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Congratulations to Winners of the Drawing!

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Many thanks, and great job to all who participated in this year’s 90-day Bible reading challenge. This year, we had 34 people complete the Bible reading challenge—22 of them for the first time. With the bonus entries granted for those who recruited others to complete the challenge, there were 42 total entries.

Patti M. won the grand prize of a premium book rebinding from Pro Libris Rebinding. Many thanks to Pro Libris for providing this year’s fabulous grand prize! You can view samples of Pro Libris’s amazing work at their Facebook and Instagram pages.

With 34 participants, we had three additional prize packages, offered to the following folks:

  • Steven S.
  • Jeanette M.
  • Linda R.

I have emailed each of these winners to notify them of their prize. If your name is on this list, and you haven’t seen an email from me, you may want to check your spam filter. Or email me at peter.krol@knowableword.com to double check. If I don’t hear back from you by April 8, new winners will be selected to receive the prize.

What People Thought

As usual, there were a variety of perspectives on the rapid reading experience. Some loved it:

  • Someone who completed the Bible in 24 days: “It serves well, as a companion, with other bible reading I do the rest of the year. Two things stood out to me, neither of which was anticipated. Early, while reading the OT, I began to notice things about “covenant” I had not really seen before. I, then, began paying more attention to things about covenant throughout the rest of the reading. The other was the book of Isaiah. I have never really understood what was going on in Isaiah, and still don’t for that matter. However various parts, here and there, caught my attention, and started to become little pegs in the larger book that I could begin building a better understanding of the book.”
  • 89 days: “While it was challenging, this is one of the most formative experiences I have had. I have always been a Bible reader, but there is something about reading such large chunks of the Bible in context in one sitting that seems to allow for better understanding of what is happening. I’m not sure this is a sustainable practice for me, because I had to take some Saturdays and do multiple readings when I got behind, but I can see myself doing it again. Maybe once a year.”
  • 89 days: “Last year was my first to participate in the 90-day challenge and I loved it. This year was even better.”

Others were not as enthusiastic, but still endured through the challenge:

  • 69 days: “It’s good and I’ll be glad to read more slowly again.”
  • 49 days: “Refreshing in one sense, but also a ‘dutiful’ sense in needing to keep moving without lingering. Almost a burden.”
  • 81 days: “Great for the bigger picture but hard to enjoy the parts I’m already familiar with.”

Perhaps my favorite response came from a first-timer, who completed the Bible in 84 days:

For starters I am Orthodox, my primary is the NKJV, I decided to give the CSB a try, and was amazed about how smooth the reading experience was. It was hard to put down, lol. This led me to order the CSB Ancient Faith study Bible (my next project, very excited about that).

Thanks

Thanks for the great time in God’s word. May it set you up for a profitable time the rest of the year, as you continue delighting in the Spirit-inspired scriptures handed down to us.

Please keep the ideas coming for future Bible reading challenges!

3 Poor Reasons to Read the Bible

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Christin Hume (2017), public domain

On this side of our glorified bodies, Christians have two natures that wrestle within. Our “old man” persists until we see the Lord, and as a result, even our good behavior can be laced with sin.

We rejoice at the opportunity to help our neighbor, but we recognize the pride of self-congratulation on the walk back home. We try to give money generously, but we catch ourselves scheming how to work our latest donation into a dinner conversation. Our hearts have graduate degrees in dusting sour, selfish powder on the wholesome bread of obedience and love.

Bad Reasons for Bible Reading

Reading the Bible is no exception. We can exploit even this act of devotion for selfish gain.

I’ve seen this in my life. The reasons I have for sitting down with God’s word are often mixed. The more we can identify and repent of our bad impulses, the better.

Read the Bible to Have a Great Day

Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of encouragement to exercise in the morning. I’m told this active start to the day will make me feel amazing and will set me up for success in every other area of my life.

Some people advocate Bible reading in the same manner. Fifteen minutes in the Psalms will give you the spiritual equivalent of endorphins. If you start your day with God, what could possibly bring you down?

This approach to the Bible is stained with the prosperity gospel. Yes, obedience to God brings blessing, but “blessing” does not mean a smooth path and a fat wallet. We must not tie our ease and comfort to God’s favor or our obedience.

Those who push the Bible as a vaccination against trouble also speak a lot about how “inspiring” the Scriptures are. Call me a downer, but we need this sobering truth: The Bible is not always inspiring. It isn’t supposed to be.

In the Bible we find the self-revelation of the holy God of the universe, and this revelation is not always intended to make us feel good. God has designed something much better.

Read the Bible so Others Know You’re Holy

Social media has multiplied our opportunities to broadcast our spiritual practices. And the dopamine hits from likes and shares can transform a posture of humble worship to one of gold-nugget hunting.

But Instagram did not create this temptation. From my earliest days as a Christian I have wanted others to praise me for my piety. I would read God’s word with an eye toward sharing my devotional discoveries with my friends.

Most people want others to think well of them, and in the church, this can take the insidious form of spoiling genuine time with God by an obsession with one’s reputation. Time set apart to think about and worship God becomes more time to focus on me.

Read the Bible to Earn God’s Love

Christians need to hear the gospel of grace over and over and over. The news is so stunningly good, we have trouble believing and remembering it.

We doubt that God’s love is as deep and steady and present as he says. We know the devotion God desires, and we think his love for us must be proportional to our obedience. We pick up the Bible either in the fear that we have sinned too much or in the hope that God might, finally, be pleased with our latest offering of worship.

This thinking is pervasive, but it is nowhere in the Bible itself. For Christians, God is a good father whose love cannot be improved. Our accounts are at maximum capacity. Whether we read the Bible, or how well we read the Bible, does not change God’s affections toward us.

One Good Reason to Read

These poor reasons to read the Bible are focused on self. A great reason to read the Bible is to focus on God.

In the Bible, God shows us himself. He shows us his holiness and his law and his mercy. We see the background and setting for the life of Jesus, the central act of history. We hear the cosmos-rocking implications of his death, resurrection, and ascension.

We read the Bible because God commands we love him with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. But the transformed people of God long to worship their loving father and hear from him.

This was originally posted in 2019.

What Does it Mean to “Keep” the Book of Revelation?

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Revelation 1:3 declares:

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Justin Dillehay looks to the rest of the book to speak for itself about what it means to “keep” this magnificent book, and he lands on three key applications: hear it being read, keep God’s commandments, and keep your eyes fixed on who Jesus is. Here is a taste:

Can you imagine a group of Christians sitting and listening to the entire book of Revelation read aloud in one sitting? I can, because I’ve been a part of such a reading several times. And John is right; it’s a “blessed” experience! You should try it. Gather a group of friends and carve out about ninety minutes to just sit and read together. It won’t remove all the book’s difficulties. But prepare to be amazed at the connections and the patterns you’ll notice when you hear it all at once, the way the original hearers likely would have.

Don’t become a prophecy fanatic who obsesses over Revelation while neglecting the rest of the Bible. But please, for your own sake, don’t stop reading this book. It’s the only book in the New Testament that explicitly pronounces a blessing for the one who reads it. So, keep reading it.

Check it out!

Reading the Gospels as Wholes

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Sadly, much reading and teaching of the gospels breaks the text down into tiny chunks, covering only a single scene or saying at a time. Jeannine Brown argues that this is not the best way to read them.

something important is lost when that’s as far as we look. Each Gospel writer has shaped their story of Jesus in ways that emphasize specific themes and messages about Jesus, and there is great value in studying a Gospel in its entirety to see and hear these messages clearly.

Check it out!

The Surprising Benefits of Daily Bible Reading

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I’ve shared many posts over the years outlining the many benefits of frequent Bible reading. I still was delighted and surprised by some of the insights on this list by Kevin Carson and Howard Eyrich. In addition to the usual “strengthen your faith” and “deepen you relationship with God,” they observe some benefits I haven’t fully realized myself. Blessings such as:

  • #4: It equips us for special battles
  • #7: It fosters a habit of consistency
  • #9: It prepares us to encourage others

What I most appreciate is that daily Bible reading is not just for you but also for others, by equipping you to serve them better. What a terrific motivation for reading God’s word every day.

Check it out!

You’ve Got Time

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Glenna Marshall makes a profound point in this piece: you’ve got enough time to read the Bible daily. Glenna required deep suffering to persuade her she couldn’t live life without God’s word. What will it take to persuade you?

Glenna timed her reading of the entire book of James, at a slow pace: 7.5 minutes. Then she went back to reread chapter one: 90 seconds.

Don’t start out with an hour of Bible reading at 5 a.m. unless this is a really, really feasible plan for you. Most of us won’t benefit from a plan like that. Not because it wouldn’t be good for us (it would be) but because if we start out too strong too quickly, we’re very likely to quit. We don’t want Bible reading for two weeks at the beginning of every year followed by months and months of spiritual malnourishment. We want Bible reading for life.

And then my favorite line of the piece:

If you have time to read this article, you have time to read your Bible.

Check it out!

Announcing the 2026 Bible Reading Challenge

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We believe one of the best ways to learn to study the Bible is to read it. A lot of it. Over and over again. That way, when the foundations are destroyed, the righteous will know what to do. When the wicked bend the bow, the children of God hide in the one who is their refuge. When surrounded by those who have lost their minds, the people of God have sure footing and a stabilizing security.

If you’re not sure what I mean by all these foundations/bow/sure footing metaphors, then maybe this is your year to read the entire Bible in 90 days. Objective truth and emotional stability are yours for the taking. Not by toughening yourself up (Prov 18:11, 26:12), but by perceiving who really sits on throne (Psalm 11:1-7, Matt 6:19-21). You’ll only see, though, if you’ve got the eyes for it.

But I digress and perhaps ought to get to the point.

The Challenge

I’m writing to announce our 2026 Bible reading challenge. The challenge is to read the entire Bible within 90 days. If you wish, you may begin today. Regardless of when you begin, your 90-day period must end no later than March 31, 2026. Once you complete your reading, you may submit an entry form (see below) to enter a prize drawing.

And why—you ask—would you embark on such a strange venture? (“Has the day finally come,” they inquire, “when the Lord has struck with madness the riders of this horse we call the blogosphere?” Zech 12:4, my paraphrase.) I can think of at least three reasons.

  1. Your grasp of the Bible’s big picture will surge like a “little” cloud in the shape of a man’s hand (1 Kings 18:44-45).
  2. Your reward in the age to come will be great.
  3. We’ve got a sweet set of prizes to urge you on in the present age.

Due to popular demand from last year, we’ve got a repeat grand prize for you this year. And for every 10 people who complete this year’s challenge, there will be an additional prize package. On top of all that, we will grant extra entries into the drawing for anyone who recruits first-timers to complete the challenge with them.

Grand Prize

Back by popular demand, this year’s grand prize is a premium book rebinding provided by Pro Libris Rebinding. Many thanks to Pro Libris for their generous provision of this prize for our giveaway. The winner of this prize is invited to take their favorite Bible, novel, or other book, send it to Pro Libris, and have it re-bound with a premium leather cover and binding. Or if you can’t decide which book of your own to get rebound, we will provide you with a free copy of a one-volume reader’s Bible of your choice, and Pro Libris will give it the premium treatment. You can view samples of Pro Libris’s amazing work at their Facebook and Instagram pages.

We want you to read and re-read God’s word for years to come, so we’re offering this prize to catalyze a habit of such delightful romps.

Additional Prizes

But wait, there’s more! In addition to the grand prize, we will offer one additional prize for every 10 people who complete this year’s Bible reading challenge. That means that if only 10 people complete the challenge, one of them will win the grand prize, and one will get an additional prize. If 100 people complete the challenge, one will win the grand prize, and ten will secure an additional prize.

That means your odds of winning a prize are greater than 10%. (Last year, 11.7% of participants won prizes.) Can you find any other giveaway on the Internet with such great odds of winning? And though the physical discipline and training of reading the Bible in 90 days is of some value, the character and godliness which it instills in you holds promise not only for the present life but also for the life to come.

Everyone selected to win an additional prize will get to choose one of the following options:

  1. A one-volume reader’s Bible of your choice.
  2. A copy of both Knowable Word and Sowable Word.

Please note: Physical prizes are limited to people with addresses in the United States. Winners in other parts of the world will receive a $50 Amazon gift card via email.

Referral Bonus

On the entry form for this year’s challenge, there will be a place for you to mark whether this is your first time completing the challenge. And if it is your first time, there will be a place for you to provide the name of the person who recruited you to try the challenge.

Both recruits and recruiters will benefit:

  • First-timers will gain one extra entry in the drawing for naming the person who recruited them to this year’s challenge, if that recruiter also completes this year’s challenge.
  • Anyone who completes the challenge and is mentioned by one or more first-timers who also complete the challenge will gain three extra entries in the drawing for each person they recruited to complete the challenge.

Note that both the recruit and the recruiter must complete the challenge. All recruits must be first-timers; recruiters can be either returnees or first-timers themselves.

And as usual, fake, incomplete, or spam entries will be deleted. For example, anyone who fills out the form today or tomorrow clearly hasn’t read the entire Bible within the time window, so their entries won’t count. Also, entries submitted before Bible reading has been completed will be thrown out; this drawing is only for those who read the Bible in 90 days and not for those who intend to read the Bible in 90 days.

So it will do you no good to recruit millions of people to complete the entry form without completing the actual reading challenge. God sees and knows what you are up to, and your entries will be chucked to the place where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

Help is Available

If you’d like a checklist to help you stay on pace, here are three. You may make a copy and update the dates, if you plan to start on a date other than January 1.

  1. Canonical Order
  2. Chronological Order
  3. Hebrew OT & NIV Sola Scriptura NT Order

Or here is an iOS app that can help you track your plan. You may also want to consider making a reading plan in the Dwell listening app if you prefer audio. And perhaps you’ll want to bookmark this post so you can find the entry form once you complete the reading.

You may now begin any time, and may this be the ride of your life.

Official Rules

Here are the rules:

  1. You must read (not scan or skim) all 66 books of the Protestant Bible. You may choose the translation and reading plan (canonical, chronological, etc.). You don’t have to stop and meditate on every detail, but the Lord sees and knows when you are being honest about reading and not skimming. Listening to an unabridged audio Bible is acceptable. You may also use any combination of audio and visual reading, as long as you’ve read or listened to the entire Bible within the allotted time period.
  2. You must read the entire Bible within a 90-day period.
  3. The last day of that 90-day period must be between November 9, 2025 and March 31, 2026. If you’d like to understand why we recommend such fast-paced reading, see our Bible reading plan for readers.
  4. To enter the drawing, you must fill out the survey below, letting us know the dates you read and what you thought of the speed-reading process. Your thoughts do not have to be glowing, but they should be honest; you’ll still be entered into the drawing if you didn’t enjoy your speed-read.
  5. Any submissions to the form below that don’t meet the requirements or appear to be fabricated will be deleted. For example: multiple entries with different data, date of completion not between November 9, 2025 and March 31, 2026, “What I thought about the experience” has nothing to do with Bible reading, or date of completion is later than the date of entry submission (please don’t try to enter the drawing if you plan to read the Bible; only enter once you have completed reading it).
  6. In the first week of April 2025, we will randomly select 1 grand-prize winner from those who have submitted the form.
  7. Then we will randomly select, for an additional prize package, one winner for every 10 legitimate submissions to the drawing (e.g. 50 total submissions means 5 additional prize packages).
  8. We will email all winners (both grand-prize and additional-prize) requesting contact info to deliver their prize. If a winner does not respond to our request for information (such as a shipping address) within 1 week, a new winner will be selected in their place.
  9. The grand-prize winner (if in US) will receive a premium book rebinding for a Bible or book of their choice (from their personal library), or for a new one-volume reader’s Bible of their choice. (While these are not your only options, we have reviewed the following: ESV, CSB, NIV.) If you choose a book you already own, you will be responsible to ship it to Pro Libris. Pro Libris will then cover the return shipping to get it back to you when it is ready.
  10. Additional-prize winners (if in US) will select either a copy of both Knowable Word and Sowable Word or a one-volume reader’s Bible of their choice. (While these are not your only options, we have reviewed the following: ESV, CSB, NIV.)
  11. Any winner who does not qualify for a physical prize will receive a US $50 Amazon gift card via email.
  12. Unfortunately, though they are among the most courageous and competent people on the planet, staff members of DiscipleMakers are not eligible to win the drawing.

Keep Rereading the Passage

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books

Susan Yin (2018), public domain

What’s the key to understanding a Bible passage? Ten different people may give you ten different answers to that question, all of them helpful.

Today I’ll share the best advice I know on this topic. It’s not complicated or sophisticated or newsworthy. It’s difficult but extremely effective. Are you ready?

To understand a Bible passage, you need to read it. A lot.

Read to See the Structure

This advice is not ground-breaking, but I’ve recognized its value on several occasions since a discussion with my co-blogger Peter back in February.

We were talking about the way we prepare Bible studies, and he mentioned that his main practice is to read a passage as much as possible to determine its structure. Peter is convinced of the value of structure in understanding a passage’s train of thought and main point. He tries to understand the structure by listening for the rhythm, repetition, and other literary markers that occur in the Bible.

The more we read a passage—and this is especially true for longer passages—the more we understand the author’s intent. We notice words and phrases and themes that show up in neighboring chapters of a narrative. We see a character’s description change throughout an extended story. We observe the way a Gospel writer groups parables together to make a common point.

Peter has already written a great deal on structure. I encourage you to read his posts, starting here or here.

Advice for Rereading

Rereading a passage may be challenging. But the hard work will pay large dividends. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

  1. Allow yourself time. It may take 10 or 20 or more readings before you get a grip on a passage’s structure. That’s ok! We are fallible and finite, so we should not expect instant understanding of divine truth.
  2. Approach the passage from multiple angles. Read the passage from at least two translations. Listen to an audio version of the passage for a change of pace.
  3. Make an outline. After five or ten readings, sketch your own outline of the text. Don’t worry about trying to be perfect! Since we often think as we write, forcing yourself to diagram and label the various parts of a passage will help you think through the big picture.
  4. Adjust your outline. Change your outline as you go. Your first version will rarely be your last. As we continue to read, God often reveals more to us, so be willing to modify your work.

An Upcoming Case Study

In my next article, I’ll explain how this rereading strategy helped me prepare a Bible study on Luke 16.

If you’re unfamiliar with the chapter, it contains some confusing verses. (See especially Luke 16:9.) Heading into my preparation, I knew this might be the case, so I decided to put Peter’s advice into practice. I read the passage as much as I could before my small group meeting, and while I won’t pretend to have a definitive interpretation to offer, the repeated readings were immensely helpful.

I’ll share it all next time.

This was originally posted in 2019.

How Much Time Should Be Spent Reading the Bible?

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Tim Challies was recently asked a pretty common question:

I was recently part of a panel discussion when a question came up that I have heard various times and in various forms. It goes something like this: How much time should I spend reading the Bible compared to the time I spend reading other books? The question usually comes from someone who enjoys recreational reading, whether in the form of just-for-fun fiction or feed-my-soul nonfiction. He usually finds that he spends more time reading other books than he spends reading the Bible, and this leaves him grappling with guilt.

Challies chose to answer the question with another set of questions that are far more helpful. In so doing, he tries to help us view Bible reading less like “reading” and more like “hearing God’s voice.” When you perceive your time in Scripture as time with a trusted friend and master, it will reshape the way you approach that time.

Check it out!

Is the Bible Intimidating?

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Does the Bible seem intimidating to you? Isn’t it quite long, and is it difficult to find your way? It’s not the easiest read, especially if you try to go front to back.

Rebekah Matt is here to help. She provides a great introduction to the most intimidating aspects of the Bible, along with great suggestions for overcoming them.

Check it out!