Reading the Bible: Developing a Plan

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (ESV):
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

I imagine the Israelites had some sort of plan for remembering the Scriptures.  Moses spells some out for them in this passage, but I’m sure they had some other ideas for how to remember the Scriptures on a regular basis.  Now that we’ve looked at some online Bibles and tools for understanding the Word, it’s time to develop a plan.  First, three tips to guide you in developing a plan:

1. Be realistic. It’s a worthy goal to read the entirety of the Bible. It’s not realistic to do it in 30 days. Figure out how much time you are going to devote to reading each day, then spend a week just reading the Bible and find out how much you can realistically accomplish in that amount of time.
2. Variety is the spice of life. It’s great to read an entire book straight through. But sometimes variety can be a good thing.  Consider breaking larger books into two or three sections. Alternate between Old Testament, Psalms/Proverbs, Gospels and Epistles.
3. Know what you want. What’s your goal for the reading plan?  Is it to get through the entire Bible one day? Is it to read portions of Scripture not covered in the Sunday lectionary readings?  Or maybe you want to find stories you’ve never heard of before? Knowing your goals will help you make a better plan.

Ok, so we’ve got some guidelines, now what?  There are several plans already available online for you, which is probably the best place to start if you’re not extremely familiar with the Scriptures already.  Here are a few:

• Open the JAR.
  I first heard about this plan from Bill Woolsey, pastor at Crosspoint Community Church in Katy, Texas.  Start reading the Bible in the Gospel of John, which gives the story of Jesus’ life and ministry among us. Continue into Acts, to story of the early church.  Conclude with Romans, one of Paul’s letters that contains many of the key teachings of the Christian faith.
• Zondervan Bible Reading Plans
  Zondervan has compiled a number of great reading plans that are grouped into three levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.  Some of my favorites there include:
  • 30 Days with Jesus
  • 180-Day Guided Tour of the Bible (a good overview of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation)
  • Various “Two Week” plans that allow you to focus on a topic for a short period of time, then switch it up
  • The Bible in 3 Years (The chart is in the order they think you should read the Bible, which is fine, but the real value is in getting the chart. As you read sections of the Bible, mark it off on the chart to track your progress.  Mix and match plans from various sources, then come back and fill in the blanks at the end.)
• BiblePlan.org
  BiblePlan.org offers 13 different reading plans for you.  More interestingly, they include an option to subscribe and receive your daily reading via email.  Emails include links to the readings at Bible Gateway.
• Christianity.com
  Christianity.com provides a single reading plan to get through the Bible in a year. By signing up (for free), you get access to the readings online and a chart to mark your progress.  Simply do the readings and then mark the day complete.
• Into Thy Word
  Here you will find some more reading plans, similar to those above, but one truly unique one: The Genres Plan. It takes you through the Bible in a year, but breaks the readings into different genres that you read on certain days.  The genres are:
  • Sunday: Gospels
  • Monday: Law
  • Tuesday: History
  • Wednesday: Psalms
  • Thursday: Poetry
  • Friday: Prophecy
  • Saturday: Psalms

So what plans do you use?  Did I miss a great site?  Share it in the comments!

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Introduction Online Bibles Tools for Understanding the Bible Developing a Plan Strategies for Success