THEORY VERSUS PRACTICE. It is one thing to know how to read your Bible through once per year, and it is yet another to put this knowledge into practice day by day. The Yearly Bible Reading Schedule was made up as a suggested method of "how" this can very easily be done. The Yearly Bible Reading in Action that you are now reading, was designed to get God's people to put this "how" into action. A very successful salesman once told me that there are ten points to follow in selling. The first three were "plan your work." The last seven were "work your plan." The Yearly Bible Reading Schedule answers to "plan your work." The Yearly Bible Reading in Action answers to "work your plan." Both are necessary for successful yearly Bible reading.

CAN I SPARE THE TIME FOR YEARLY BIBLE READING? Whenever theory is converted into practice, effort must be expended. In the case of yearly Bible reading "theory" and yearly Bible reading "practice," this effort takes the form of "time." Before you can intelligently decide on whether or not you have time to put this theory into practice, you should know how much time it takes each day. If this is too much time to give to the reading of God's Words, then it is, of course, impossible for you to carry out the plan of Yearly Bible Reading. The yearly reading work has been planned, now all that is left for you to do is to "work the plan."

Depending on the reading speed of the persons involved, I have found that it takes anywhere from two minutes to eight minutes to read one of the daily 85-verse sections found in the "Yearly Bible Reading" schedule. Some take eight minutes, some four minutes, and some two minutes. How do you account for this difference in time for reading a daily section? Very easily. The reading speed of any given individual depends on (1) his native reading speed, (2) his increased speed picked up by alert practice, (3) his purpose in mind as he reads, and (4) the familiarity he has with the reading material. It stands to reason that a veteran Bible reader, who has been covering the same ground over and over again for many years, will read a daily section much more quickly than one wholly unfamiliar with God’s Book, provided the other three factors are constant. Can you spare the time daily for yearly Bible reading? Only you can evaluate and answer that question.

DO I HAVE TO RESTRICT MYSELF TO "YEARLY" BIBLE READING? Some of the more rapid readers must be asking themselves the question, "Must I be limited to reading my Bible only once each year?" Of course not. No matter what your reading speed is for the daily 85-verse sections, what your purpose is, or how much time you wish to devote each day to this task, you can read the Bible through as many times each year as you like, just by reading more sections each day. For example:

1 section per day of 85 verses would mean Bible reading 1 time per year.

2 sections per day of 85 verses would mean Bible reading 2 times per year.

3 sections per day of 85 verses would mean Bible reading 3 times a year.

6 sections per day of 85 verses would mean Bible reading 6 times a year.

12 sections per day of 85 verses would be Bible reading 12 times a year.

Do not think you have to limit yourself to reading the Bible only once per year. This is entirely up to you. Suppose, for example, that you read a daily 85-verse section at the average rate of four minutes.

4 minutes per day would allow you to read the Bible 1 time per year.

8 minutes per day would allow you to read the Bible 2 times per year.

12 minutes per day would allow you to read the Bible 3 times per year.

16 minutes per day would allow you to read the Bible 4 times per year.

24 minutes per day would allow you to read the Bible 6 times per year.

48 minutes per day would allow you to read the Bible 12 times per year.

In fact, if you felt that you could not devote as much time as two to eight minutes per day to Bible reading, you could even read one section of 85 verses every other day and thus read the Bible only one time every two years if you prefer. There is no limit, either maximum or minimum, really. The important thing is that, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and Redeemer, you spend a regular amount of time daily reading the Scriptures that glorify Him.

DO I HAVE TO RESTRICT MYSELF TO BIBLE "READING"? Bible reading is not to be confused with Bible study. Bible reading is merely one method of Bible study and does not necessarily have to be the only method employed by any given individual at one time. In addition to the reading of God's Words, other studies can be carried on such as book studies and so forth, if this is desired in addition. The main thing that is needed is a constant, systematic, regular system of reading the Bible in all its sixty-six books so as to grasp an entire picture of that Book of Books and to enable the Holy Spirit, its Author, to teach you from every book you read. I believe it is a mistake to try to combine Bible reading with Bible study since that entails so much more time to be spent that the average person would soon grow weary of the whole endeavor and give up. I think it is wisest to have the believers get started on a definite plan of yearly Bible reading and after this habit is well established to embark on specialized, analytical studies of the Bible.

HOW CAN I MOST EFFECTIVELY USE THE "YEARLY BIBLE READING" SCHEDULE? The way to use the Yearly Bible Reading Schedule most effectively is this, in summary:

(1) get a King James Bible (preferably the DEFINED KING JAMES BIBLE available at http://www.biblefortoday.org/kj_bibles.asp) published by the Bible For Today, Incorporated, 900 Park Avenue, Collingswood, NJ 08108.

(2) The 85-verse sections are marked with a little diamond.

(3) determine your reading rate per 85-verse section.

(4) determine the amount of time you want to spend daily.

(5) figure out the number of 85-verse sections to read daily.

(6) determine to "work your plan."

(7) put your tailor-made plan of yearly Bible reading into operation for the rest of your life, changing it as desired--and may the Lord Jesus Christ Himself give you the strength, determination, drive, and benefits you need to continue this difficult, challenging task.