Bible Reading Plans

2014 is off and running. Many people have made resolutions to improve their lives in the coming year. Amid the resolutions to lose weight, become more organized, and devote more time to family, it seems that many include a spiritual goal. Whether you want to grow spiritually, maintain a daily devotional life, or simply read the entire Bible this year, a plan of attack is helpful to help you achieve your goals.  Here are some tips that I have found helpful in reading the entire Bible in one year.

Select your plan carefully. The Bible is a wonderful book, filled with encouraging stories of faith. At the same time, it can be daunting and overwhelming to the uninitiated. Where do I start? By the time the reader gets to Leviticus, he may find himself wondering what happened to the story line!  Two of the most popular approaches are canonical (reading straight through) and chronological (in historical order). I've tried both and had difficult times. I found it really tough to plow through the Old Testament prophecy day after day.  The good news is that there is a plethora of reading plans available on the Internet; one of my favorite sites to find a large number of them is youversion.com. At this time, I am using the plan found at www.Bible-Reading.com; each day of the week is devoted to a different type of Biblical literature (e.g. Sundays are for NT letters, Mondays are for Law, Tuesdays are devoted to History). I find the diversity of reading a different literary genre each day quite refreshing. I began reading with this method in June and am just over halfway through the plan.

Decide on a translation. There is no right or wrong choice. I enjoy reading in a translation that I am not terribly familiar with to give the words new meaning. If you have never read the entire Bible through, I recommend using the New International Version (NIV), New Living Translation (NLT), or the English Standard Version (ESV).

Set aside time. It is important to your success to make a daily appointment for Scripture reading just as you would any other appointment. Our society is driven by our calendars; if we block the time out, we are more likely to follow through.

Don't be afraid of technology! Modern conveniences make my daily Bible reading much easier to fit into my life. I include a daily reminder to read on my electronic to-do list. The youversion Bible app is downloaded on my phone and iPad, allowing me easy access to whatever version I'm reading from without the need for a wi-fi connection. Since I'm not using one of the reading plans included in the Bible app, I use an app like Evernote or Notes to make a list of my daily readings for the week.

Know from the beginning that life happens. Schedules will become hectic and there will be times that you miss your daily reading. Relax! You have not failed at reading the entire Scripture in a year because of a single day. Many new reading plans build in catch-up days to allow for these inevitable obstacles. In my current reading plan, I know that Wednesdays and Thursdays tend to have shorter readings; when I get behind, I can use those days to do some catch up reading.

Keep the Focus the main focus. We are not reading simply to mark something off our bucket list. We read Scripture in an effort to know the Author of the Book more personally and allow Him to make a difference in our life. Keep your focus on the transformation occurring in your life because of the time you are devoting to reading the Word of God.

I'd love to hear from you. What plan are you using this year to read through the Word? Can you add tips that you have found helpful? Share in the comment section of this post and let's support each other throughout the year….then we can celebrate the greatness of God in our lives together at the end.