is clear and it has found something in you. When that happens, the right response is prayer, not a change of subject.
Also remember that the Bible tells the truth about people, including their sins, without approving of them. A story that reports a lie, a betrayal, or an act of violence is not recommending it. Ask what the story is showing, and who in it is behaving like God wants.
What this looks like on a Tuesday
A realistic pattern for someone with an ordinary life:
- Pick a time you already have. Ten minutes with coffee before work, or on the train, or before bed. Attach reading to something you already do.
- Read one chapter of Mark. If a chapter is long, half is fine. If you miss a day, do not double up; just read the next chapter tomorrow.
- Before you read, pray one sentence. After you read, answer the three questions in a sentence each, out loud or in a notebook.
- Once a week, tell someone one thing you read. A friend, a spouse, a person at church. Saying it aloud fixes it in your memory.
- Use a translation you can understand. The quotations on this site are from the Berean Standard Bible, which is freely available, and there are other modern translations in plain English. Avoid one that leaves you guessing at the meaning.
- If reading is genuinely hard for you, listen. Audio Bibles exist, and hearing Scripture read aloud was the normal way most Christians received it for most of history.
And pair reading with prayer from the start. The two belong together; how to pray when you have never prayed shows how.
A closing word
The Bible is God speaking, and you are now His child. Reading it is not a duty you owe a distant deity. It is sitting down with a Father who has things to tell you. The first psalm describes a person who lives this way:
But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does. — Psalm 1:2-3
Delight does not come on day one. It grows the way roots grow, slowly and out of sight. Open Mark chapter one tonight and begin.
You might pray: Father, I want to know You through Your word. Open my eyes. Help me to understand what I read, to trust what You say, and to do what You ask. Amen.
