As the primary book of faith for more than 2.19 billion people, far more people quote from the Bible than have ever actually read the Bible. Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, the Bible remains one of the great literary works of the world, an amazing source of wisdom, and the source of an amazing number of beliefs that have become so common as to bely their origin.

Reading the Bible is easy to do if you spread it out over a year. The 1,189 chapters of the Bible can be read in a year at a rate of about 4 chapters per day. (Biblical chapters tend to be fairly short, so don’t worry about the seeming large number of chapters.)

Here’s a quick and easy plan

1. Research the various Bible translations. Feel free to ask trusted spiritual advisors for direction on what the differences are and which might be appropriate for your aims; or do a little online research for the major differences in translations.
2. Choose the translation you’ll read. Take fairly little time — a few hours to a few days — and trust your intuition to choose a translation appropriate for you. The differences between translations can be technical and scholarly — people devote lifetimes to the nuances of translations. You can delve into the differences at leisure, but first you’ll first just have to READ the Bible! Trust yourself to simply choose ONE to begin with – any will present a challenge in commitment and focus. After you’ve read this one, you can use the rest of your life to study the nuances or read other translations.
3. Buy or obtain a Bible. If money is an issue, check with local churches, as many churches offer free Bibles, or look for a free online version. Physical Bibles lend themselves to being read even with electricity, those who do better with a tangible resource or those preferring handwritten notes; electronic versions work well for those accustomed to study and reading online; or those adept at online annotations and research.
4. Reading the Bible can be made infinitely more productive if you arrange of externalized support for your studies:
   1. Consider buying a Bible Study commentary or reference. Many are offered and reviewed on Amazon.com. Similar to choosing the Bible translation you’ll use, use your intuition and feedback of trusted advisors to select a study guide.
   2. Commit to your goal by posting it to the LifeSuccessEngine.com Forum where others can support, encourage or work together with you to reach success.
   3. Consider finding and joining a Bible study group in your community
      1. Ask at your local churches for suggestions
      2. Ask trusted spiritual advisors for suggestions
      3. Attend a few sessions before committing. Consider the atmosphere, the friendliness of the participants and the guidance offered by the study group leaders. Consider how closely or different their beliefs are from yours as, the more time you spend with the group, the more likely the group is to affect your beliefs.
5. Schedule time each day to read. This is the biggie. Just like any goal, it’s turned from a hope into a goal by making its execution tangible: a commitment AND a schedule for reading. Strive for the same time each day to build the habit and allow for time to consider what you’ve read and to make notes regarding your study.
6. Strive to read 4 chapters a day. If you’re feeling focused or enjoying it strive for 5 or 6; but even if unmotivated or time crunched, strive for consistency and habit. This is one of those goals that requires habit to get through.
7. Seek to discuss or teach what you’ve read as doing so will help you determine what meaning you attribute to what you’ve read. Doing so with others who are similarly studying the Bible will gain all participants FAR orem.
8. There are 929 chapters from the Old Testament and 260 chapters from the New Testament, so expect to read from the Old Testament for longer than the New. Continue reading each day, until finished.

A working knowledge of the Bible – as one of the most quoted books in history and a source and driver of culture over history – serves whether you are a Christian or not. By splitting your study into “bite-sized” chunks and leveraging habit and support you will succeed in doing something a vast minority of people in the world can claim to have done: read the Bible, in its entirety, cover to cover!