We’re about to begin a new year, so it’s a good time to think about what I want my life to look like in the coming year. One of my regular practices is reading the Bible on an (almost) daily basis. It’s easy for things that are important but not urgent to get pushed to the wayside in our busy lives. But I am convinced that regular Bible reading is essential for continued spiritual growth.
My Bible Reading Plan
I have tried several different Bible reading plans, including one in which I read the entire Bible each year. Last year, I wanted to slow it down a little to allow more time to reflect on what I read, so I decided to start a two-year plan in January 2025. In my plan, I read from the OT, the NT, and Psalms each day. Over a two-year period, I read the OT and NT once, and the Psalms twice. The other thing I decided to try was to set up the plan to read five days each week, allowing me at “catch up” day on Saturday. On Sundays I attend worship at my church and usually teach a class, so I get plenty of Bible input.
Having a “catch up” day has been wonderful. Occasionally I miss a day or two when I am busy, but on Saturdays I can catch up. As a result, this year I think that the most that I have fallen behind is 3 days. That’s much better than my record for plans in which I read the Bible every day. I think that my last “read the Bible in one year” plan took me almost two years to complete!
Discipline and Grace
It’s easy to get legalistic about reading the Bible, but it’s also easy to get lazy and just not read it. On the one hand, we don’t need to (and can’t!) earn anything from God by reading the Bible. On the other hand, it takes disciplined effort to grow spiritually, just as it does to accomplish anything else worth doing in our lives. About 30 years ago, Jerry Bridges wrote a book with the title The Discipline of Grace, which is well worth reading. We need grace-based discipline to build healthy spiritual habits.
Here are a few suggestions about reading the Bible in the New Year:
- Pick a plan that will help you to systematically read the entire Bible.
- Set a time and place to do your Bible reading. You need to be deliberate about it to accomplish anything.
- Remember, you are meeting with your Heavenly Father who loves you. Don’t make it about performance or “earning” anything from God.
- If you fall behind, don’t give up. Do you quit eating if you’ve missed a meal or two, do you?
- If you do your Bible reading only 50% of the time next year, you have not failed. That is still about 180 days of Bible reading. Rejoice in that!
There are many Bible reading plans available online. Any plan is better than no plan, so just choose one! If you would like to try my two-year, five days a week plan, you can download it here.