The Life-Changing Joy of Reading Your Bible

Dannah Gresh: If you ate a great meal on a Monday, you wouldn’t say, “Well, I’m good to go until next Monday, would you? Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth applies that concept to our intake of the Scriptures.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: How do we think then we can eat the bread of God’s Word once a week or so and be spiritually healthy? Read your Bible daily!

Dannah: This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast for December 29, 2025. I’m Dannah Gresh, and our host is the author of Adorned, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.

Nancy: As we come to the end of this year, I want to say a huge thank you to every person who has sent a gift to Revive Our Hearts this month, as we've been asking the Lord to provide $4 million to support our outreaches around the world. With less than three days left in the month, we've still got quite a way to go. But that's not unusual, because typically a significant portion of our year-end giving comes during the last few days. So, if Revive Our Hearts has been a blessing to you, and if you'd like to help meet that goal so more women can experience freedom and fullness and fruitfulness in Christ, please go to ReviveOurHearts.com to make a donation, or you can call us at 1-800-569-5959. Thank you so much! Your gift at this time means more than you can possibly know. Thank you. 

Now, our goal at Revive Our Hearts is to get women into the Word and get the Word into women. As we look toward a new year, I want to invite you to join with thousands of women around the world in reading through the Bible in 2026. Now, if you've tried reading through the Bible before, you probably know what it's like to start off like gangbusters at the beginning of January and you're all enthused, you're all excited. Like New Year's resolutions, you have the best of intentions; but eventually you drop off, probably around February, maybe when you get to the book of Leviticus. Have you had that happen? Yeah, I can see those hands being raised. Yes, we've had it happen. 

Well, our team has developed some great tools to help you stay with it this next year. That includes a printable reading plan, some journaling resources, a way that you can share with others what God is saying to you through His Word as you read. You can share with other sisters who are reading the same passages. You'll find all of this and more at ReviveOurHearts.com/Bible2026. 

Join women around the world as we read through the Bible together. This is not a vow you're taking; this is saying, "By God's grace, with Him enabling, I want to be a part of joining women around the world in doing this." So click on that prompt to join with other women. You'll also be able on that page to sign up if you'd like to receive emails with daily encouragement as you read through the Bible, and I really hope you'll do that as well. You'll be glad that you did. 

I received an email not too long ago that said, 

Dear Nancy, 

You have inspired me to a more intimate relationship with God and to love His Word.

Hallelujah! I love this! I love getting emails like this. She said, 

I love the way you talk about the Bible and help others to love it more. The other day I was reading Philemon, and I noticed a phrase repeated twice in that book, and that made me think of you.

Now, the reason it made her think of me was because I'm always saying as you're reading and studying God's Word, to look for repeated words and phrases. That gives you a clue about the thrust, the emphasis of what you're reading. So she said, 

[I noticed it,] and it made me think of you. So I just wanted to say “thank you” and to encourage you to keep on doing what you're doing.

PS: I'm so excited to read through the Bible with all the other women in 2026, and to study it in the following years.

Wonder of the Word! Reading through the Bible in 2026, then studying together through the Bible in 2027. I love seeing the excitement as we're hearing from women who say, "I want to be a part of reading through the Bible together," and I'm excited to see what God will do as we embark on this life-changing year together in His Word.

In 2024, the largest gold deposit in the world was discovered in China. There are over forty veins of gold ore, and they believe that this gold field may contain more than a thousand metric tons of gold. Estimates say that this discovery is worth more than $83 billion in one location. 

Now, that's a lot! That's a lot of gold; that's a lot of money; that's a lot of value! That's a lot of worth; that's a lot of treasure. But you and I have something that is far more valuable than that gold field in China. And this is what it is: Psalm 119, verse 72: 

Instruction from your lips is better for me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. 

Just across the page: 

I love your commands more than gold, even the purest gold. (Psalm 119:127) 

This is the treasure, the rich treasure. 

There was a song that we used to sing when I was a child that was written in 1803. (That wasn't when I sang it, but when I was a child we sang this old chorus.) 

Holy Bible, book divine;
Precious treasure, thou art mine. 

I can remember singing that in elementary school, Sunday school. "Holy Bible, book divine; precious treasure, thou art mine." As I was preparing for this session today, I thought about a shelf near my study that has a whole line of Bibles, precious treasures that I have read through over the years. They're lined up there. They're precious to me. I have no more precious possession on this earth, as far as a tangible, physical thing goes, than those Bibles. I started leafing through them. I pulled several down here just to show you and tell you about today. 

Here's one that is falling apart. The spine is all torn up; it's all beat up. I hadn't opened it for a long time, but I did this morning, and I noticed that the inscription was from one of my sisters who sent this to me on my birthday when I was fourteen. She said, "This is a token of my appreciation for helping me grow spiritually during the year of 1972. Much love." There are notes all the way through this Bible, underlining, highlighting, some little pieces of paper stuck in there. Precious treasure, the Word of God. That was the '70s. 

Then I picked up a Bible that another friend gave me in the '80s. These are different translations. Again, all the way through, you see notes and markings and notes in the open pages there. "Holy Bible, book divine; precious treasure, thou art mine." That was the '80s. 

Here's one that I think was from the '90s . . . a different translation yet. Again, I go through it and I see notes, things I've written in the margin, dates of things that spoke to me in a particular way. "Holy Bible, book divine; precious treasure, thou art mine." 

Here's one from, I think 2011, maybe. This one's not as beat up. It’s a different translation yet. I look through it and if I were to read through these notes, I would see a journey of God's dealings in my life. 

Some people like keeping the same Bible forever. There’s nothing wrong with that. I've seen Bibles that are well used and that people have used for decades. Personally, I like switching to a new Bible every couple of years, because it gives me a clean margin, space to write fresh insights. So that's the way I've done it. But, "Holy Bible, book divine; precious treasure, thou art mine." 

Then you've heard me talk about this, my first journaling Bible, notetaking Bible, and the pages and pages—thousands of words—written as I journaled through the Bible. This one has kind of had its challenges too. You can see the cover is actually coming off. It's well made, but it got well used those five years that I journaled through the Bible. "Holy Bible, book divine; precious treasure, thou art mine." 

And then you've heard me talk about this, my first journaling Bible—notetaking Bible. Pages and pages, thousands and thousands of words as I journaled through the Bible. This one has kind of had its challenges. You can see that the cover is coming off. It's well-made, but it is well-used in those five years that I journaled through the Bible. "Holy Bible, book divine; precious treasure, thou art mine." 

And here is the one I'm using as I'm teaching through Wonder of the Word. It’s another Bible that's getting well used. It's a precious treasure. But this Book is worth more than any fortune, any gold, any silver. Why? Not because of the pages. It's ink on pages and some kind of material on the cover. But this Book points us to Jesus, the living Word, the supreme treasure in earth, in heaven, in all of eternity. 

So, as we think about the precious treasure of God's Word, I want us to take just a moment to look at what the Word says about why the Word is so valuable. Let me just read these quickly. You won't have time to jot them down, but you can go to the transcript of today's program and you can see this list. You go to Deuteronomy 8 and you see that the Word of God is essential. 

Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deut. 8:3) 

You can't live without the Word of God. Then we see in Psalm 19 that God's Word will make you wise.

The instruction of the LORD is perfect, renewing one's life; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making the experienced wise. (Psalm 19:7)

We see in Psalm 119 that God's Word will guide us.

Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105) 

It will keep us from sin. 

I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

We see that it will heal our minds and our hearts. Psalm 107: 

He sent his word and healed them. (Psalm 107:20) 

And if I could just insert one quote that's not from the Bible that fits so well there. John Flavel, the great Puritan pastor and writer, said, 

One word of God can do more than ten thousand words of men to relieve a distressed soul. 

You want healing for your anxiety? Healing for your soul? He sends His Word and heals us. Jeremiah 15 tells us that God's Word will give us joy.

Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight and the joy of my heart. (Jer. 15:16)

Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Eph. 6:17) 

God's Word will protect you in spiritual battle. In John 15, Jesus said: 

You are . . . clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 

God's Word will sanctify you; it will make you holy. Then, God's Word will show you your heart. Hebrews 4: 

The word of God is living and effective . . . able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb. 4:12) 

Not just what I say, but what I'm thinking and why and what my motivations are. God's Word shows me my heart. And then, Joshua 1, God's Word will make you successful in every area of your life. 

This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth . . . for then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. (Josh. 1:8)

Do you want those benefits . . . and more in the year ahead? There are lots more where those came from. Then I want to encourage you to read your Bible. 

You know, the gold that was discovered in China is more than a mile beneath the surface of the earth, and getting that gold out of the ground is easier said than done. It takes a ton of time and effort and money. And it takes time and effort to mine gold from God's Word. But I want to tell you, it is so, so worth it! I want to encourage and challenge you today, as you think about reading your Bible in the year ahead; I want to encourage you with several simple, practical recommendations. 

The first and the overarching one is just these three words: read your Bible. Read it! We talk about how much we don't understand the Bible, how hard it is to understand. I think the biggest reason we don't understand the Bible is because we don't read it. Read your Bible! 

It's been encouraging to me to see a number of high-profile public figures recently talking about reading their Bibles. A well-known actor talked about this on Twitter. He said, 

I never took the time in all my years to really read the Bible. Currently, I’m almost through the Old Testament; next up, the New Testament. So far amazing, and not at all what I was expecting. 

I don't know if this man is a believer, but I know God is drawing his heart toward the Word. Another prominent media figure that I heard being interviewed some time ago mentioned that several months earlier he had decided to start reading the Bible. At the point of that interview, he had read the entire New Testament, and now he was working his way through the Old Testament. He said, "It's the most interesting thing I've ever done. It's unbelievable!" 

Here's a smart man, a famous man, but he said, "I'm experiencing something in God's Word I've never experienced before." He made me want to start praying for this man and others like him, that in the Word they will find Christ, the living Word. 

Read your Bible! You can read it through in a year. It's a hike, it's an effort, it's not easy. But do you know that if you would read for just about twelve minutes a day, you can read through the whole Bible in one year? What do you do for twelve minutes a day that maybe you could do without and read through your Bible in a year? 

If you don't love reading, or maybe that's not easy for you, get an audio version of the Bible. There are plenty of apps for that. Listen to it being read. I love listening to my audio Bible on my phone as I'm getting ready in the morning, doing my makeup, my hair. I will often listen to whatever I'm getting ready to teach. I will listen to it. Read through it. Get through it however you need to. 

Now, you may feel like, "I just don't understand it." Well, the effect of Bible reading, meditation, study is cumulative over time. You have to do it to get more out of it. I just want to tell you (and I'm saying this to myself too), if we would spend half the time that we spend scrolling on our phones or doing other mindless activities to read and ponder the Bible, over time we would come to know the Word. We would come to understand it better. We would be changed. You see, the more you read it, the more you will understand it. 

And you think, Well, I don't really love it. I'd rather scroll. I'd rather watch Instagram reels or do something that's more entertaining to me. Let me tell you this: the more you eat the Word of God, the more you take it into your system, the greater appetite, hunger, and longing you will have for the Word. 

So that's just my first point. Read your Bible. Read it. Read it. Read your Bible! 

Then a second, I don't want to call these suggestions; I really want to call them strong recommendations. Read it daily. Read it daily. 

I saw a study where eighty thousand people were polled between the ages of eight and eighty. So you probably fit in that demographic. The survey was about what happens when people read the Bible. And here's what they found out: when people engaged with the Bible in some way—even if it's opening the Bible during their pastor's preaching and he says, "Open to Psalm 119—but they engaged with the Bible one time a week, there was almost zero difference that was measurable in their life. 

If they read it twice a week or engaged with it twice a week, it was the same thing. There was almost indiscernible difference in their lives. 

If they read it or engaged with it three times a week, they noticed in these surveys a small change—not too much—but a small change. 

But what shocked researchers was what happened when they found out that people had read the Bible four times or more each week. The results were staggering!—the difference between one, two, or three times, and four times or more. Listen to these poll results (and this was eighty thousand people who were polled).

• Loneliness went down 30 percent. 
• Anger went down 32 percent. 
• Bitterness in relationships, down 40 percent. 
• Alcoholism, down 57 percent. 
• Sex outside of marriage, down 68 percent. 
• Feeling spiritually stagnant, down 60 percent. 
• Viewing pornography, down 61 percent. 
• But (listen to this!) four times or more a week reading, engaging with the Word. Sharing their faith went up 200 percent. 
• Discipling others went up 230 percent.

Frequent reading of the Bible changes your life. It does!

 

Now, we recognize this in the physical realm, that with rare exceptions, for example, we need to eat every day. I'm talking about physical food. We wouldn't think of having a meal Sunday lunch after church and saying, "Wow, that was good. I'm really full. I'm looking forward to eating again next Sunday." No, that would be ridiculous. How do we think, then, that we can eat the bread of God's Word once a week or so and be spiritually healthy? Read your Bible daily. Now, I'm not laying down the law here. I'm just saying make it your goal, make it your aspiration. 

This is one of the reasons I'm so excited about the Wonder app that we've been developing for teen girls in a partnership between Revive Our Hearts and Dannah Gresh, heard every day here on Revive Our Hearts, and the ministry, Pure Freedom, that she leads. The goal of that Wonder app is to get teenage girls into the Word of God every day. The statistics of what that does in teen girls' lives are staggering. So instead of just telling them, "Put down your phone, put down your social media," let's get them into God's Word every day. I'm excited to see what God will do through that, because those teenage girls are going to become the moms of the next generation. They're going to be discipling their girls. 

Read it daily. Set a time, set a place where you want to have your appointment with the Lord. Put it on your calendar if you need to. I read one pastor who said, "If your basic game plan is to read your Bible 'whenever,' chances are you'll read it never. If you don't control your schedule, your schedule will control you." So I don't just think, I'll fit it in when I can. No, make it the number one thing that you plan to do in your day. It may not be first thing in the morning—though I think that's a great idea—but decide where it's going, when it's going, how and when you're going to read God's Word. 

I want to promise you this. If you will purpose to read your Bible each day over the next 365 days, I promise that a year from now you will not be the same person. The difference will be evident to you, it will be evident to your family, it will be evident to others around you. You say, "What will be different?" I don't know. But I could guess that you'll have more wisdom—I know you will—that you'll have more joy, that you'll have more peace, that you'll have more freedom, that you'll be more like Jesus in your reactions and your responses. I'd guess you have less anxiety, less anger, less fear, less frustration. Read your Bible, and read it daily.

Then here's a third one: read it prayerfully. Read it prayerfully. Pray before you do your daily reading. When you pray before, you're expressing your humility. You're saying, "Lord, I need You to help me understand what I'm about to read. I need You to open my eyes, open my ears, to see Jesus, to receive what you have to give me, and whatever you say, I will obey." Before you read, pray that to the Lord. "I need you." 

Then pray while you're reading. "Lord, show me Your heart. Show me Jesus. Show me what You're saying." Pray after you read—before, during, and after. You might like that little acronym, ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Turn your Bible reading into prayer. Maybe throughout the day you'll be thinking about a verse that you've read and you'll be praying it back to the Lord. Read your Bible, read it daily, and read it prayerfully. 

Then, read all of your Bible. I don't mean tomorrow. I don't mean next week, but read all of it. According to a study I saw on global Christianity, fewer than 30 percent of Christians have ever read through the entire Bible. I remember hearing a pastor friend of mine who was preaching through the Bible to his congregation some time ago. He acknowledged to his people at the beginning of that (he was preaching in a year through the Bible), he said, "Honestly, there are books of the Bible that I've never read until taking you through this read through the Bible." If that's true of some pastors, I'm sure it's true of many if not most of us. 

Second Timothy 3 says, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable . . ." All Scripture—even those genealogies, those hard places, those places seem repetitive—it's all inspired, God-breathed, and it's all ". . . . profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness." If it's all profitable, that means I need it all, you need it all! Now, it's not all easy, but we need it all. 

And here's the thing. Do you want to stand before God in the last day in heaven? And God says, "What about that thing I said to you there?" 

"Oh Lord, I didn't read that. I never read through the whole book, the whole story, the whole redemptive plan that You gave me. I never read through the whole thing. You gave this to me as Your love letter, as Your will, as Your word; and I lived to be seventy-three, or I lived to be whatever. I knew You for decades, but I never read the whole thing." I don't want to say that to Him. I don't want that to be true. I need the whole thing. 

Now there's not one right way to read it. You don't always have to read Genesis through Revelation. You don't have to read it in a year. There's nothing particularly spiritual about that. I took five years to read through this journaling Bible, this notetaking Bible. I wanted a much slower pace. There have been a few times when I've gone at a much faster pace, and I would read through the Bible three or even four times in a year. I haven't done that often. But there are benefits to looking at the big picture. Sometimes I'll read some in the Old and some in the New, and I'll go back and forth. There's not a right way. But this year I want to encourage you to read it straight through from cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation. 

 

Some people start in the Old Testament, and some people find the Old Testament confusing at points, difficult to digest, and it's tempting to skip some of those parts. But I'm going to just remind you that you can't understand and appreciate the New Testament fully if you aren't familiar with the Old Testament, which (by the way) is why we're planning to study through the Bible together here at Revive Our Hearts in 2027, from beginning to end. Just a little spoiler alert there. I'm so excited about it! We're working on those sessions now. 

• The Old Testament introduces us to God. 
• It makes promises and anticipates what the New Testament fulfills. 
• In the Old Testament we find the origin of problems that are resolved in the New Testament. 
• The Old Testament looks forward to Jesus, and it sets the stage for His first and then His second coming to earth. 

Some people say, "Oh, I don't need all that stuff in the Old Testament; I just want to know about Jesus." But if you don't know the Old Testament, you won't know why Jesus came or why we need a Savior. 

So, read your Bible, read it daily, read it prayerfully, and read all of it. It doesn't mean you have to read all of it every year, but make sure that you're getting all of God's Word. It's all profitable.

Then here's a suggestion, and that is that you read the Bible with a friend or a group of friends. That will help you hang in there when it gets tough. I remember a woman, a friend of mine who was just motivated to get into more of God's Word years ago, but she was a busy homeschooling mom with four little kids, and she didn't know how to fit all this in. So, she decided to start doing it with her children. I think she had two children when she started; she had four by the time it was done. Over the course of years, she read through the Bible with her children I think six or seven times, every day at breakfast, a chapter a day or so, walking with her children through the Word. That's doing it with someone else. There's accountability there. 

You know, it's a big book. I gave a Bible to a woman not too long ago who grew up in a church background where they weren't encouraged to read the Bible for themselves. She's totally unfamiliar with this book . . . and it's a big book! It's daunting. It's easy to get lost. Where do you begin? How do you read it? Maybe you feel that way. Maybe you know someone who does—like my friend to whom I gave that Bible. 

So I'm going to encourage you to invite a friend to join you in this year-long journey reading through the Bible. Talk about what you're reading. Talk about where you are. How's it going? What are the challenges? Read your Bible with others. And if you go to ReviveOurHearts.com/Bible2026, you'll see ways that you can share with others that you may never meet, but women around the world who are reading the Bible together. Read it with a friend. 

Then read it thoughtfully. Think about what you're reading. That should go without saying, but I've had times when I was reading the Bible and I looked up from a page or two or three and I realized I had no idea what I'd just read, because I wasn't reading it thoughtfully. Follow the storyline—creation, fall, redemption, ultimate restoration, the new creation. 

And then use a pen. Use a marker to highlight, to underline, to make notes. That's what I love about the notetaking Bible. We now have the CSB Notetaking Bible, Revive Our Hearts Edition. It has great wide margins for you. You don't have to make fancy notes. You don't have to go to seminary to do this. Just write down what you're seeing, what it says. 

I got an email from a woman recently. This shows the power of the Word when we read it thoughtfully. She said: 

Earlier this year after struggling with depression, personal health issues, an aging parent, and health issues with my husband, I purchased a new, wide-margin journaling Bible. With a yellow highlighter in hand, I started simply reading and looking for God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Every page of my Bible now has something in yellow. Our triune God is on every page. He is there in every story, in every genealogy, in every song, in every prophecy, in every act of creation, in everything. He has always been there, I know, but the visual is mind-boggling. 

And look, talk about reading the Bible changing you. She says, 

"Now, I don't have time for depression. [I love that! Don't have time for depression.] Health issues are temporary." 

Now, I'm not laughing at depression, by the way. I know it's very real in many people's lives. But maybe there's a change in your life that could help with some of those symptoms. Think about it. Consider it. She says: 

Health issues are temporary. Serving an aging parent is a blessing. And the Lord has His hand on my husband. All that to say, I am so excited for the 2026 read through the Bible challenge to begin. 

Listen, the goal is not just more knowledge, it's not to get your head filled, but it's to know God; to get your heart filled, to change your life, to draw you into a relationship with Jesus, the living Word. It’s to respond to Him in heartfelt devotion, and to equip you to minister to and to be a blessing to others. Read your Bible thoughtfully. 

I first started reading the Bible myself more than sixty years ago, as soon as I could read. It's been an incredible journey, day after day, year after year. I'm still learning. I'm still growing. I'm still grappling with hard passages and questions. I still have "a-ha" moments frequently. I still see familiar passages with fresh eyes and fresh wonder and fresh understanding. And I still encounter Jesus in every page. I want to tell you, that's not unique to me. That can be you. Revelation 1, verse 3: 

Blessed is the one who reads aloud . . . and blessed are those who hear the words . . . and keep what is written in it.

Do you want to be blessed in the year ahead? Read your Bible. Don't give up! If you miss a day or two or three or a week, don't give up! Get up and start going again. Keep going. 

So have you got the message yet? Read your Bible! Read it. Read it daily. Read it prayerfully. Read all of it. Read it with a friend. Read it thoughtfully. And as you read, run to Jesus. Rejoice in the gospel. Respond in worship, wonder, gratitude, glad obedience. Let His Word renew your mind. Let it revive your heart. Let it change your life. Let it make you like Jesus. And whatever you do, don't give up. Read your Bible.

Dannah: Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth will be right back to pray. Let me quickly remind you: if you’d like to sign up to read through the Bible in 2026, the web page for that is ReviveOurHearts.com/Bible2026. It only takes about fifteen or twenty minutes of reading each day, and you’ll get through the whole Bible by the end of the year. We’re starting this Thursday, New Year’s Day, so I hope you’ll join thousands of others on our journey through the Scriptures. Again, you’ll find all the information and some helpful tools at ReviveOurHearts.com/Bible2026. 

Nancy: Would you bow with me for just a moment in prayer if you're where you can just stop and pray? I just want to say, would you express to the Lord if it's your desire to read the Bible each day over the next year, to purpose to do that? Would you just say, "Yes, Lord"? Maybe you won't make it all the way through the Bible. I hope you will, and we want to help you do that. But would you just say, "Lord, I want to read something from your Word every day for the next year." And then, I hope you'll want to do that for the rest of your life. 

Oh, Lord, as we aspire to read Your Word—You know the maybe thousands of hearts that are, metaphorically, hands going up in the air right now, saying, "I want to do that. I want to do that. I want to do that." You see those hearts, Lord. You know our desire. Would You give us grace? Would You help us? Would You speak to us? When this Word speaks, You speak. I pray that You would change us from the inside out. Give us the joy of being in this "Holy Bible, book divine; precious treasure, [this] is mine." Worth more than all the gold and silver in the world, because it points us to You. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the CSB.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.