Q&A: Bible reading plans
I noticed on your blog that one of your goals this year is to read through the Word. I have started this endeavor a few times and failed each time! I really would like to try again this year, but I haven't even started yet (Praise God I am only four days behind and can still catch up!).
Do you use a specific plan? Or just plow through it? I think for me is the need for some flexibility. If I miss a day or two and get behind I get overwhelmed and just give up. Do you know of any good plans to use? I googled it and there is a lot to pick from, but I thought I would get some suggestions first to see what works for others. -Tai
Great question, Tai!
Before I was married, I read through the Bible in a year more than a handful of times. It was an excellent faith-building exercise and one I'd highly recommend. However, once I got married, I stuck with just reading a chapter or two per day skipping around in various books of the Bible. Though I enjoy sometimes not sticking to a plan and just soaking up certain passages of Scripture more in-depth, I also feel like the structure of reading straight through the Bible in a year can be very beneficial, especially if you have trouble having consistent, regular devotions.Last year, I attempted to do the ambitious M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan which includes not only reading through the entire Bible in a year, but also the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs twice. And, it proved to be too ambitious for a mother with a newborn because after Kaitlynn was born, I fell woefully behind and so decided to just start reading one to two chapters each day. (I don't know about you but when I have a newborn, I can't get practically any reading done. I think I maybe read a sum total of five books the first five months of Kaitlynn's life in addition to the Bible!)
This year, I decided to try something different: I'm reading straight through the Bible reading three chapters Monday-Saturday and six chapters on Sunday. My husband suggested this as an easy and more doable plan and I agree.
And I figure that if I'm not checking it off a chart with a date, if I do get behind, I can just keep plodding along. Lord-willing, I'll be at least close to finishing by the end of this year! So far, it's going very well.
I'd love to hear from the rest of you on this: Have you read through the Bible in a year before? If so, what plan did you use and did it work well for you?
Related: For more thoughts and ideas on devotions, especially for busy moms, see this post.
Labels: Faith
posted by Crystal Paine at 3:00 PM
42 Comments:
I have read through the Bible in a year before and plan to again this year. I just have a one-year Bible and read the selection for the day. The particular one-year Bible I have includes passages from the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms, plus a few verses from Proverbs, for each day.
I have really enjoyed reading your blog! I used the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan in 2007 and it worked pretty well for me. I got a little behind in December and I'm finishing up right now, but I did better than I've done with other plans. This plan lets you read in four different places in the Bible everyday, and only has 25 readings per month. That way, if you get a little behind you have a few days to catch up before the next month. You can download a copy at www.discipleshipjournal.com
Lynne
I, too, have benefited from reading the Bible through in a year! The only thing I did not like was waiting for Septemberish to start the New Testament.
So this year I am doing something different.
Each devotional time I am starting with either a chapter in Psalms or Proverbs.
Then I am reading 4 chapters. First I will read an OT book, and when that is complete I will read a Gospel, and when that is complete I will read a NT Epistle, only to begin again.
I anticipate that I will not get through the whole OT this year, but will read through the Gospels several times.
At this stage in my life that appeals to me tremendously!
My Dad got me a chronological Bible that has each reading broken down by date. This is my first time using it, but it REALLY is helping me not feel overwealmed since it's easy to see each day's reading and it's not too much. When I tried reading through with my regular Bible I'd have a day where there were a few loooooooong chapters and get behind where I wanted to be. This way they are all about the same length per day. There are a variety of study Bibles out there that break the readings down by day if that's something that might work for you.
The site i use is http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/ for reading through the Bible. I did it last year and it worked very well for me but i have also used the Bible in a Year on RBC.org because i go to the website for Our Daily Bread each day. That worked out well for me too and i also love the daily readings.
I started in Feb. and am to John as we speak. What worked for me was to do something similar to what you do Crystal. I read 3 chapters in the morning and 2-3 in the evening. Often I am led to read more. What I do to remind myself is when I go to bed at night is put my Bible out by the things I need in the morning so I don't forget. I read right before I leave for work, so I leave my house with God's word buzzing in my ears!
When I return at evening, I lay my Bible out with my stack of things to do in the evening so I remember to read it before bed. I am such a visual person, I need those visual reminders!
I've done it several times, but like you, Crystal, that was hard to accomplish since marriage. This year I started a new plan and have been faithfully keeping up with it. I happened to start about a week before the New Year, so that does give me a little flexibility throughout the year.
Heartlight.org has some different plans. I'm following the "straight through" one.
When I was first saved someone gave me a book that told you what portions to read every day and then it had some questions and answers that people may have. I found that very helpful as a young believer. You can find it at Amazon: "The One Year Bible Companion".
Even if you fall off the track, don't give up, keep plugging through.
I LOVE my One-Year Bible. It is the Bible already divided into daily reading portions... like a devotional... just purely Scripture and nothing else. It is nice, and I don't try to catch up if I might miss a day or so. That can get overwhelming. I just pick up on the day where the bookmark was left, or I pick up on the actual day.
I made it all the way through for the first time a couple of years ago after many, many failed attempts. I think what made the difference was that my plan was not to have a plan, but instead to read as much as I felt like reading that day. Granted, it got slow going through the prophets, but I actually ended up finishing a few days early!
One thing to keep in mind is to not condemn yourself when you miss a few days (or weeks) and just get back up and keep going. If you _do_ try to catch up, don't try to do it all at once. Just a little at a time.
Finishing in a year is a good goal, but the ultimate goal is to spend time in the Scriptures. Right now my "plan" is to read through the Bible with my son. (He'll be one next Tuesday!) We read until he's done nursing, then we stop for the night. We started when he was a few months old and are now reading Esther. I've really found myself paying attention to what I'm reading since I'm reading it out loud.
I used to use a little plan in tract form that our church had -- it was nice because it fit in my Bible. I don't remember who printed it but Good News tracts has a similar one. It had passages from the Old and New Testaments.
In the past few years I have read just straight through from Gen. to Revelation. I don't try to do it in a year any more, though. I want the freedom to be able to stop and ponder and look up cross-references if I feel I need to without feeling like I am getting "behind" the plan.
Hi Crystal,
I'm attempting the M'Cheyne plan this year using the book For the Love of God as a study guide along with it. I'm not good at following through on these things, but I am good with keeping up with RSS feeds, so I'm utilizing the ESV Bible RSS feed into my bloglines to keep up. Perhaps this is a solution that would help your other readers.
This reminds me, I need to get today's read! Thanks.
We are doing the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan as well and it really works for us. There are four different places to read so there is some variety which I greatly need and has 25 readings per month so you can either not read on Sundays or have a few "catch up" days per month, which I always need. So far, this plan has worked the best, as I am one if I get too far behind I get really frustrated, so I need the catch up days. Prior to this, I think I read the book of Genesis 17 times and have read the book of Revelation like once. :) Never made it through the end in a year. Hopefully this new layout will help.
What a great topic. I can still remember the daily bible reading chart in the Bible I had as a child.
As an adult I've read through the Bible many times and for me I found starting in Matthew rather than Genesis was a big help. I record the dates when I've read the whole Bible through in a page at the back. Each year I try to do a little more. The most important thing is just not to quit. God's interested in seeing you succeed.
Getting online is a very firmly fixed part of my morning, so I pegged my daily Bible reading to that: I resolved last New Year's Day that I would not get online until I had read my Bible that day. A few days, this meant that I didn't get online at all - but it worked for me! I made it through 1 1/2 times w/o a fixed reading schedule because for me, the hardest part was actually *picking up* the Bible. Once I start reading, it's no problem to read 3 or 4 chapters or more.
I have also found that my children read their Bibles far more consistently when they see me doing it. This takes away my desire to do it before they wake up. The inevitable interruptions do slow me down, but it's so sweet to see the 9yo grab her Bible and sit down across from me, or have the 3yo snuggle up next to me and ask me to read a bit aloud to her.
Crystal,
Thank you so much for asking your readers about my question! I think I am going to try your approach and begin reading a few chapters each day. I know myself well enough that if I have to check off a specific passage each day and fall behind I will get overwhelmed and quit. (A bad habit I need to work on). I also like that I can dig deeper into a passage if I want to. Hopefully I will finish close to a year, but the goal is to be in the Word each day right? I was much more disciplined when I wasn't married with children. Well, even when I had just one child I did better than I do now with two, almost three, little ones. But I see the profound benefits of reading God's Word each day and the effect is has on my attitude and paitence. How can I emmulate Christ to my children if I am not in communion with Him? How can I demonstrate His love and grace toward us if I am completely empty and void? Praise God tomorrow is a new day and I will be reading in the morning! Thank you again and God bless.
Tai aka Mrs. S
Before I was married I would read an hour a day(this would get me through the Bible 6x's per year). That was not possible after having my first child. It was discouraging reading less and taking forever to get to the New Testament. My friend gave me advice that reading the Bible was like food for our soul and we need a varied diet to stay healthy spiritually. I then did my own thing with some old and new testament at the same time.
The last two years our church has purchased Daily Bible Reading Calendars for everyone. You can see a sample here. http://www.mastersline.com/example_calendar.php
It has been a blessing because you read in old testament, new and psalms and proverbs every day and it's less than a half hour for me which gives time for prayer and Scripture memorization. The schedule will get you through the old testament 1x, new testament 2x, Psalms 2x, and Proverbs 12x.
Edwena
Crystal,
although having been raised Catholic, it was only recently that I came back to my faith, and decided to make Bible reading a daily, pleasant appointment. I have my Bible, but since I tend to always read my favorite parts over and over, and skip others, I have found this website very useful to have a little more structure:
http://bible.christianity.com/
You can register for free, and pick the version of the Bible that you prefer among different ones, and then each day log on and read the assigned reading for the day.
Although I still read my paper Bible throughout the day, this arrangement is working out perfectly for me, and by reading the Word regularly, I feel drawn closer to God.
Blessings,
I've done it, but I too have fallen behind and get discouraged! It is difficult to do a dated program. I always feel like I need to catch up... or, if I don't have time "right now" to read the whole alloted amount, I won't start. So much better to at least read something! Strive for a year... but if it goes into a year and a half, be okay with that! I am certain the Lord is pleased with our hearts, not the number of pages checked off each day!
I use the Bible in a Year program on Christianity.com. It actually displays the sections for the day, then you mark them off that they are completed. You can even choose the Bible translation that you like the best. Works for me!
Hi Crystal I have tried numerous times to read my Bible thru but haven't done that much in my 51 years sad to say. This year I have started again. I got my Bible reading schedule from The Sword of The Lord paper I get. It is divided into 12 months. You fill it out each month and send it back to them and they will send you a surprise gift as a incentive. Hope that helps. Pam
I'm using the Discipleship Journal plan as well. Last year I finished in ten months, and I hope to do similarly this year, though I'm taking some liberties with the plan since I'm already ahead in some places. I would really like to read the whole thing twice this year if I can!
Mind you, I may decide just to set apart a block of time to read the Scriptures--maybe before prayer--like Edwena said. I know that Noel Piper (wife of John Piper) just sits and reads when she can. She doesn't worry about following a schedule.
Because we homeschool and are doing the Mystries of History series which includes the Bible I have been getting it in that way with the kids. I have never read through the Bible but am fimilar with the stories. I would like to get the Joyce Meyer Bible though. She has a way of putting things to understand Gods word. I just don't want to read the Bible I want to understand it.
I have never read through the Bible, but my church has the daily reading locations posted in our weekly bulletin so we can do it together. I'm really excited and have already gotten so much out of what I've read this far. I can never get enough of God's word...it's always new and alive to me.
Ah! One of my favorite subjects! I too read through the Bible many times in a year or less before baby arrived (Sometimes I would get through it 3 times a year!) Now that our baby Jackson is 10 months old I'm finding the time to delve back into a reading plan. It looks like the The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan is very popular! I too have started doing that plan this year. I would always recommend reading in at least two places in the Bible, as every time I have attempted to go straight through I would give up in Deut.! I think it is a good idea to have a plan. I have found that without a plan to check off each day, I come up with excuses not to read at all. Having a plan can be a very good help for those who need help disciplining themselves to read the Bible each day. Also, the fear of getting far behind also keeps me reading daily, as I too have fallen behind sometimes and just knowing how hard it is to catch up keeps me from falling TOO far behind. :) Blessings! ~K~
I read my Bible through for the first time this past year from start to finish. One reason to do it in the space of a year was simply to set the goal and be consistent. I did miss taking the time to meditate, but that just made me want to spend extra time when I could. (I have seven foster/adopted children, newborn to 8yo - you know I NEED to read the Word!) I used a reading schedule (online) but by far the most important factor was having a friend hold me accountable. We connected every Friday night specifically for that purpose. She is just finishing up Revelation herself and this is the first time she's read it as well. I've started many times in the past and failed. The accountability was the key. "Spur one another on..."
Lynette
Dear Ladies,
I personally have read through the Bible several times as well, and it has been very enlightening as the Lord has led me to see many "from a distance" insights that I had never seen before. However, I do hestitate to recommend to anyone, particularily to young moms to read the Bible though in a year. I agree Crystal, the goal is not "in year" but "daily." With this as my focus, I have read through as I had time (but daily)once in 8 months, once 15 months and then 11 months consecutively. This "method" is less guilt or condemnation forming and avoids the "I'll never catch up" feeling if life happens and you only read 10 verses a day for a month or two. (after a baby is born) At the end of the "year" however long that is, I have a little tradition that I share with my children. I light a sparkler and place it on a cupcake or muffin and we all share some, kinda of like how the Bible has illuminated, added sparkle or lit up my life.
This year my teen age boys and I will be reading though "in a year" the Narrated Bible, just for a change. It is also in Chronological order)
Janet Langford RaisingEntepreneursAtHome.blogspot.com
Great topic!
Our church passes out Bible reading calendars each year. We read through the OT once, the NT twice, Psalms twice, and Proverbs 12 times, in the course of a year.
This year, I'm trying to start off the year by reading the entire Bible by January 31...then I'll pick up with the schedule above. It's a lot, but I use my Bible CDs to help, so I can listen while I am doing simple tasks in the kitchen. Also, I get a up a little earlier to get it done, too.
Blessings to all who are seeking to intake His Word in 2008. Don't be discouraged if you can't do a lot...just do something each day!
I'm currently on the McCheyne plan, having started last July, and yes several times I've fallen behind.As new year approached I debated whether or not to continue with it, and decided that yes I would, though I probably won't finish until after the end of July. I have several un-marked off sections from last year still to go.
I read through the whole Bible while doing Bible College before I married. Between then and now my favourite method of Bible reading was to use 4 bookmarks in Psalms, Proverbs, OT and NT. I was constantly in Psalms and Proverbs, knew the NT really well, but would often lag behind in parts of the OT. On the good side, the low pressure of this method, meant I could take my time and enjoy a good soak in the Word.
Claire
Believers are God's workmanship even as He orchestrates being taken to His Word for sound doctrine, reproof, correction, & instruction in righteousness. The importance would not be the tally of times we've been through the Word in a specified period of time but that the Word acts upon us transforming and conforming us to the image of God in Christ as He ordains, yes?
It often now astonishes me that I did not sooner see this. In no book did I ever read about it. No public ministry ever brought the matter before me. No private intercourse with a brother stirred me up to this matter. And yet now, since God has taught me this point, it is as plain to me as anything, that the first thing the child of God has to do morning by morning is to obtain food for his inner man. As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time, except we take food, and as this is one of the first things we do in the morning, so it should be with the inner man. We should take food for that, as every one must allow. Now what is the food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God; and here again not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts. George Mueller
A wise preface to McCheyne's Schedule is included here that blesses my heart.
Hope this helps ~ JOYce :-)
With an incredibly full, and often unpredictable schedule, I found it helpful to read ahead when I had the time. That hopefully prevented getting behind and discouraged. Also, it was helpful for me to have a time rather than a certain number of chapters. I often read for 20 minutes and that got me through the bible in a year, if not sooner. This obviously depends how quickly you read. Once I also read through the New Testament in just a month by carrying a pocket testament around with me everywhere and whenever I had a few minutes (waiting in line, using the bathroom, on hold on the phone, etc.) I would pick up where I left off. It was great to read through the New Testament so quickly. I saw the flow and topics that I had not noticed before.
I think regular, daily Bible reading is very important. I also think it is important to read through the whole Bible. I have read it through a couple of times but I've always struggled with reading plans - I follow them for a while but then fall behind and quit. Last February I found this Bible Reading Checklist - http://www.goodshepherdlowell.org/BibRdgCk.pdf . I used it to mark of chapters that I read from then until now and I've made my way through the whole Bible, except a few chapters of the Psalms! I was very surprised at how well it worked. I didn't follow any plan but just determined within myself that I would attempt to read some every day and would mark off the chapters as I read them. Some days I would read only one or two chapters but others I would read whole books, especially while we were on long road trips. I have printed of a new checklist for me to use again this year.
About 10 years ago I started on a schedule of 30 pages a day- 20 in the OT and 10 in the NT. That has worked best for me, and is in proportion to the other reading that I do. It feels like taking a long hot shower every morning. :D
http://www.bibleplan.org/
and
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/biblereading-1yr.html
are two good plans :D I'm doing it this year too.
Crystal, this is off subject so you don't have to post it but when I bookmarked your MSM site on 9/20 I can't seem to refresh it and I have to come here and then click on your most recent post about it, do you have a home button on the MSM site or how would I be able to see the 'today's' post? sorry if this is confusing. thanks I enjoy both sites. Lisa
Crystal, ok, sorry about the earlier post I think I have it figured out. Lisa
My favorite reading plan was read two chapters out of the Old Testement everyday and Monday through Friday reading one out of the New Testement and one out of Poetry books (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiasties, & Songs). I got through the Bible three years in a row doing this. This year I have decided not to go through in one year but do more indepth study and jounaling. I am also reading through the O.T. chronologically at bedtime.
I purchased a very inexpensive paperback Bible for reading. There's just something less overwhelming about reading a book that looks like a thick novel than about reading a large leather tome!
Then, you can divide the number of pages in your "reading" Bible by the number of days and just read that many pages each day. (I like to plan to read for, say, 25 days of every month, so that when I miss a day it isn't a big deal to catch up.)
I also prefer a reading plan that keeps the reading for each day all in one place (rather than part of the OT, Psalms and Proverbs, and the New Testament); it's confusing to me to do all that jumping around.
It helps me to keep in mind that the hardest part is getting past Numbers and Deuteronomy, so if I can keep plugging through those, I'm usually good to go. :)
Finally, I like to choose a "focus" for the year, to help me concentrate on what I'm reading. (Otherwise, I can read three chapters and then not have a clue what I read.) This "focus" is just a theme that I have chosen to particularly look for, so I have a purpose as I read, besides just getting through the text.
In my life there have been times when I could read through the bible easily in a year but different seasons in life can make it much more challenging. My challenge in that would be to young ladies to take advantage of the time in their life now before a family to soak up the word of God. Plans generally do not work well for me but checking off so many chapters a day in the Old and so many in the New worked well for me. (several years back I got a organizing CD from Cindy Rushton with a bible chart that I can print out and check off chpaters as they are read)If I find my reading is getting to feel like something to check off and not being applied, I try to take time off from the read through and do more in depth study. This year I am using a read through that is in that format for the seasons. Right now I just started the winter bible and am in Matthew, Genesis, and a small Psalms, and Proverbs section each day.It probably helps that I am an avid reader so my personal motivator is no reading at all-magazines, school work, or books until my bible has been read. Occasionally I do lapse but reminding myself of no reading helps to quickly get me back into my devotional habit.
I haven't done this for quite a few years, but this year, by God's grace, I would like to read through the entire Bible. I am using a guide that someone in our church put together, to read the Bible in its chronological order. I have been blessed so far, and anticipate more blessing as I continue.
I've used half the M'Cheyne plan for the last year and found it much easier than the whole plan with little children.
The other advantage is that it is printed at the back of my Bible (from Trinitarian Bible Society).
The other thing worth doing esp with the whole plan is to decide what to do if you fall behind. I used to struggle to catch up but it was better for me to just carry on from the correct date.
Annaelisabeth
I have found this software really helpful for customizing a plan that works for me!
http://www.readingplanner.com/
Best of all it is free! My husband and I both used it to create our plans for this year.
This year I've made a goal to read the Bible in a year, and I've never done it before. At first I was following the plan I found on the Purpose Driven Life website (it seemed to be about 3 chapters a day), but I found once I started reading, I couldn't stop, and I'm already into Exodus.
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