Reading | Knowable Word

Now is the Time to Plan Your 2018 Reading

December 11, 2017 By Ryan Higginbottom

Laëtitia Buscaylet (2017), public domain

As we near the end of one year, it’s natural to think about our goals for the next. And whether it’s saving money, losing weight, building relationships, or learning a skill, we need plans to meet our goals.

You may not think of your reading list as goal-related. You may want planning as far away from your books as possible. But what we read has an enormous effect on our thoughts, our emotions, our worldview, and our souls.

In twelve months, you’ll be a different person than you are now. What you read between now and then will shape what kind of person you will be.

Connection to Bible Study

This might seem like a strange post to read on a blog all about Bible study. But these topics are vitally connected.

We have a finite amount of time, and without a plan we may not using our time well. When we’re tired or sad or frustrated, it’s easy to fall into bad patterns and spend time in unproductive or unrefreshing ways.

In particular, we don’t often drift into reading or studying the Bible. The Bible makes demands of us, and it’s much easier to camp out in a novel or on social media. But the word of God is our life! By it we see ourselves and everything around us accurately. We put ourselves in spiritual danger when we neglect the Bible.

Without making a plan, we won’t read much of the Bible. And planning to read the Bible means planning not to read anything else at the same time. As we set reading goals for 2018, let’s do so with the Bible as our highest priority.

Making Plans

We can break down our reading plans into at least five areas.

Plan to read and study the Bible. For Christians, this is non-negotiable. Through the Bible we hear the truth from God that we so easily forget. We hear commands, we receive encouragement, we are equipped for battle against the evil around and within us. We need this book! Plan to read the Bible. Plan to study the Bible. If you read nothing else in 2018, read the Bible.
Plan to read other Bible-based books. While the Bible is in a class by itself, there plenty of other books that teach biblical truth. Consider books in the categories of theology, biography, memoir, and Christian living, and find some trusted sources for recommendations. (Start with your pastor and elders and move on to friends and other trustworthy sources.)
Plan to read for development. Whether you want to grow personally or professionally, there’s a book for that! Plan to read books related to skills you’d like to develop or topics you’d like to learn about.
Plan to read for refreshment. God has made us to work and to rest, and we acknowledge and submit to our Creator when we plan times and activities for refreshment. If you are renewed and re-energized by reading fiction or comic books or graphic novels or humor, plan for it. We love God and our neighbors better when we have fuel in our tanks, and reading can fill us up.
Plan other media consumption. Television, movies, video games, social media, and other internet-related activities—none of these are inherently bad. But they suck us in; we blink and 45 minutes later wonder what happened. Seek out these media with intention, mindful of your weaknesses and temptations.

Why Now?

December offers down time that January does not, so if possible, it’s best to make plans for the new year now.

Take some time in December to think and pray and lay your 2018 reading before the Lord. Talk to friends about the books and priorities on your list, and commit to praying for one another and following up.

Another advantage of planning your 2018 reading in December is the abundance of “best/favorites of 2017” lists that appear. Prayerfully consider the titles on some of these lists. I suggest balancing new books with older ones, but these lists can point you toward some of the best new books to read. Life is too short and too important to read bad books.

Leave Room for the Unplanned

While I suggest you plan reading for 2018, you shouldn’t feel locked in by your list. There will be other suggestions and opportunities that come up, and these may be worth your time! I usually plan about 75% of my annual reading and count on filling in the other 25% as the year develops.

As we tumble toward January, plan to read the Bible in the new year. And plan your other reading so that it glorifies God and helps you to walk faithfully as his disciple.

(Almost) How the Bible was Meant to be Read

February 13, 2015 By Peter Krol

I’m a reader, and I love the Bible. So I was thrilled when I saw Crossway’s announcement for the new ESV Reader’s Bible last summer. I knew I had to get one in time for my annual Bible read-through to begin on January 1. I’m glad I did, because the Reader’s Bible lived up to my expectations.

Some folks don’t realize how much stuff on the pages of their Bibles isn’t part of the inspired text. Of course, there are obvious mechanisms like page numbers and reference headings that aid navigation. But there are also section headings, footnotes, cross-references, chapter numbers, and verse numbers. Sometimes, there’s also commentary at the bottom of the page.

In addition, we don’t realize how typography (the page layout of the text) impacts the way we read the text. Does each page have one column of text or two? Is the text broken into paragraphs, or does each verse start a new line? How large is the font? Is poetry divided into stanzas, or does it run on and on without a break? Is the poetry set apart with indented lines, or is it printed in a block of text just like prose?

The ESV Reader’s Bible cuts out most of the extraneous conventions and gets most of the typography just right. The result is a Bible that—though it looks just like any other book we read in this generation—doesn’t look very Bible-like to most Bible readers, and thus represents a significant risk on the publisher’s part. Will people buy a Bible that doesn’t look like the Bible they grew up with? Will sales be enough to cover the investment? We should celebrate Crossway’s courage for pushing this venture as far as they did.

After reading the entire book in about 5 weeks’ time, here are my impressions.

Reading the Bible was more fun than usual. I usually enjoy the Scripture. I always enjoy my annual saturation in it. But honestly, some of the sheer fun wears off by the end, and I push forward more because I believe in the vision for a quick read than because I’m having fun in the process. But this time, I simply couldn’t put it down because it didn’t feel like reading “the Bible”; it felt like reading a good book. And I love reading good books.
I read the entire Bible more quickly than usual—partly because I combined actual reading with listening to an audio version, but also partly because the page layout gave me permission to keep going. In fact the page teased me. It taunted me, suggesting that more plot tension, climax, and resolution lay just around the corner. Without all those huge chapter numbers, verse numbers, and section headings interrupting me and giving me a feeling of arrival, I felt like I could keep reading another section; no—another section; no—another section.
The context stood out much more than some of the content. I would pass over some of my favorite verses like an angel of death at midnight, almost forgetting they were there, because I had gotten swept into the bigger picture of the author’s rhetoric. For example, 1 Corinthians 13 came and went before I realized what had happened. I wasn’t so focused on hitting “the love chapter”; I was far more conscious of the clarion call to unity within the church, which is more the point, I think.
Using this Bible in discussion groups is a little funky. When I want to observe something, the best help I can give others is, “Look at the sentence in the third paragraph, somewhere around verse 16.” Honestly, though, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. How great would it be if we all stopped thinking of the Bible as a collection of 31,102 separate sayings (verses), and instead thought of it as a collection of 66 short books?

This edition, of course, is not perfect.

The paper is way too thin, so the back-side ink shows through and the pages are difficult to turn. However, I’m not sure how else they could have fit 1825 pages into a single volume. This page formatting holds fewer words per page than typical Bible typesetting, and something has to give to manage the physical thickness.
For some reason, Crossway decided to keep chapter numbers in the margins. It’s nice that they moved them away from the text block, and that they altered the color. But, as Mark Ward said in his review, “It feels like Crossway made it about five minutes from the summit of Mt. Everest and then decided that was good enough.” I imagine they thought it would be not just difficult but impossible to navigate through the tome without them, but the reference headings at the top of the page would have been just fine.
For another strange reason, they decided to keep the suggestive “He,” “She,” and “Others” headings in the Song of Solomon. I wish they had trusted us with the plain text and allowed us to wrestle through exactly who was speaking when.

I commend this Bible to you. I’m a proud owner of the imitation leather, TrueTone edition. But as soon as I finish composing this review, I plan to order a copy of the cloth over board (hardback) edition to serve as my new markup Bible. I’m eager to begin a new season of study with a fresh text, independent of the usual conventions that ~~clog~~ assist study.

Cloth over board: Buy it at Amazon or Westminster Books.

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Disclaimer: The Amazon and Westminster links are affiliate links, so if you click them and buy stuff you’ll help to pay for my new markup copy of the ESV Reader’s Bible.

How to Read this Blog

September 19, 2012 By Peter Krol

Since I’m writing this blog to help ordinary people learn to study the Bible, it makes sense (at least to me) to help you learn how to read this blog profitably.

Different people learn in different ways. So I’ve taken a few different approaches to communicate our ideas.

Learner #1: Just the Facts

Some people learn best by hearing the main ideas first. Once they understand the principle, then it helps to see them illustrated. This is the more intuitive thinker. If you are this person, you likely would prefer to look up an address on Google Maps rather than having someone give you their own set of directions to their house.

If this describes you, you might benefit by clicking on “Method” under “Categories” in the sidebar. In the “Method” posts, I start with the principles before implementing them. I also presented the principles in a (somewhat) orderly manner.

Learner #2: Show Me the Money!

Some people learn best by seeing something done. Once they see it in practice, and can experience the payoff directly, they’re more interested in going back to understand the principles behind the practice. This is the more step-by-step thinker. If you are this person, you likely would prefer to have someone describe the tried and true route to their house rather than needing to figure it out yourself.

If this describes you, you might benefit by clicking on “Bible Study” under “Categories” in the sidebar. In the “Bible Study” posts, I aim simply to demonstrate good Bible study of specific passages.

If you’d like more help with the principles, you can click on “How’d You Do That?” under “Categories” in the sidebar. In these posts, I explain the principles behind a few specific “Bible Study” posts. The “How’d You Do That?” posts link to the posts they explain to enable you to read the two posts in conjunction.

Learner #3: Give Me More

Some people will be interested in help with specific parts of Scripture, or in seeing more and more examples. If this describes you, just type the name of a book of the Bible into the search bar. That will bring up a list of all posts on passages from that book.

Learner #4: Prove to Me You’re Not a Weirdo

Some people want to make sure I’m not the only person in the world saying the things I’m saying. That’s not a bad desire, in light of how common it is for teachers to lead others astray with “innovative” or “superior” ideas.

That’s why, from time to time, I point out examples on the internet of other Bible teachers who demonstrate important Bible Study principles. You can find these posts in the “Check it Out” category.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions on further ways I can help you grow in your study of God’s Knowable Word! I’d also love to hear which type of posts you’ve found most helpful.