How Much of the Bible Do You Think We Should Read?

Is all of the Bible still relevant to us today? How much of the Bible does God want us to read? Are we obligated to read the books we don't understand? #Biblestudy #Genesis #WomensBibleStudy #GoodMorningGirls

The ship has left the dock and the Good Morning Girls have embarked on a long, fruitful journey as we read through the Bible – cover to cover, one chapter at a time.

We are about to complete the book of Genesis this Friday!  Way to go GMGs!

The Bible is a BIG book!  This is no small endeavor but consider this:

There are 66 books in the Bible.

How many of them do you think God wants us to read?

What a joy it is to have accountability here as we travel this journey together.  If you did not join us this time – no worries, you can join us anytime.  That is why you will find no dates or numbers on our reading plans.  Our arms are open wide!  All that matters, is you getting into God’s word and walking with the King.

Summary of Genesis

As we come to the end of Genesis, I want to look back.  Genesis means beginnings or origins.

In Genesis we have seen the beginning of the world, man, sin, death, conflict, murder, pain, sadness, betrayal, love, grace,  faithfulness, righteousness, hope and salvation.

We have looked at the line of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

We see the beginning of languages, races, God’s promises, and God’s chosen nation.

We see the beginning of the twelve tribes of Israel and the family line through which the Messiah would come.

We have only just begun.

The stage has been set.  Joseph’s family has been moved to Egypt and when we begin the book of Exodus in January, we will see what happens to the twelve tribes of Israel in Egypt and how God will mightily move in the midst of his people. (The secrets out – we are starting out the new year in Exodus –because we can’t stop our reading in the middle of this ginormous story that is unfolding!)

Even after we complete Exodus, there is so much more in God’s word that he wants us to know…that’s why there are 66 books in the Bible and we will keep on going with reading plans and Facebook daily posts and discussions and devotionals and so much more until we complete the entire Bible!

We must keep reading, learning, meditating, praying, listening and leaning on God for strength and guidance in our daily lives.

Beginnings and Endings

As we finish the book of beginnings, I want to look ahead to the very end of our journey – the book of Revelation:

In Genesis the earth is created, in Revelation the earth will pass away.

In Genesis the sun governs the day, in Revelation there’s no need for the sun – Jesus is the lamp of heaven!

In Genesis sin begins, in Revelation sin ends.

In Genesis the curse is pronounced, in Revelation the curse is no more.

In Genesis death enters, in Revelation there is no more death.

In Genesis there is sorrow and suffering, in Revelation there are no more tears.

In Genesis we see the marriage of the first Adam, in Revelation we see the marriage of the last Adam.

This is our God and He is our great hope!

If you have not read your Bible cover to cover yet – then now is the time.  All 66 books of the Bible are a gift. Let’s savor every word of God.

Invite your friends to join us.  This Friday we’ll finish Genesis and the following Monday go right into Psalms. I love the book of Psalms!

So glad you are walking with the King,

Courtney

**Chime in**

The Bible is a BIG book.  Have you ever read the Bible before cover to cover?   Why or why not?

41 Comments

  1. I’m Catholic so I have 73 books and I hope and pray that I read them all. It is my goal to do this by new years eve next year. We will see I’m going to try my hardest but know that I might not make that goal.

      1. Hi Rosalyn,
        In the Roman Catholic tradition, there are 7 additional books in the Old Testament, as they use the OT that was the Bible in Jesus’ time (the Septuagint). This complete Bible was in use by all Christians for over 1,600 years, until, as I understand it, Martin Luther removed several books, giving us the abridged version that is widely used today. The original King James version, from 1611, is available online at: http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611-Bible/
        This includes the complete original OT if you are interested in reading further. I am no expert, and am reading through a more modern translation with GMG, but I am fascinated by all of the different translations!
        Hope this helps!!
        Peace,
        ~Michelle

        1. Thank you Michelle,
          For you explained it very well. I had known there was an original edition available and I will certainly look into it from the link you provided. I see this as being a great resource to reference and wonder why some of the books were eliminated!?
          God bless,
          Rosalyn

      2. The books are: Sirach, Tobit, Wisdom, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and Baruch, (and longer versions of Daniel and Esther)

        1. Thank you, ladies, for bringing up these often deemed “extra” books which we Catholic Christians have kept in scripture from the beginning. It makes my heart happy to see a good discussion on different “denominations” (for lack of a better word) on here. And Courtney, thank you for ministering to us all. 🙂

      3. The Catholic deuterocanonical scriptural texts are:

        Tobit
        Judith
        Additions to Esther (Vulgate Esther 10:4–16:24)[9]
        Wisdom (also called the Wisdom of Solomon)
        Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus)
        Baruch, including the Letter of Jeremiah (Additions to Jeremiah in the Septuagint)[10]
        Additions to Daniel:
        Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children (Vulgate Daniel 3:24–90)
        Susanna (Vulgate Daniel 13, Septuagint prologue)
        Bel and the Dragon (Vulgate Daniel 14, Septuagint epilogue)
        1 Maccabees
        2 Maccabees

  2. Last year I decided to commit to reading the Entire Biblemin one year. I chose to do a chronological plan so I could get my head around connections and timeline. I did it! It not only increased my knowledge, but my hunger for God and His Word and for deeper study. It really changed my life and my perspective.

  3. Courtney-

    I have 2 questions:

    1. Since I just started with your plan in Genesis how can I view and read comments for the chapters y’all have covered since you began?

    2. How did you decide the order of what we are reading? I had a friend that asked me this. 🙂

    Thank you so much for putting so much work into growing God’s kingdom!! Your light shines far! 🙂

    Shannon

    1. Hi Shannon – I am archiving all of the completed posts on the Good Morning Girls Resources Page here: https://womenlivingwell.org/good-morning-girls-resources/

      As far as the order, I am trying to do a mix of Old Testament and New Testament reading. There are more Old Testament than New Testament books so for every 2 Old Testament books we will read 1 New Testament book. In January we will do Exodus and then in March we will begin the gospel of Matthew.

      Hope that helps!
      Lots of Love,
      Courtney

      1. I also wondered about the order you were going in – thanks for answering this … not that it bothered me, I was just curious 😉

  4. I think God wants and expects us to read the entirety of the bible! My family and I decided to read the bible in it’s entirety in one year. We started the sabbath after Sukkot. We are SOOOOOOOOOO very excited about this!!!:)) We’ve been reading together every night as a family. It has been a HUGE blessing!

  5. Dear Courtney,

    I feel a little bit sad because the reading in Genesis is almost done. It touched my hart in so many ways. What is really helpful for me to understand all that I read, are your blogposts and videos every week.
    Also, I am very thankful that we will read Exodus in January!! I was already hoping for this!
    Thank you very much for this wonderful journey!

    Yvonne

    1. Yvonne,
      I am with you, I feel like these men have become part of my family, I know my family are sick of hearing me talk about Jacob and Joseph and the rest as though they are alive. I was doubtful when I started this project that I could last the whole way, I am new to Gods word, I just found him in July, but now I have this lovwly little routine and my family knows “Mum is doing bible study leave her alone” its my first thing on waking, half an hour good solid God time.
      When we are on break I will miss the routine, maybe I’ll go back and re red some of what we have already covered.

  6. I think we should read all 66 books of the Bible. I have read the Bible cover to cover several times; once in a year and twice in 90 days! Courtney, I really love this Bible Study! It has allowed me to really understand the meaning of God’s word. God Bless!

  7. I have read the Bible cover to cover and it took me 3 years to do it. Then I tried down the road to do it again and it took and year and a half. So maybe next year we can read it in a year. I just bought the Chronological order Bible and want to try and read that in a year with my kids…..

  8. I have read the Bible completely through in a year for the past 10 years. Before that I chose where to read randomly and there were a lot of books I didn’t read. I can’t get enough of God’s Word or of Jesus for that matter. I am loving this slowing down to read just one chapter a day and not feeling guilty it isn’t 3 or 4.

  9. I have to admit, I finished Genesis today. I just couldn’t resist reading over the weekend. Thank you for leading us in this endeavor!!

  10. I started reading through the Bible last fall. I had hoped to be done by the end of this year… not quite there yet. So, I am not at the same point where you all are at but I am greatly encouraged and motivated by your posts! Also, every book you’ve done so far I’ve already read so I enjoy the review & different perspective.

  11. Thank you for all the hard work you put into this. It means so much to me to do this Bible reading along with everyone else. You are a wonderful spiritual leader in my life!

  12. I have read both chronologically and some randomly most of the books in the bible, but there have been some in the old testament I did not read completely for lack of relevancy. I am hoping that there will be more significant meaning for me through this reading process.
    God bless,
    Rosalyn

    1. As I’ve been reading through the Old Testament over the past few months I remember some good advice someone gave me many years ago–When reading the Bible (especially the OT), the first question shouldn’t be–“How can I apply this to my life?” but rather, “What does this passage teach me about God?” I find I get a lot more out of my readings of the end of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers when I ask the second question instead.

      1. Actually the question of how can I apply this to my life is very relevant while reading through the Old Testament. For instance when it talks about clean and unclean animals in regards to food. A good thing to do is to find out what the biblical definition of food is. When you define this term biblically then you can apply it to your life.

  13. Thank you Courtney,
    For putting this study together and for your video posts and the daily facebook postings, I am loving hearing and reading how we all get something different from each chapter despite the fact we all read the same chapter. I am loving being with like minded people whom I don’t have in real life. Sad to finish Genesis and to be taking a break, any suggestions about what I should ( as a newbie to christianity) read in the break? To keep in the word.
    Than you again for your dedication and hard work.

  14. I have read thru the New Testament several times and have read a few of the Old Testament books but haven’t made it thru all of it.

  15. I have read through the bible cover-to-cover a couple of times.
    At our old church there was a reading plan called the One Year Bible Marathon, which they do yearly. Starting from Jan 1st thru to last day of Dec. The plan went thru the books of the bible consecutively in chronological order from Genesis to Revelation. We read 3 Chapters a day. I found it tough going thru like that, and it literally did feel like a marathon race.

    I prefer to pace myself reading thru like we are doing Courtney, 1 chapter a day over 3 or 5 years, also a mixture of Old and New Testament to keep it fresh. That way I can actually learn more, and understand more in detail, and where there is a follow up summary at the end of each chapter.

    I like the accountability that others are going through as well.

  16. So thankful for this study and all the work you put into GMG! I personally have never read through the bible in it’s entirety. We are reading it as a family. My children are 14, 12 & 10. Many good discussions coming from our readings. We are actually listening to it on the app on my phone and pause as someone has a question, then restart. Thanks again!

  17. I have been a Christian for 40 years and have read the Bible sporadically through the years, here and there, consciously I have read it through from cover to cover once but I am sure I have covered most of it several times, I just haven’t kept track. Your setup is perfect, because it sits well with my Facebook addiction and keeps me accountable. I have enjoyed reading Genesis and seeing other peoples’ comments and thoughts, and I have added my own now and then, although most of the time I just “like” when I have completed the chapter. It feels good to be so consistent, and I thank you so much for setting this up

  18. I have not read through the Bible in it entirety. I am so grateful for this group to help me through this endeavor. I felt over whelmed at first but now that I am journaling my way along I can’t help but want more. Thank you Courtney and all you others out there that give such good insight!!!

  19. Since 2005, I’ve committed to reading through the Bible, cover-to-cover, in a year. Thus far, I’ve done it, in fact, many times I’m able to get through it almost twice. There’s so much meat in God’s Word! I see new things every time I read it!

  20. Hi Courtney,

    First…thank you so much for started the study. I waffled before I signed up and I got stuck in the syrup of “I am already behind, why bother” more than a few times….but I pressed forward and now I would not miss it. I read in the mornings then use the verses as a framework for my day …and Respond in the evenings. It has blessed me beyond measure.

    And…yes…this is my first time reading thru the Bible. But I do have a private devotional method I use (and soon will blog about). I literally number my days. Tomorrow will be November 22 ….So I will look at all Chapter 11 verse 22 in the Old and New Testament….then I pick 3 to study in-depth, SOAP, and journal about. It helped me learn the order of the books in the Bible…and…it has yielded some amazing finds.

    Thanks again

  21. I started reading my bible from the beginning and floundered just before the end of Leviticus – I do plan to pick up where I left off though. However, as a home group, we followed “The Story” with Randy Frazee – pretty much an abridged, chronological version of the Bible.
    I’m going to try and join in with Psalms.

  22. No matter how I go about studying the Bible, I always seem to complicate it lol. So I thank you for putting out the idea of doing only a chapter a day. I’m not following you guys exactly…I’m doing a chapter a day in chronological order which is something I have wanted to do for years. I’ve tried and failed many times. But I’m giving myself permission to slow it down. Even if all I get to is a paragraph today, it’s better than nothing at all. There is so much in the Bible (mainly the Old Testament) that I haven’t read yet. And it’s all because I’ve complicated it.

    Thanks so much for showing us that we don’t have to do a whole bunch to get a whole bunch out!

  23. I’m new to your blog/group and just wondering if you start over again once you finish reading the Bible? I know you said you archived the already covered books, but instead of trying to catch up I’d rather just start here. If I know you’ll be starting the Bible over again when this round is finished, I’ll have no worries =)

    Thank you so much for offering this! I can’t wait to get started=)

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