A Plan for Bible Reading

Regular and effective Bible reading is a challenge for many Christians, even some who are active in ministry. There are many reasons for this, some of which are probably excuses and others may be more valid. What is clear is that neither shame nor making excuses for ourselves will actually get us reading. We need at least 3 things: real conviction from the Holy Spirit that our time in the Word is a necessary part of spiritual maturity, a heartfelt desire to engage at deeper levels with God and His Word, and a workable plan that accounts for our current schedule and interest.

Let me focus on the third item here, because we already know what the first 2 items will involve and we must be able to deal with those in dependance on God’s mercy or nothing I write here will be of help.

My own story is interesting and maybe relatable for many readers. I began reading the Bible in my early teenage years and did fairly well but was largely inconsistent for most of my life. The year my dad died, we were in the US during COVID and I committed to reading 1 chapter every day and rereading it for 2-3 days in a row for deeper study, understanding and writing a summary and reflection. During the next 2 years I was able to spend significant time in several books of the Bible. We also dug deeply into a few of these during our weekly studies as a family including 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Mark and Ecclesiastes.

Now, in the last couple years, I have been reading through most of the Bible each year to help form a more cohesive view of the entire biblical narrative and study how each book contributes uniquely to that story. This has evolved into a reading plan that is flexible enough for my schedule, allows for about 30 minutes of study each morning, and covers the whole Bible in a modified chronological-thematic approach with about 3-4 chapters per day. I like this because it mixes sections of Old Testament historical narrative with the Wisdom Literature and the Prophets for the first 9 months, then covers the New Testament in a similar way from October to December. Of course this can be adapted for reading over 2 years or more as well.

Here are a few of the themes for the first couple months, each week covering about 21 chapters:

• God’s design and man’s rebellion
• Suffering and God’s sovereignty
• Abraham and God’s purposes
• The Patriarchs and God’s blessing
• Israel in Egypt
• Deliverance and Covenant
• The place and manner of worship
• The Holy God and His people
• Rebellion and wilderness wanderings
• East of Jordan

If you are interested in this plan or adapting it for yourself, feel free to download the PDF or Word file (or a daily checklist in PDF). I’d love to hear how you use it or if you have another plan that you have developed yourself. The best part about a plan that we develop ourselves is that it challenges us to think through the whole of Scripture, understand how it fits together and let it deeply impact our lives on a daily basis. Let the words of Psalm 119:15-16 be our prayer and our practice:

I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

In order to “fix my eyes” on what God’s Word has for me each day, it is important to take notes on what I read. This can be done in many ways but there are 3 tools that I have found very helpful at different times. One is to have a Bible with wide margins so that I can outline or make connections in writing alongside the text. Another is to use a journal where I outline the passage, summarize the message and make applications to various topics or studies. The last is to use a template of questions or themes for examining the text such as: What does God say about Himself? What does God reveal about His design for creation and mankind? What does God do as judgement on sin and evil? How is God working to restore His purpose and design in partnership with His people? Remember that the Bible is never a story about me or my ideas, but rather a story about God and His interaction with His creation. May you be blessed by the beauty, power and truth of God’s Word in the days ahead!