The Bible is owned by almost everyone and read by almost no-one The Bible claims to be the only book containing the very words of God. It should be devoured by all instead of collecting dust. Following are more than 50 tips for reading the Bible. The title for this post says 101 tips. My hope is that the remaining tips will come from people other than myself in the comments section.

Tips for Making Time to Read the Bible

1. Adopt the motto, “No Bible - No food.” Don’t allow yourself to eat breakfast until you have first read at least a verse from the Bible.
2. Take a small Bible with you to the gym…before you start your rigorous workout sit on a stationary bike, pedal lightly and read a few verses during your warm up.
3. Keep a Bible in the bathroom at home…if you’re sitting, start reading.
4. When your wife asks you to go shopping with her, instead of letting it ruin your day, slide a Bible into your back pocket and find a nice comfortable place to sit and read while she decides between the black pants or the white ones or maybe the red ones. Ladies can also adopt this tactic when asked to go to a gun show.
5. Read a Bible verse during the commercials of your favorite show
6. Keep a Bible in your purse or man-purse, waiting areas at the doctor’s office, principal’s office or at the mechanic are perfect times to get into God’s Word.
7. Give up one T.V. show to read the Bible; you don’t have to watch Lost, 24, Heroes, Oprah and Man vs. Wild.
8. Does your computer take a while in the morning to boot up? Nice time to read several verses.
9. Keep a small Bible with you at work that will easily fit in your back pocket. I like this one: link
10. Go to a place you like and look forward to each week and read your Bible there. For example, go to Starbucks every Monday afternoon, get a tall white chocolate mocha, and read a chapter of the Bible. Great for getting through those dreadful Mondays. Reward yourself with a treat and with God’s truth.
11. Download an audio Bible to your iPod. I like this one: link
12. Write a Bible verse on a 3×5 card and keep the card in your back pocket, occasionally pull it out during the day and memorize the verse. I did this in college while walking across campus from one class to the next, it was a great way to focus on the Bible throughout the day.
13. Be creative. We are all capable of carving out time to do things we value.

Tips for Understanding what you Read in the Bible

14. The Bible tells us one of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to teach us the Word of God. Pray that the Spirit would help you see and live out what you read.
15. Use a commentary to help you understand the Bible. A good commentator has spent a lifetime studying the Bible in depth. This does not replace your own personal study of the Bible and commentators can still be wrong, but using a commentary will help you to be aware of things you ordinarily might not have known. I like this site; it’s free and done by a good scholar (just click on the chapter name to get a pdf): link
16. Over 1200 places are mentioned in the Bible…where are they…good question. This free online resource helps you to see each location in Google Maps (link).
17. Give it time to soak. Meditation is an important aspect of Bible reading. Read over the same portion of Scripture many times during one sitting for deeper understanding.
18. Many Bibles have a great deal of study notes built right into them (known as study Bibles). Only the actual verses are from God, so the notes could be wrong but they are generally very helpful. A good general study Bible that I have used for years is called the NIV Study Bible (link). I recommend this one for your first study Bible.
19. Find someone who seems to know and live out the Bible better than you do and then ask that person questions.
20. Listen to sermons preached on the same Bible passage you’re studying. The website link has thousands of free sermons from many faithful teachers of the Bible. Sometime there might be a crazy person you stumble across, just use some discretion, but as a whole it’s a reliable source.

Tips for what to read in the Bible

21. Read a proverb corresponding to the day of the month. There are 31 proverbs…so if it is October 12th, read Proverbs 12.
22. Many people get burned out by starting at the very beginning of the Bible and trying to read straight through. This can be successful with the aid of a good one-year-Bible, but if you are fairly new to the Bible I would recommend not starting at the beginning. Feel free to read the book of Genesis, but then read some Psalms and Proverbs and then from there go to the New Testament and read the book of John. Over time you will be able to read it from cover to cover, but most people would recommend getting your feet wet in something like the book of John.
23. A theology book can help guide you into the Bible. For instance, if you would like to read more about Angels, or the end times, or the Trinity a theology book can guide you through the verses which speak most specifically on these topics. I like the book Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. Here’s the link: link
24. If you are reading the Bible with a friend or with a spouse, talk about what you are each interested in right now. These topics can really help guide you into what portions of the Bible to read.
25. At the end of many Bibles and almost all study Bibles is a subject index and a concordance. These are both very valuable and can really direct you to certain verses you may be interested in reading. In a concordance, for example, if you look up the word “grace” you will see over a dozen verses scattered throughout the Bible which contain the word “grace.” A concordance in the back of a study Bible is only a summary. The word “grace” may occur a thousand times but the concordance may only show you 25 places. An exhaustive concordance can be bought which will show you every single location in the Bible where a certain word occurs. Here’s a link to an exhaustive concordance: link
26. Christian book stores are filled with Bible study guides on a plethora of topics. Some of them are centered on certain topics while others walk you through studying a certain book of the Bible or a certain larger section of Scripture.
27. All of God’s Word is equally important. If that wasn’t the case He would have left out certain parts. It may take a while to appreciate certain parts of the Bible, but all-in-all it is the most timeless and engaging book ever put together. Read all of it, but if you find yourself getting stuck in the mud with your Bible reading just realize the problem isn’t with the author but instead with the reader. Change things up and maybe switch to a different area for a little while.

Tips for Reading Through the Bible in a Year

28. Get a Bible designed to walk you through reading it in a year. I like this one, it has a good introduction for each day: link
29. Do it online…I like this one: link
30. Have the Bible read to you for a few minutes every day while you work. I like this one: link(click the listen link)
31. Make sure the plan you are following is based on specific dates instead of saying something like “Day 143″. I have found most people need the specific dates to stay motivated. If it is August 22nd and you haven’t read your Bible since August 19th, you need to see that you’re three days behind schedule. This shouldn’t become legalistic but hopefully the dates will help.
32. Keep it fresh. Shake things up, instead of reading from the NIV like every other morning spend the week reading from The Message or from the New Living Translation. Or spend a day doing your reading at a park instead of at your kitchen table.
33. 33. Reward yourself. Set up milestones along the way; once you reach them do something that you would really like. For example, I’ll get my wife to agree that once I read through the first ten books of the Bible we’re going to go to Cold Stone Creamery for our favorite ice cream concoction. Then, once I read through the Old Testament I’ll get a $20 gift card to blow at Starbucks. Once I’m finished with the entire Bible I can spend $50 at amazon.com guilt-free. This isn’t meant to diminish the holiness of the Word of God nor my reverence for it, but just to recognize that I desire so deeply to be in the Word but my flesh rebels against this frequently so these rewards may encourage me to overcome my fleshly desires.
34. Set up a consistent time every day to read the Bible. If you try to read through the Bible every year without a consistent time it just won’t happen. If you shoot for nothing you’ll hit it every time.
35. Occasionally review verses which speak of the importance of having the Word of God flowing through your veins. This will be a great encouragement. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Tips for Picking out the right Bible(s)

36. Almost all modern translations of the Bible (NIV, ESV, NET, NLT, NASB) have been translated directly from the Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) portions of the Bible. They are just as trustworthy as the old King James Version, a strong point can be made that they are more trustworthy due to a large amount of biblical archaeology and ancient manuscript discoveries.
37. If everything in you must read the King James Version (you know who you are) then that’s fine, read it like crazy. However, there are many reasons why newer translations of the Bible are better for an English speaker.
38. I recommend either the NIV (New International Version) or the ESV (English Standard Version). The NIV is the most popular modern Bible translation and the NIV Study Bible is the most popular study Bible. The ESV is very similar to the NIV but is a little more literal in its translation from Greek and Hebrew. The ESV also has some wonderful online tools at link.
39. I also recommend the NLT as a Bible you use frequently. Every English translation of the original Greek and Hebrew requires the translators to adopt a certain translation philosophy. Some are very literal and others are less literal and instead try to capture the idea of the passage in very common language. The New Living Translation is in very common language. It was produced by world-class scholars, but it is easy to read and very refreshing. Some people use the NLT exclusively; I like to read the NLT in the evening and the NIV or ESV in the morning when I am studying a little more in-depth.
40. Pick out a Bible that will fit your lifestyle. If you are constantly on the go, make sure you have a Bible that will fit in your back pocket or purse. If you are at home and do a lot of your reading at home, get a larger Bible that lays nice and flat with some helpful study notes. If your eyes aren’t that good, don’t buy a Bible with small print, you’ll never read it. Get a Bible that fits your lifestyle and is easy for you to read and understand.
41. Some publishers make Bibles that have only Psalms, Proverbs and the New Testament. These Bibles leave out over 30 books of the Bible. A Bible like this might be good for some situations, but make sure you have easy access to the entire Word of God.
42. Organizations which I would refer to as cults have books which are similar to the Bible but are not the Bible. The most popular one is probably the Book of Mormon. Just remember that this is not the Bible.
43. Some Bibles, notably Roman Catholic Bibles, have more than 66 books of the Bible. These extra books are commonly referred to as the Apocrypha. These extra books have a long history which would take a while to explain. It’s best to focus on the 66 books; if interested, feel free to send me an email or comment below for further discussion on this topic.
44. Some Bibles have Jesus’ words in red and the rest of the Bible in black. This practice is largely left over from some theological debates of the 1960’s. Nowadays this is just a matter of personal preference.
45. I prefer a Bible with maps, a concordance, a subject index and some study notes. The concordance is great if you can remember part of a verse but not where it’s located. For example, where is that verse that says, “For God so loved…” Look up “loved” in the concordance and it’ll say: John 3:16. It’s kinda like a low-tech Google enbedded into your Bible.
46. The NASB is a common Bible translation but many people find it to be a little too wooden for daily usage. For many it just doesn’t sound like smooth English. The NIV and ESV are smoother in grammar and word choice.
47. The KJV and NKJV have been mentioned earlier. I would recommend other translations over these. There are several reasons why which I will not get into but am willing to discuss in the comments.

Tips for Memorizing Parts of the Bible

48. Dr. Andrew Davis has a nice technique for memorizing books of the Bible. The 11-page pdf is available online: link
49. Get together with a friend or spouse every week to pray together and memorize scripture. This will probably end up becoming the best friend you have. Here are some recommended verses: link. Make sure both of you memorize the same verse each week and recite it to each other when you get together. It might be good to have penalties if you don’t stick with it, perhaps you have to give your friend $5 if you don’t have the verse memorized that week. Motivation is good.
50. Have a place or time when you recite the verses you’re memorizing. Perhaps the first 5 minutes of your commute is devoted to reciting verses with the radio off, or maybe when you get in the shower you spend that time renewing your mind with God’s Word.
51. If you have children, reward them for memorizing Scripture. Their excitement will encourage you to memorize the Bible as well. Storing God’s truth in your children at a young age will bless them later on in life. I have heard an internationally known pastor talk about his mother encouraging him to memorize the Bible. She told them that for each chapter they memorized she would memorize a book of the Bible. He has said that one time when two women tried to get him to have an affair, it was a verse his mother had him memorize which came to his mind and kept him on the path of righteousness.
52. Repetition is the mother of all learning. Repeating a Bible verse over and over again will eventually tattoo it on your brain.
53. Be creative. Practice ways to get God’s Word to stick. Post comments below letting us all know what works for you.

Tips for Studying the Bible with other People

53. Get together with a friend(s) once-a-week to be in a Bible reading group. This requires no leadership or preparation, just get together at a place like Starbucks and spend 30 minutes individually reading your Bible.
54. Get connected with a local church in your area having a Bible study. This is a great way to learn the Word of God and to also get to know people who may become life-long friends.
55. Read the Bible with your spouse after dinner. My wife and I have recently started reading a couple chapters before going to bed…we’ve enjoyed having the Bible as our last thought before going to sleep.

Alright, this is as far as I’ve come although I know there are many more tips. Please post your own tips in the comments section and I’ll add them to the list as they come through the site.