Have you ever read through the entire Bible? You might be tempted to think, I’m sure I’ve read most of it here and there along the way…that was my first thought. Then I heard Tara-Leigh Cobble talk about it in preparing to start The Bible Recap reading plan/devotional/podcast. Something she said really impacted me. When she’s telling the story of how her mentor first encouraged her to read through the whole Bible, she recalls how he said, “Let your eyes fall on every word.” I don’t know about you, but I want to know my eyes have fallen on every word of the Word.

The Bible Recap

There are a lot of things to love about this reading plan, including the fact that there is a corresponding podcast that does an overview of the reading, dives a little deeper, and has a section called the “God Shot” which points out a characteristic of God we learn from the daily reading. One of the things I’m loving the most about The Bible Recap is that it is a chronological reading plan- meaning you read the Bible in the order the events happened. It’s fascinating to see how the events play out and to get a more clear idea of why things happened the way they did. The plan’s focus is to help you see the character of God and fall more in love with Him and His Word.

Benefits of reading the whole Bible

Reading the entire Bible has many benefits. It can help us gain a better understanding of God’s plan and give us insight into the context of some of our most referenced Scriptures. You will learn to hear from God firsthand, instead of relying solely on your pastor or devotional books that only tell you what someone else sees in the Word. Knowing what the Bible says (and doesn’t say) will help you clarify what you believe and why. The way Tara-Leigh describes her experience is so beautiful and moving.

“The next year, I decided, ‘ok! I’m going to read it again, and I’m going to look for who God is…’ because that was the primary thing that was bothering me. So I asked God to give me a lens for that. I said, ‘God, this is the book You’ve given us to reveal Yourself to us, so help me to see who You are in what I read today.’ On that second trip through the Word when I was looking for Him, I found Him and I fell in love with Him. I began to see not just what He was doing, but why He was doing it…what His heart was behind it. He answered that prayer to teach me about Himself in a way that made me feel like I was learning a whole different God than I learned about in church.”

~Tara-Leigh Cobble

No matter whether you decide to follow a specific plan or not, I hope you’re encouraged to read through the entire Word this year. Focus on who you see God to be in those pages and verses and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. I pray your relationship with Him grows closer than ever before and you find yourself more in love with Him through this journey. 

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