For centuries, the Bible has been the most despised and the most beloved book known to mankind. It has been both greatly revered and greatly trampled upon.

Mark Twain called the Bible “A wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.”

The emperor Napoleon stated, “The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it.”

Charles Spurgeon noted, “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.”

Incidentally, those who hate God’s Word do so because they hate God; those who love God’s Word, love the Word because they love the one who wrote it.

In other words, you cannot love God without loving His Word.

Last week, we examined “5 Tips to Revolutionize Your Bible Reading This Year.” Today, we’ll look at 8 more.

1. Plan

Good intentions and willpower are no substitute for sound strategy. Below are a few Bible reading plans you might consider:

• The Bible-in-a-year plan will take you through the entire Bible in one year.
• Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading Plan will take you through the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters 4-5 times each, the Old Testament wisdom literature six times, the Psalms at least twice, Proverbs and Acts a dozen times, and the entire Old Testament History and Prophetic books roughly 1 1⁄2 times.
• You can check out a few more plans here.

2. Place and Time

Meeting with the Creator of the Universe is your most important meeting of the day. In the words of Ravi Zacharias, “The biggest battle you will face in life is your daily appointment with God; keep it, or every other battle will become bigger.”

For myself, I find that early morning is best, because that’s when my mind is free from distractions. I start with spiritual food to sustain me throughout the day.

Additionally, a quiet, uninterrupted place helps me focus on God.

3. Prayer

Because the Bible is a divine book, absorbing it requires the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Before diving into God’s Word, cry out as David did in Psalm 119:18, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”

4. Tools

I have benefited from others who have a much deeper understanding of God’s Word than I do. Here are a few tools I’ve found useful.

• Strong’s Bible Concordance is a great resource for cross-referencing and learning the meaning of key words.
• Warren Wiersbe’s Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Commentary provides a key points to remember and apply from each chapter of the Bible.
• Know Your Bible outlines an concise overview of each book of the Bible.

What tools do you use?

5. Listening

The Tecarta Bible App allows me to listen to God’s Word throughout the day without taking up too much storage on my iPhone.

6. Memorization

5-10 minutes devoted to scripture memory each morning can yield remarkable results. “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11).

7. Context

The Bible is more than an index of isolated verses; it is one divine masterpiece of 66 books, in which “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). Each book has its own message that ties in with the big picture story of the Bible.

For context, ask questions like the following.

• Who is speaking/writing? To whom? For what purpose?
• What is the message of this book?
• What is the message of this chapter?

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2 Timothy 2).

8. Application

Reading God’s Word is worthless, unless you apply it. James 1:22-25 exhorts,

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.“

In the end, living God’s Word is harder than understanding God’s Word. Our lives will declare whether or not we accept God’s Word as true.

QUESTION: How do you intentionally strive to get the most of out your Bible reading?