Get Ready! It's Time For Another Bible In 90 Days Challenge!

Mark your calendars! On AUGUST 20, a new Bible in 90 Days challenge will begin, hosted by Amy at Mom’s Toolbox. Once again, I’ll be reading along and mentoring a group of other readers. I’d love to have you along for the challenge!

I first participated in this project two summers ago, when I took the challenge to read the Bible cover to cover in 90 days. It was such a life changing experience that I volunteered to be a mentor in the subsequent two challenges.

The Bible in 90 Days Challenge is not intended to replace in-depth Bible study. What it is intended to do is give you a big picture of the entire scope of the story of redemption-from beginning to end. Click here for more great background information about the challenge.

It’s just impossible to express to you what an impact being involved with this ministry has had in my life! Here’s a little bit of what I wrote after completing my first challenge:

I really loved how I was able to get a “big picture”, “birds eye” view of God’s entire plan of redemption, spanning both Old and New Testaments. I have understood the historical “timeline” if you will, and even the flow of the books themselves, but it now has a whole new depth. I think especially reading it in such a short period of time allowed for picking up on things that might not be picked up on reading it in a longer plan. When I got to the Gospels and Epistles, it had literally only been a few weeks since I’d been reading the OT books that were being alluded to, so it was very fresh in my mind. Much different than flipping back and forth to see the cross references. I could remember reading the reference and what the immediate context was quite clearly. I especially noticed this when it came to the Gospels, Hebrews, and Revelation.

Another thing I found edifying was reading an entire book in one sitting. This was especially true for some of the longer Epistles, which I’ve generally read broken up in several readings in the past. Even a book like Romans that I’m very familiar with has a new dimension when read all at once, following the train of thought unbroken. When I reached the Epistles, I ignored where the schedule said to stop and read at least a book at a time, more for the shorter ones. I was especially blessed reading Romans and Hebrews this way.

Of course, I still love and value in depth study. It’s absolutely necessary. There’s value in both ways, and in many ways I see that a quick, intense reading straight through and deeper study actually complement each other. I know that things that came to light for me as I read will be applied when I go back to study in depth. I will definitely do the 90 day plan again…I feel certain that each time through will add another layer of depth to my understanding as more and more things jump out or hit home each time.

Read the rest here.

I truly think that this is something everyone should do at least once in their lifetime, Christian or not! The Bible is one of the greatest works of literature in history, and the bestselling book of all time! It’s an essential for cultural literacy.

For those of us who believe it’s the inspired Word of God, it’s essential on another whole order of magnitude. If you have a hard time sticking with a year-long Bible reading plan, this may be just the thing. It’s intense, but it’s a shorter commitment. And it’s truly unique. There’s nothing quite like reading the New Testament with the Old Testament still so fresh in your mind. You’ll be amazed at the references you pick up that you have never noticed before…things that would have been immediately apparent to many of the very first followers of Jesus because of their familiarity with the Old Testament books.

Have I convinced you yet?

I hope so.

At this point, some of the details about the way this challenge will be organized are still up in the air. As always, I will stay in contact with my group through email, here at the blog, and at the Home With Purpose Facebook page. In the past, we’ve had a check-in page at Mom’s Toolbox for accountability. We’re not sure exactly how that’s going to look this time around. It might be a check-in here instead, or something entirely different. I’ll keep you posted about new details as soon as I’m aware of them, and let you know as soon as the sign-up is open.

Until then, I hope you’ll seriously consider and pray about joining me for this challenge! I promise you will never be the same if you do!