Gospel Knight

For Christ, be ready to die.

Monthly Scripture Mastery

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3

Introduction

Welcome to the Scripture mastery challenge. We are going to read the entire book of Colossians at least one time each day during the month of September 2026, for a total of at least 30 complete read-throughs.

We are doing this for a couple reasons: The first is to establish a daily Scripture reading habit if you don’t already have one. Psalm 1 (see above) tells us that if we want to bear fruit and prosper for the Lord, we will read His Word and meditate on it day and night.

But why read the same book, all the way through, once per day for a month? Because God gave us His Word in books, which express complete narratives or trains of thought. Many Christians have a tendency to do things like read one chapter a day or deeply study just a few verses each day. There’s certainly nothing wrong with doing that, but it’s probably not the best way to master Scripture, which is the second reason.

Mastering Scripture

What do I mean by mastering Scripture? I mean to know it and understand it so that it can immediately be recalled in real life when needed. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Jesus wielded the sword of the Spirit (which is God’s word) against Satan in the wilderness by instinctively reacting with “it is written” each time the devil tried to tempt Him. We need to have the same ability.

The idea of “mastering” Scripture comes from Bible teacher James Gray, and you can read more about his thoughts here. The short version is that by reading entire books over and over again, you gain an understanding of the whole before you start diving in and studying the parts. You see how it all works together, and you internalize the message. This also leads to greater recall, and is the first step to memorizing entire books of the Bible.

Think about it like this: When you watch a movie, do you watch 5 minutes and then pause to deeply analyze what you just watched? No, you watch the whole movie first so that you understand the big picture, and then you can go back to analyze the individual scenes for greater understanding.

In the same way, we are going to “watch the whole movie” this month by reading Colossians at least once per day during the month of September.

The Rules

  1. Read the entire book of Colossians in one sitting at least once each day during September 2026.
  2. Check in each day in the group text when you have completed your reading so that we can hold each other accountable.
  3. Optional: Read it from a paper copy (not a screen).
  4. Optional: Read it out loud, as though you were reading it to somebody else.

By the end of September you should pretty much know Colossians front and back. You should have a solid understanding of the letter, and you will likely be able to recall a lot of the major parts from memory.

Checking in each day is critical because we are called to hold each other accountable. We will also use the text group for anybody who wants to ask questions or post insights they gain through reading this month. (Proverbs 27:17, Hebrews 10:24- 25)

Reading from paper and out loud is optional but preferred. I recently learned that if you read something from paper and out loud, you gain a 2x to 6x increase in understanding and retention vs. reading from a screen or silently.

If you don’t have a physical Bible, you can download a PDF of Colossians here and print it out for your use. It also includes and introduction and background for the book to give you some context.

Remember, the idea is to establish a daily reading habit, so set yourself up for success! I suggest getting up 15 minutes earlier than normal, finding a secluded place and quiet time, and reading first thing.

Prayer and Meditation

Another key component in this challenge is prayer. Before you begin your reading each morning, take a minute to pray and ask God to open up your understanding.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James 1:5

You should also meditate on what you read. Don’t just read it and then walk away and forget about what you just read (James 1:22- 25). Instead, think about what you have read throughout the day. Wrestle to try and understand it. What is God telling us through the words of Scripture?

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

2 Tim 2:7

Biblical meditation is the opposite of eastern meditation. Eastern meditation seeks to empty the mind. But Biblical meditation is about mind transformation, encouraging us to think and fill our minds with God’s word so that His wisdom guides our every thought and action. (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:22- 24 )

About Bible Translations

Here are some personal recommendations on what version of the Bible is best to use for this. The basic rule is that any mainstream Bible translation you would find in a Christian bookstore is going to be good to use. But here are some specifics.

My top recommendations would be:

  • NASB (New American Standard Bible)
  • ESV (English Standard Version)
  • CSB ( Christian Standard Bible)
  • NIV (New International Version)
  • NLT (New Living Translation)

There are certainly other good translations, but I would personally stick with one of those. The ESV and NASB are much more literal “word for word” translations. The NIV and NLT are more easily understood “thought for thought” translations. The CSB is an exact balance of the two approaches.

I would stay away from the old King James. It’s a great translation and has done awesome work for Christ’s church over the past 400 years, but it is written in archaic language that is hard to understand. I would also stay away from translations that aren’t really translations but actually just paraphrases of the Bible (The Message and the Good News Bible are two examples). They might be easy to understand, but they’re just somebody’s paraphrase of what the Bible says, not what God actually said (though I would note that the Good News translation is way better than the Message).

Obviously you should stay away from sectarian “translations” like The Passion Translation (prosperity gospel), the New World Translation (Jehovah’s Witness), and the Joseph Smith Translation (Mormon).

Conclusion

It’s time for action! Be men and get after it (1 Cor 16:13). I will leave you with Paul’s prayer for Spiritual Strength that he sent to the Ephesian church:

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21