Bible Reading Plans for the New Year

The New Year is almost upon us! You may be thinking about starting up a Bible reading plan, which is a great idea. Though I sometimes chafe at a scheduled reading plan, I do know that I read more, and more often, when I have a plan of some kind.

I've written about Bible reading plans before (here and here), but these are a couple of quick links to get you started:

Bible Reading Plans at Discipleship Journal

Bible Reading Plans at ESV Online (see "devotions tab)

For the Love of God (an excellent devotional to go along with a Reading Plan)

Stephen Witmer gives some tips along with his Two-Year Plan:

If at all possible, read through the Bible using this plan together with other people. The fruit of reading through the Bible together as a church over the last couple years has been immense.

There will be some passages that you find boring and difficult. Remember 2 Timothy 3.16-17 as you read these passages: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped for every good work.” Ask yourself why God breathed out this particular passage, and how it is profitable for you.

Do the whole reading for each day, but look for a “best thought” for each day—something you can meditate on throughout the rest of the day, perhaps a verse you can memorize, something that is particularly memorable. This way, you are left with more than a vague feeling of what you read in the morning.

As you come to the Word each morning, ask God to open your eyes to its splendor. Psalm 119.18: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Psalm 119.36: “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!” Psalm 90.14: “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”

Let your prayers for others emerge out of what you read. Don’t choose between praying and reading Scripture—do both! After you read a passage, pray that passage for yourself and for those you love.

Some readings will be longer and others will be shorter. Take advantage of the shorter readings. Read them more carefully and meditatively. Don’t just read; reflect, ask questions, pray for answers, engage. In Psalm 119.48, the psalmist says that he meditates on the Lord’s statutes.

Look for ways in which you can practically live out what you’re reading. James 1.22: “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”