How can I read the Bible daily without it being a chore?

O.K., so you've already read our FAQ about Bible-reading tips, and you say you still have trouble getting motivated to read things on a daily basis. Maybe you've read the Bible before and it seems like it's just words on the page, and you're going through the motions.

We've been asked for help by fans in regard to this issue. Here's some advice from ApologetiX lead singer and lyricist J. Jackson:

1. Take baby steps. See if you can get yourself to read a chapter a day. That only takes a couple minutes. Or if that's too much, see if you can just get yourself to read a paragraph or even one line a day. I think you'll find that once you've gone to the effort to open the Bible and reading the tiniest bit, there will be plenty of times when you'll want to read some more. But have the attitude at first that as long as you reach your small goal, you've accomplished something. Even if it's a line or a paragraph, you've kept your daily Bible-reading streak alive. As that streak grows, you won't want to break it.

As a person who has been exercising daily for over 20 years and reading the Bible daily for over 16 years, I know from experience that it's best to start with small goals and to build up to larger goals, and when you get tired or hurt, to keep doing something that keeps your streak alive, even if you have to downsize for awhile. Even if nothing else positive seems to happen in a day, you will feel like you at least accomplished something by staying in the Word, however brief your stay may have been.

2. Try reading a different version than the one you are used to. You could possibly try something really different like the Living Bible (not a great one for word-for-word translation, but it really does get you to look at things a lot differently) or the Amplified Bible (hard to read at time because of all the parenthetical thoughts, but it forces you to think about the different meanings of words). NOTE: When you're choosing something different, avoid the New World Translation published by the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. Your local Christian book store should have a variety of Bible versions, and that won't be one of them.

3. Try getting a study Bible (I love the New Geneva study Bible, but I've also read Ryrie, Schofield, Life Application, Couples Devotional, etc. I'm not saying any one is the authoritative version, but each will give you different perspectives), commentary or a Bible handbook (Halley's, Unger's, Wilmington's, etc.). This also forces you to think more about the stories/doctrines and how they fit into history/theology and the big picture of Scripture.

4. Get the Bible on tape or on CD and listen to it in the background while you do other things. There's no way you will be able to pay attention to it exclusively, but it will sink into you as surely as music does. You can play it over and over again. Worked for me.

5. Rent or buy the movie "Jesus of Nazareth" and/or "A.D." The former is much easier to find than the latter. You'll never look at the Gospels, the Book of Acts and the Epistles the same way again. They'll really help you with visualizing things and realizing that the people in the Bible are real people who really existed.

These are some of the best ideas I can come up with off the top of my head. Hope they help you!