HOW TO READ THROUGH THE GOSPELS EVERY QUARTER
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I grew up pretty active in the church. Actually, I went to a Lutheran grade school from Kindergarten through 8th grade (and then switched to public school in high school).
So, you’d think with that sort of background, I might be good at reading the Bible - or at least have some kind of plan in place to read the Bible.
But, the truth is… after getting confirmed in 8th grade, I don’t really remember ever reading the Bible after that.
Sure, I went to church pretty much every Sunday. I would pray occasionally. I did what I “needed” to do to stay “active” in my faith.
But, I didn’t read the Bible. I didn’t do a devotional. I didn’t even really do anything active in my faith outside of church every Sunday.
Over the past year or so, I’ve been feeling this “pull” to get closer to God somehow. One thing I added into my daily life to get closer to God was a daily devotional. I made it a 30-day challenge to read a devotion daily, and over a year later, I’m still actively reading a daily devotion. It’s one thing I absolutely love doing and something I feel has helped my faith life as well.
But, I still wasn’t reading the Bible - and I knew that if I wanted to understand God and what I was supposed to do and believe, I felt like I NEEDED to be reading the Bible.
My favorite podcaster and author, Annie F. Downs, started reading through all 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) every month at the beginning of 2020. I loved that she had a plan and was sharing it with others. So, I thought, why not try it for myself?
A week into her 30-day plan, and I was already 3 days behind. I was ashamed and embarrassed. How could I call myself a Christian and not be able to find the time to commit to reading 3 chapters of the Bible everyday?
I had to remind myself what I know about creating habits…
You have to start SMALL.
While reading 3 chapters of the Bible every day doesn’t seem like a lot, it was tearing off more than I could chew as a starting point. While 3 chapters per day isn’t a lot, it was like going from sitting on the couch to running a 5K non-stop…
I couldn’t keep up or stick with it.
Instead, I decided I needed to start smaller. If reading 3 chapters per day meant that I’d read through all 4 Gospels in a month, if I read just 1 chapter per day, I’d be able to read through all 4 Gospels in 3 months.
THAT I could do. THAT I could stick with.
So, back in October, I committed to reading 1 chapter of the Gospels per night, starting with Matthew and going in order, ending with John in 3 months time.
This week, I’ll finish my second “loop” through the Gospels and I have to admit, I am learning to LOVE reading and learning about the life of Jesus - especially as we approach Easter.
I’ve now heard the story of Jesus’ life 8 times and I am constantly learning something new or picking something else up that I didn’t know or remember from my childhood.
I’ve also learned how much I LOVE the book of Mark, and John is quickly becoming a second favorite of mine.
Am I reading the entire Bible in a year? No.
But, it’s been over 20 years since I had actually opened a Bible to read (actually, I’m using the YouVersion Bible app), and there’s just something that feels good to my SOUL about spending time in God’s Word again.
If you’re wanting to join me this quarter in reading through all 4 Gospels of the Bible, click here to download it - or save the image below!
The one habit change challenge that I have stuck with 2 years later has been my daily devotional reading. If you’re wanting to start your own devotional reading plan, you can check out how I got started and start your own challenge today!
