Grace Vineyard Christian Fellowship

Have you, like many other Christians, ever asked yourself, "If I truly believe this Bible is the word of God, why haven't I ever read the whole thing?"  If so, you aren't alone.  In fact, a huge percentage of Christians around the world have never actually read the Bible cover to cover.  Many of us have read here and there, sometimes even getting a whole book done.  But, if statistics hold true, many people in our own church have never finished the Bible at all.

There are many ways to read through the Bible, and many different time frames in which to do it.  Some Bible reading plans take a bit of the Old Testament, some of the New Testament, maybe a Psalm and Proverb.  Some programs take a year or two to do all of this in.  There's really nothing wrong with any of these plans.  Whatever tool will help a person to read the word of God is certainly worth using.

When a few of us here at Grace found Zondervan's new book/Bible, Read the Bible in 90 Days, it sparked an idea.  What if those of us whom God led to this, covenanted to spend about an hour each day (depending on reading speed), about 16 chapters, or six turns of the page, and read the entire Bible, cover to cover in 90 days? 

Many of us make New Year's resolutions, and often times some of those are spiritual. 
"This year I want to get closer to God."
"This year I'm going to finally take my faith seriously."
"This year I'm finally going to read the Bible."

We often fall short of these goals because we don't act on them immediately.  We make goals that aren't measurable,  or are unreasonable, and we just mostly stew over the idea for a few months. By the time December rolls around, we realize we never even got to accomplishing any of what we set out in January to do.

So here's the plan: We are going to start on Sunday, January 11^th.  We are going to set up some accountability in order to support each other.  We will be done by Palm Sunday (April 5^th), and when Easter hits, we will have read the Bible in its entirety, and have accomplished several of those resolutions we made on New Year's Eve!

Here's a short testimony.

A Brief FAQ

Q. Is this the best way to read the Bible?
A. It probably depends on the person, really.  No one ever said this was the best way...but it is a way.

Q. I'm not sure I can do it.  Should I try?
A.  That is only a question you can answer for yourself.  Don't bite off a lot more than you can chew, but don't assume you can't do it just because it is difficult.  Often times, we don't accomplish great things because we just assume we can't, or that if something is difficult it isn't worth doing.  We miss out on a lot of great things when we have that attitude.  At the same time, this is only something you should do because you really want to dedicate yourself to it.  Here are two important keys to making something like this work.  First, make sure that you have someone close to you to hold you accountable, like a good friend, a sibling, or a spouse.  That person will keep you encouraged, and will add extra strength when yours is low.  Remember, we have an enemy who really doesn't want us to read God's word.  He will throw a lot of discouragement our way.  It won't match the encouragement we get from God, though.  The second key is simply making a regular time each day in which to read.  Early in the morning works well for some, late at night for others.  We won't be mad at you if you don't do it, but we sure will be proud of those who do.

Q. What do I need to do in order to get started?
A. You don't have to buy anything, or give any money.  There is a book/Bible you can buy that is specifically for this program.  It is available at our church bookstore, and at Zondervan.com.  It would be helpful if you let us at the church know you are doing this.  Here are some online tools to help you in this journey

The Bible in 90 Days website
A printable bookmark chart of each day and the passages you will read.
Pastor Ryan's Blog (He will be blogging each day after reading)

May God bless you in this journey!