A Bible Reading Plan

I have noticed on the Christian blogosphere that many a blogger is offering Bible reading plans for the year.  It is, after all, the time for resolutions (see last week's post here) and there is no time like the present for committing to reading the Bible.  There are plans for reading through the whole Bible in a year, plans for reading the Bible through in 90 days, plans that focus on the New Testament and Psalms, chronological plans, topical plans, all kinds of plans for all kinds of people.

So, I want to offer my Bible reading plan.  Ready?  Here it is: pickup your Bible and read it.  I know, I know, it isn't very sophisticated.  And I can't offer you a pretty printable chart that shows each day's reading for the days ahead, and I can't tell you exactly when you will get through the entire Bible, and there is no checklist for you to get through as you finish chapters and books.  Because I don't want you to just get through the Bible in 90 days or a year or four years.  I don't want reading the Bible to be one more thing to check off as done for the day.  I want you to read the Bible for the purpose for which God gave it to us.  I want you to get to know Jesus.

Because I have known plenty of people who commit to a reading plan and then read every day for a few weeks, maybe a month, and all of their good intentions result in a commitment around December 31st to read the Bible next year.  Because they want to accomplish something for the sake of accomplishing it: finishing a Bible reading plan.  And that doesn't motivate for much more than a few weeks.

No, you have to want to read your Bible.  In fact, all of the people I know who read their Bibles because they want to read their Bibles - you know, no checklists or false sense of accomplishment after finishing III John - are those that know Jesus most intimately because they have... well... read their Bibles.

A bit of a catch-22, I know, but it is not a weakness in my reading plan by any stretch.  No.  In fact, it is the strength of this reading plan.  The more you read your Bible, the more you'll want to read your Bible.  When you read your Bible for the sake of reading the Bible, your desire to read will disappear before too long.  I think we can all speak from experience on that one.  But when you read the Bible to know Jesus, you'll want to know Him more, and you will read more.

And if it makes you feel better to have a checklist because you are the goals-oriented type, then use this:

1) Get a Bible
2) Open the Bible
3) Read the Bible
4) Get to know Jesus

Before long, you will find that number four is all you'll need and what keeps you coming back...

I am reading through the Bible from the beginning.  If this is your first time through, I would suggest not doing that.  Try reading the four Gospels first.  I am going through the book of Luke with my kids, which is a great place to start because it is the most story-like in style.

If you have dabbled in the Bible before, I would still suggest a re-read of the Gospels, but then try dabbling in Romans or Ephesians.  If you have a desire to be a minister of the Word one day, try a letter to Timothy or Titus.  If you like a good adventure story, try Genesis or Judges or Acts.  If you're a poetry fan, check out the Psalms or Ecclesiastes.  If you like lists, try Chronicles (okay, that was Biblical sarcasm...). 

However you want to go about reading the Bible, the only thing to remember is that it requires reading the Bible.  Don't plan.  Start reading.

If you want help checking off number one above, click here and ask us for a Bible.  It's on us.

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