It takes an average of about 5 minutes to read each chapter of the New Testament. It means the nine chapters you will be required to read daily only take 45 minutes. Isn’t that so small for every 24 hours? Hence, if you have the time, read it up at once; all good. If you can’t, break it into morning and night. 15 minutes for each session. I hardly have time during the day, so I read very early in the morning or late at night. Design a reading schedule or pattern that works for you. You can read more from our previous editions here.

Spend time reading your bible

Preferably, get a hard copy bible. But that depends on you and your style. Phone apps and tabs work perfectly for many people also. Get a pen and preferably a marker. Be ready to mark any scripture that gets your attention. It is your Bible, feel free to mark it and write inside it when and where necessary. It’s the way of the ancients.

Please, take note

If you see any scripture you wish to study. Please don’t fall for it immediately. Note it, so you can study it later when you finish your reading.

Pray before you start

By prayer, you are dependent on the Holy Spirit to teach and reveal Jesus to you. He is the inspiration behind the writing of the Bible. Don’t you read the Bible without His help; otherwise, you would be reading Death of Life ( 2 Cor. 3:6). By praying, you are welcoming him. Just a sentence of prayer is more than enough.

“Holy Spirit, speak to me today as I read your Word”. He listens and answers.”

“Holy Spirit, change my heart today, I decided on you, not on my understanding as I read your Word.” He hears and answers.

Keep it interesting

David said, “How sweet are you thy words unto my taste! Yea sweet than honey to my mouth!” Psalm 119: 103. God’s is meant to be sweet and enjoyed You can get a version of your choice. I will recommend you start with KJV, NKJV, or ESV. If you find them hard to understand or not interesting, get NLT or NIV.

For new starters, these four Bible versions to the “best of our knowledge” attempted to maintain the original meaning without trying to explain from an understanding bias. There are others anyway. If you can certify the originality of a translation version, kindly go ahead and use it.

Explore different versions

Other versions such as God’s Word, Easy and Read, The Message, the Living Bible, and some other versions are commentary Bibles; meaning that they were explained from the translators’ point of view. The translators did not attempt to preserve the original meaning but tried to explain according to their understanding. You can read them later but don’t start with them if this is your first time. But if you don’t understand a verse, you can quickly check a commentary Bible for a wider understanding.

If you are reading during the day or at night, you can keep yourself awake and alert with some snacks or nuts to keep your mouth busy. That is if you are late anyway and it is healthy for you. You can also share what you read with a partner or in your sub-group.

You can even read a chapter. Do something fun for five minutes. Share what you read. Then read the next chapter. Make sure you concentrate well when you read and communicate with God. We have come to the end of today’s training. Quite short, isn’t it?

Pray this prayer

Heavenly Father, we want to thank you. Thank you because the entrance of your word gives light and understanding to the simple. We ask that you quicken every heart this season. Cause in every heart a transformation, preparation, and victuals are required for the journey in Jesus’ name.

Maximizing time

One of the keys to succeeding in this course is to know how to maximize time. And the first step to using time effectively is to “Identify time wasters and delete them.” Time wasters can be a gist partner, a game you love, activities others can avoid, social media surfing aimless window browsing, etc.

Identify your time wasters

You must identify the time wasters particular to you and cut down on them significantly. For those of you in level 8765 in Candy Crush or you who are already attached to Snapchat and TikTok videos maybe it’s time to show down. I also like games but my priorities have reduced my gaming to zero. Set priority.

For those of you who put “I am bored, is there anybody to chat with” on your Whatsapp status? You can’t do that now. You need all the time you can harness to read your Bible.

Check these examples below.

Those friends that come visiting and you just talk about all the sisters in the choir, then the brothers in ushering. Or all the political matters and what’s happening in Chelsea and Manchester United – things you can do nothing about. It’s time to cut down on them.

You can spend 4 hours on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or other social media. Reduce the time significantly on them this month. Alarms can also work to caution you. You can set alarms during the day, in the morning, or at night when you want to focus on God’s Word. At this time, you switch off your data to avoid distraction.

We can use this same phone to our advantage. If you are already a busy person, you must not fill your leisure time with time wasters. If business, ministry, work, money, and fun are on your phone(s) like a typical Christian youth, you may need to employ the help of peculiar settings on your phones to help discipline your phone time. There are settings on your phone that can help you to focus for a fixed hour of the day when all social media and money-making apps can be closed for a certain time, where you focus on God and His Word daily.

Do away with idleness and laziness

Another way to maximize time is to project idle time and make use of it. For example, if your toilet time takes ten minutes, you can read and meditate while on the toilet seat. If you are going to the bank and you know there will be a long queue, just take your Bible along or are you ashamed of it openly?

If you are stuck in traffic, you can use that time to achieve calm as you read your Bible instead of agitation over what you can do little about. If you are on a train or a plane for an hour or more, that’s your idle time over there, use it. If you have an appointment and you know people might come late. Go with your Bible. These may be foolish to certain people, but you are maximizing and investing your time. The steps deal with pleasure.

Also, even if you spend your evening time watching television or the like, be careful because before you know this will have exhausted your whole time. If you have a friend you chat with or call 24/7 for no profitable or fruitful reasons, it is time to reduce it to give God the best time.

If you sleep too much and are a busy talkative person, you must readjust your clock so that you can read late at night or in the morning. You can read about practical ways to adjust your sleep clock.