Today we will close out the portion of this series about how to read the Bible broadly. There is not a lot of advice I can give you other than to pick a plan, pray to the Holy Spirit for the discipline to complete that plan, continue in God's grace even if you get behind schedule, and finally just sit down everyday and read. Below you will find a short list of some of my favorite Bibles. I hope this helps if you are looking to buy a new one as you begin your journey through the Word. ESV Study Bible - This is my very favorite Bible... the one I read every morning. I call mine "Big Bertha" because this Bible is big and full of goodness. The footnotes are excellent and there are lots of additional resources in the front and back to help you understand the scope of God's story better. ESV Pocket Bible - This is my on-the-go Bible. It's nice to take on vacation or to a community group meeting because it's small enough to stick in a purse, diaper bag, or carry-on. Gospel Transformation Bible - I don't own this Bible yet, but it's on my wish list. This Bible is also full of footnotes that specifically focus on how Jesus shows up throughout Scripture - in both the Old and New Testaments. NIV Chronological Bible - This is the Bible I used the first time I read the Bible in a year. It puts each passage in chronological order, so you read events in the order they most likely happened. For example, you read Genesis first and then Job, because it's likely Job preceded Moses. Also, you read David's Psalms along with the historical accounts that were taking place when he wrote them. And if any parables or miracles are repeated in the gospels, you read them side by side which allows you to see the similarities and differences of each narrator.  ESV Journaling Bible - This Bible is also on my wish list. I really hope to journal through a Bible to give to my children someday and this version gives you ample space for margin notes. Jesus Storybook Bible - If you are looking for a Bible for your children this is the best one out there. It's focused on Jesus and gives an overview of the whole Bible told as a story of God's great love for us. Adults can learn a lot from it too! YouVersion - This is just a shout-out to my favorite Bible app. This is another way I read Scripture on the go, and it has lots of reading plans to follow right from your phone. Tomorrow we will start talking about how to read the Bible deeply. This is a journey I've been on in 2014, and I'm excited to share some of my methods with you all! Read the rest of the Digging Deep series here... +Affiliate links used in this post. ... Read more

We've discovered you can finish the whole Bible in a year reading just 12.5 minutes per day. And let's stretch it to 15 minutes just to account for different reading speeds, distractions, etc. So in 15 minutes a day you can read God's Word broadly. You can cover every chapter, every verse, and gain a richer understanding of how Jesus' story of redemption is woven into every word from Genesis to Revelation. Where will you find this 15 minutes? {via} This is where priorities come into play. This is where you must pray to the Spirit to reveal those 15 minutes to you and train your heart and mind to treat those 15 minutes as sacred. The Spirit must convict you to treasure and protect 15 minutes out of every day. It shouldn't be hard. 15 minutes is a measly 1% of your day. But, sadly, it is hard. Satan does not want us to read God's Word, so he will create every distraction under the sun to prevent us from doing so. In our flesh, we are so weak that the comforts of our bed, the lure of the TV, the temptation of social media, the desire to eat, the call of the to-do list... all those things easily overcome our plan to read God's Word for 15 minutes daily. That's why every plan and goal to read the Bible must begin with prayer. We are weak; He is strong. With Christ's Spirit in us, we can easily read for 15 minutes per day. With the Holy Spirit guiding us, we can push aside distractions, deny temptations, and make a habit of reading the Word every single day. From a practical perspective, what does this look like? As I mentioned before, mornings are usually the best time to be filled with God's Word. Start with a minute and find a spot. Try to read the Bible in the same place every day. It helps your brain click into "Bible study mode." It can also be helpful if you have young children, because you can teach them "When mom is in the office/by the fireplace/in her big white chair with her Bible, you aren't allowed to talk to her unless there is an emergency." As you train your mind to protect the sacred 15 minutes, you can train your children to protect that time as well. Additionally, you have to set up boundaries for yourself. The Gospel is not about rules; it's about freedom in Christ, but we are weak, and sometimes guidelines help us keep our flesh in check. For example, I have a "rule" for myself that I'm not allowed to look at social media before I have my quiet time. I wake up, brush my teeth, head out to the kitchen where I make Micah's lunch and my coffee, and then I plop down on the couch with my Bible, notebook, and latte. Sometimes I mess up and something on my phone lures me to take a peek before I'm done reading my Bible, but for the most part I follow my rule well. I don't want to stand before God's throne someday and admit that Instagram was more desirable to me than His Word. What about you? In Christ, you are free to live without "rules" regarding your time and priorities, but in Christ, you are also free to choose the worthy thing. You are strong enough to choose the Bible over TV, to choose prayer over the to do list. You are free to make guidelines for yourself in order to give yourself 15 minutes a day in God's Word and you are strong enough to follow your guidelines because the Spirit of Christ dwells in you. Because when your life is drawing to a close, do you think you'll look back fondly on your Instagram feed? Do you think you'll reminisce about a funny tweet or a suspenseful TV show? Do you think you'll pride yourself on how many baskets of laundry you folded? No. You won't. When your life is drawing to a close, you will want to dwell on the promises of God. You will meditate on what you know of His character and you will long to know Him face to face. You will thank him for the relationships He started for you in this life and you will be eager to continue those relationships in the life to come. Do something for 15 minutes today that will matter for all of eternity. ... Read more