Tara-Leigh Cobble

And despite preferring audio in almost every other area of my life, reading with my eyes is always my best trip through those chapters.

Sometimes, not always, I'll make a third trip through, where I listen to the Bible app while I read the chapters to make sure I'm seeing everything clearly.

The options that are sometimes slightly easier to process, like the New Living Translation or the New International Version, are often phrase-for-phrase translations, not word-for-word like the ESV.

I'm probably not going to do this on a genealogy day, but if I feel especially confused or even especially in awe, I'll do that.

And some versions, like the message, for instance, are best read as commentaries because they're more of a retelling than a translation.

Okay, so we've covered time, location, and process.

But I don't want to forget about one of the most important things of all.

Feel free to use whatever version you'd like or even change it up.

Let's talk about your mindset.

One of the great things about the Bible app is that you can test out all kinds of versions for free.

This may sound weird, but at the very least, let's aim to treat this with the same level of importance as we would any other relationship in our lives.

Then, once you find the one you want to use, I recommend getting a print Bible in that translation.

Even though he's God and he's more important than our other relationships, our temptation is to treat him as though he's not even a person.

I know this is a digital age, but when it comes to scripture, having a tangible Bible can often serve as a reminder to read it.

So when I say treat it like other relationships, for most of us, this is not a downgrade, but an upgrade from the way we've been treating him.

You're less likely to forget the Bible exists if it's sitting on your dining room table instead of buried in a folder on the third page of your phone.

We don't always honor him well because he's so available to us and probably because he's so invisible.

Each day, we'll open the Bible app to see what we're reading, or you can use that printable reading plan on our site.

Then you'll open up your Bible and read your chapters.

That's one reason we fail to schedule time with him.