Where Should I Start Reading the Bible?
Not page one — a practical, encouraging route into Scripture for first-time and returning readers.
Start with a Gospel — most guides suggest John or Mark — to meet Jesus first, since “these are written, that ye might believe” (John 20:31). Add a psalm a day for prayer’s vocabulary, then Genesis and Exodus for the story’s roots, Acts for what happened next, and a letter like Philippians. Small and daily beats heroic and abandoned: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet” (Psalm 119:105) — foot-lamp range.
Why not Genesis to Revelation?
Cover-to-cover reading founders for most beginners in Leviticus — good territory, wrong first hike. The Bible is a library, and libraries have entrances. Since the whole account exists “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,” the sensible door is a Gospel: John for depth (belief is its stated aim), Mark for pace (readable in two evenings). Meet the central figure; the rest of the library keeps referring to him anyway.
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
A simple on-ramp
A proven route: John, then Genesis and Exodus 1–20 (the story’s foundations), then Luke and Acts (one author’s two volumes — Jesus, then his church), then Philippians or Ephesians for letter-reading, with a psalm most days alongside. Read at whatever pace lets you keep going; a chapter a day outlasts a book a day. Note questions rather than stalling on them — many resolve themselves miles down the road.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
How to read for change, not just coverage
Scripture prescribes its own method: meditate — the word pictures a slow chewing — rather than skim; “receive with meekness the engrafted word”; and do it: “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.” Pray before you open (the psalmist’s “Open thou mine eyes”), keep one verse from each sitting, and expect the book to read you back — it is quick and powerful, a discerner of the heart’s thoughts.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
Quick answers
- How much should I read a day?
- Whatever you can sustain — a chapter, even a paragraph. Psalm 1 blesses meditating “day and night,” not volume. Twelve minutes daily finishes the whole Bible in a year, but consistency matters more than pace.
- What if I don't understand what I read?
- Company helps — the Ethiopian asked “How can I, except some man should guide me?” (Acts 8:31). Use a readable translation, a church, and patience: understanding compounds, and the Spirit teaches (John 14:26).
- Morning or evening?
- Scripture models both — morning manna and Psalm 63’s early seeking, evening meditation (Psalm 63:6). The best time is the one that actually happens; guard it like an appointment.
