I have been a Christian since young but have never really done anything much to develop my own growth as a Christian apart from attending youth meetings and worship services. I think it is high time I take some responsibility for my faith. I have attended some programmes the church organised but I find it hard to start reading my bible regularly.
Not to toot my own horn but I have designed my devotional guides to help people to get started. Let me elaborate.
- Bigger chunks of text instead of verses taken out of context
When you feed on short verses with no attention to the context you do not learn to read the bible as it is written to be read. This kind of habit will be an impediment to your comprehension of what you are reading. My guides regularly focus on a chapter (sometimes more, especially if it is a narrative) or a whole section so that you can comprehend what is going on or what is being said as you read. I have already used the word twice but I cannot emphasise too much the need for bible readers to comprehend what they are reading rather than search for meaning and instruction before comprehension.
- Covering a broad spectrum of the books of the bible
I basically group the bible books into: Gospels and Acts, New Testament Letters, Old Testament Books, and Psalms. Every two or three weeks I will switch to the next section. This means that if you use my materials you will be exposed to different areas of the bible regularly. It also means that you will not be stuck in a particular book of the bible for too long and you will be exposed to the different ways in which God communicates and the different areas of concern that these different books focus on. In other words, a more balanced diet. - 3 times a week to give maximum flexibility
Each week’s devotions is divided into 3 sections (Monday-Tuesday, Wednesday-Thursday and Friday-Saturday). You don’t even have to follow the suggested schedule as long as you strive to do this 3 times a week (but try not to do all 3 in one day!). - A basic, simple approach to reading the bible
My guides are divided into two main sections: Steps 1-3 and Further Thoughts. Further Thoughts are, as the title implies, for people who want to go further. If you are beginning and not familiar with the bible, stick to Steps 1-3.
Step 2 is when you are called to read the text so if that is all you want, stick to that. All it asks of you is to read the passage, write down what you think it is about, and whether it says anything to you.
For example, for Week 15, 2026 my text for Monday/Tuesday is MARK 7:1-7. I wrote the following for my Step 2:
The Pharisees were insisting that Jesus teach his disciples to uphold the tradition of the elders (even though these rules do not originate from the bible) and Jesus called them hypocrites. “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” God knows when I only pay lip service to him and he does not like it.
That was my Step 2.
Step 3 merely asks that you say a prayer in response. That should be fairly doable, right? Nothing elaborate and there’s no need to resort to “high language” when God is Father to you.
Step 1 is something that I found good to do as part of my devotion or quiet time. If I think of Step 2 as God saying something to you and you pay attention, Step 1 is a space for you to say something to God. You can omit it if you have nothing to say to God at that moment but I suggest that you give it a chance to grow to become a meaningful part of your time with God. It is a simple process to basically think back and put a finger on what troubles you (eg work problems, career, illness, relationships, people who have asked you to pray for them) and talk to God about them. If there’s nothing, leave it blank.
Step 2 should not take more than 15 minutes and I would encourage you to keep to that time frame, at least for the first few months; in other words, keep things simple so to established the habit. If you are also adding on Steps 1 and 3, I suggest that you do not take more than 20 minutes each time. In fact you should be able to stick to a 10-15 minute time frame if you are not trying to do things perfectly.
Your goal in the early stages is to establish the habit, be familiar with the bible, and pray meaningful prayers rather than gain earth-shattering truths. If something jumps at you and speaks to you, that’s the cherry on top. - A short reflection at the end
In case you really gets nothing out of the text, hopefully my short reflection may be helpful. Or you can read it to see what I got out of the passage. Feel free to ignore this section.
If you decide to use my materials, I strongly suggest the following:
- Download your guides from the Downloads page. I suggest you start with Week 01 (whichever year you are reading this) as the Week numbers are only to help me know how far along the year I am at or choose a passage you feel you can handle and go on from there.
- Don’t be perfect. Decide to do what you can rather than to do so perfectly.
- Stick to the length of time you have decided upon unless you are on something that is important. The idea is to persevere.
- Read the text a couple of times, especially if you are new to the bible, to get your bearings. Have an idea of what you are reading: Old Testament narrative, prophecy or Psalms, or New Testament Gospels, Acts or Letters.
- Use “Further Thoughts” questions when you are comfortable with Steps 1-3 OR if you think they can help you get into the text.
Have fun! Use the comment section below to ask if you need further help.
ps: You can find more guides here.