How Should I Start Reading the Bible?

To start reading the Bible, open a Gospel, Mark or John, and read one chapter a day after a short prayer. Do not begin at Genesis and push straight through to Leviticus. It is easy to stall there. The Bible is a library of 66 books, and the way in is Jesus.

Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training (2 Tim 3:16-17). It was written to be read, and it welcomes the person who is just arriving, not only the one who already knows theology.

Why begin with a Gospel and not Genesis

Picture reading a story through long genealogies and laws before you have met the hero. You turn the pages but do not know who it all points to. The Bible has a hero, and the Gospels introduce him. Everything before him waits for him, and everything after him grows out of what he did. After the resurrection, Jesus himself explained to the disciples what the Scriptures said about him, beginning with Moses and the Prophets (Luke 24:27).

So the first step is to get to know Jesus. Two good doors:

• Mark: the shortest and fastest Gospel. Scene after scene, you see what Jesus does and who he is.
• John: slower and deeper. He says why he wrote: so that you may believe in Jesus and, believing, have life in his name (John 20:31).

Pick one. You do not have to read all four at once.

A simple path for the first few months

One possible order, without claiming it is the only one:

• Mark or John. Finish one whole Gospel before moving on.
• Acts. It shows what happened after the resurrection and how the church was born.
• Genesis. Now the beginning of everything makes sense: creation, the fall, the promise to Abraham. You already know where the story is heading.
• Psalms. These are prayers and songs. Read one a day, slowly. Psalm 1 already describes the person who delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night.
• Romans or Ephesians. Letters that explain the gospel at a calmer pace.
• Exodus, then the rest. With the base laid, Leviticus and Numbers stop being a wall.

This is a reading suggestion, not a biblical rule. If someone at your church is reading with you and proposes another order, follow that conversation. What matters is to read, and to keep reading.

A small daily rhythm beats a race

Promising to read the whole Bible in a month tends to wear out fast. Start small: ten to fifteen minutes, one chapter, at the same time every day. Water wears down stone not by flood but by the daily drop.

Joshua was told to meditate on the law day and night (Josh 1:8). The word points to steadiness, not a marathon. Tie your reading to something you already do each day: coffee, the bus, the end of the evening. If you miss a day, pick it up the next, without beating yourself up. Habits are built not on perfection but on returning.

Over time the rhythm grows on its own. You begin with a chapter and months later notice that you miss it when you skip.

How to read: prayer, simple questions and context

Before you open the text, pray. The psalmist asked: “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law” (Ps 119:18). You do not need a long prayer. It is enough to ask God to speak and for you to listen.

Then ask the text simple questions:

• What does this passage say about God?
• What does it say about people?
• Is there a promise, a command, an example or a warning?
• What can I obey today?

Write the answer in one sentence. In a few months this small notebook becomes a map of what God has been teaching you.

And read in context. A single verse can say the opposite of what the whole text says. Before you draw a conclusion, read the paragraphs around it and ask who wrote it, to whom and why. A verse that comforts is not, by itself, a promise made to you today. First see what it meant to those who received it, then apply it humbly.

Common mistakes of new readers

• Reading it only as a rulebook. The Bible has commandments, but it is first of all the story of God seeking his people and reaching its peak in Christ.
• Opening at random for a magic answer. God can speak through any text, but reading straight through, book after book, protects you from reading only what you want to read.
• Giving up because you do not understand everything. No one does. Mark the question, move on and come back. Much that seemed dark becomes clear once you know the whole.
• Judging the reading by feelings. Some days the text warms the heart, other days it feels dry. Keep going. Faithfulness comes before emotion.
• Hunting for the perfect translation before starting. Choose a faithful, readable translation you can actually follow. Opening the book matters more than which version it is.

Read with company

The New Testament shows the first Christians gathered to hear the apostles' teaching (Acts 2:42). Personal reading and church life complete each other. Talk about what you read with a pastor or someone more mature in the faith. Ask without fear. A small group, even two or three people, changes how you read: you hear what you had not seen, and God often uses other believers to carry his Word deeper.

If you want a ready structure, Midvash has free reading plans that lay out what to read each day.

In the end, begin. Open Mark or John today, pray one sentence, read a chapter and write one line about it. Tomorrow do it again. That is how a habit is built: one chapter at a time, with the help of God and other people.