Every Christian has to finish reading the Bible at least once in his/her life time. We should read it often, as the Bible is the word of God given to us, and its content is very important for the following reasons:

1. Foundation of faith: Our faith is based on the Bible, which is the Truth, the Word of God. It would not change in time or circumstances. We have to understand the Bible in order to have a solid foundation of faith.

2. Revelation and plan: From the Bible we will know the consistent thoughts of God, and will not be lead astray in misinterpreting the Bible in reading out of context. The Bible also reveals the eternal plan of God, which is the guide of our life. From this we can also gradually find our blueprint of our life.

3. Our ever-present help: The living God is speaking to us through the Bible (one of His means of communicating with us). And His voice is our ever-present help to ourselves as well as to the edification of others.

Purpose of Quick-reading

    Quick-reading of the Bible allows us to grasp a rough idea of the whole Bible, and lays a foundation to in-depth study of God's Word. You my either use the scanning method or listening to spoken Bible.

How to read the Bible quickly once?

1. Find a partner: Striving forward alone would often be defeated by dullness. Your mentor would be very willing to walk with you. It would even be better if the whole group is reading together in the same pace.

2. Fix a time: It can be a time when you are commuting, or after your devotion, after meal (which would be taken daily), or when you are jogging. Keep it as a habit and then you can persist.

3. Seek for a tool: Search for a Bible quick-reading handbook or an on-line spoken Bible to help you.

4. Fix interim objectives: Break down your reading into different phases. Reward yourself when you have reached an interim goal. But the greatest reward would be a deeper grasp of the three reasons of reading the Bible.

5. Do not pause: Do not stop or pause even when you come across some passages you do not understand. Reading the Bible is like irrigation of life. You may not able to absorb all in one time, but you still have other opportunities to understand it later.

6. Do not lose heart: If you lag behind, find some time to catch up. You are not forbidden to overtake your schedule.

7. Seek for God's help: Admit your own weaknesses and ask the Lord to help us to persevere in reading.

Three suggested plans of reading (you may choose your own plan)

    You need three helpers, which are determination, perseverance and a "Quick-reading Record Form". Divide the Bible into three groups: 1. New Testament, 2. Genesis to Esther, 3. Job to Malachi.

A. Reading 3 chapters a day, from cover to cover. This will take 397 days, which is one year and one month plus one day.

B. Reading 4 chapters a day, from cover to cover. This will take 298 days. If you spend 6 days a week in reading, you can finish in about 50 weeks.

C. Reading 3 chapters a day from groups 1 and 2, and then 4 chapters from group 3. Then you can finish reading in 87 + 146 + 124 days = 357 days.

Quick Reading of the Bible in One Year