One of the best things to do is to read large portions of the Bible or the whole Bible relatively quickly. You can’t get clean by showering with a cupful of water a day. Why do we think we can develop a comprehensive understanding of the most important book in the world in small dollops? Try reading Luke and John in one morning. Read the Psalms in 3 days. Read Genesis on one Saturday.

If you are serious about maturing in God’s Word, then read the whole Bible in 30-40 days. Look for themes, broad strokes, and relationships between characters. Don’t read for details, just read and absorb God’s story. Make this a separate activity from your personal devotions. It helps to partner with someone else doing this at the same time. It will take about 2-3 hours of reading time per day to do this, so go ahead and give up reading newspapers, magazines, and watching TV while you immerse yourself in Scripture. My usual warm-up is to read Psalm 119 each day for four days before beginning Genesis.

You may want to read a chronological Bible arrangement to understand the history and the timing of the events. (There are several versions available.)

Here is a 30-day reading plan that you can follow or adapt to your schedule:

1: Genesis 1-39
2: Genesis 40 - Exodus 26
3: Exodus 27 - Leviticus 22
4: Leviticus 23 - Numbers 26
5: Numbers 27 - Deuteronomy 28
6: Deuteronomy 29 - Judges 5
7: Judges 6-1 - Samuel 16
8: 1 Samuel 17 - 2 Samuel 21
9: 2 Samuel 22 - 2 Kings 4
10: 2 Kings 5-1 - Chronicles 12
11: 1 Chronicles 13 - 2 Chronicles 24
12: 2 Chronicles 25 - Nehemiah 13
13: Esther 1 - Job 42
14: Psalms 1 - Psalm 73
15: Psalm 74 - Psalm 150
16: Proverbs 1 - Ecclesiastes 9
17: Ecclesiastes 10 - Isaiah 33
18: Isaiah 34 - Jeremiah 4
19: Jeremiah 5 - Jeremiah 37
20: Jeremiah 38 - Ezekiel 14
21: Ezekiel 15 - Ezekiel 48
22: Daniel 1 - Amos 9
23: Obadiah 1 - Malachi 4
24: Matthew 1 - Mark 5
25: Mark 6 - Luke 16
26: Luke 17 - John 21
27: Acts 1 - Romans 9
28: Romans 10 - Ephesians 6
29: Philippians 1 - 1 Peter 4
30: 1 Peter 5 - Revelations 22

Those who diligently apply themselves to reading the whole Bible in 30-40 days will be blessed through the experience. We learn about the tone and quality of God’s voice, and the “my ways are not your ways” nature of His working, as we seek the broad perpectives through His Word. These experiences help us fall in love with Christ and His Word all over again.