We just completed our 2020 Bible reading challenge. Congratulations to all who participated, even if you didn’t make it all the way through, I trust this season of voluminous Bible reading was beneficial to you.
Congratulations to our grand prize winner, Barbara J., and our second prize winner, Kevin C. And congratulations to all 38 who completed the challenge and submitted entries to the drawing. Here are some of the things people had to say about the experience:
It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it might be.
When doing a year-long read-through, I was only reading a few chapters a day and tended to forget what I read the previous day. Reading big chunks like this made it much easier to see themes, repeated terms, and to connect books to books. I found more of an emotional connection as well, which surprised me. Lamentations moved me more because I had so recently read of Jeremiah’s ministry. Reading Isaiah and the other Old Testament prophets this way was a powerful experience.
This is my third year in this reading challenge. I can’t wait until next year’s challenge. [Perhaps the fourth year will be the year of the prize for you! – PJK] I have commented in the past years that I find reading the narratives rather easy but got lost in Isaiah’s poetry. This year was different. Isaiah actually started flowing much easier for me. I also noticed that reading the Gospels (all four in nine days!) I started noticing the differences more readily. I already knew that each Gospel author shapes similar scenes for their own purpose but this year I noticed that Matthew in recording the scene with the Sadducees about the resurrection didn’t record Jesus reminding them of Moses standing at the burning bush like Mark and Luke. I think that reading the whole Bible in 90 days allows me to see the depth of its riches in ways that small bites do not.
I cried big ugly tears the day I finished, God has changed me into a Bible reader and I never thought I could be.
I didn’t think I would be able to do it … I have to admit that because this is BY FAR the quickest I have read through the Bible, I did not retain as much, but I plan on doing a 90-day plan at least once a year moving forward. It also gives me confidence that I can read the Bible aloud to my family and it not take a lifetime!
Loved it, as always. It’s a great habit on multiple levels (set the tone for the year, jump start general reading for the year, reminds of the framework of the Bible for sermon prep and general study, etc.) I will probably do this at the beginning of each year forever.
This has consistently been one of the most useful things for my faith at the beginning of each year.
It was great to see the witness of Scripture to God’s long suffering character and desire for obedience. I have been wrestling with my understanding of Spiritual gifts, and to read all the epistles quickly gave me a great sense of the emphasis of God’s will on obedience and love.
Now, of course, not everyone is bursting at the seams with enthusiasm. This is not for everyone. I appreciate the honesty I received from those who gave it a try but decided it wasn’t for them:
It was a bit too much reading at one time and I would have to constantly refocus because my mind would start to wander. But not being in any one book for very long kept things interesting.
I didn’t like it mainly because I like to stop and meditate on what I just read/listened to from scripture.
May this season of front-loaded saturation in God’s Word set a good tone for the rest of your year. Lord willing, we’ll be back to do it again in 2021.
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