Scripture Reading in the New Year

This is a repost from the Collide blog.

So as the new year is here, and this is the time of year where we often stop and look forward to a new year and a chance to start over in a lot of areas of life. For the Christian in particular, the beginning of the next year often marks the beginning of a new try to improve one’s devotional life, particularly when it comes to scripture reading and prayer.

That being the case, I wanted to offer you some premade plans for reading the Bible in the new year. These are suggestions, this is not the only way to do it, and these may not work for everyone. But I’ve found that some people start the new year with the intent of reading their Bible more but are overwhelmed by its size, don’t know where to start, make a half-hearted attempt, and then give up. So let me just offer some suggested plans that are free to access on the internet.

Through the Bible in a Year: This is a typical plan to guide you through reading through the entirety of scripture in a year. There is an Old Testament and New Testament reading each day, and you never read the same thing twice.

Daily Reading Bible: This is another plan to read through the entirety of scripture in a year. But unlike the plan above, this plan will have you read a Old Testament passage, New Testament passage, and a Psalm each day. At the end of the year, you will have read through the Old Testament once, and the New Testament and Psalms twice.

Daily Office Lectionary: This plan maybe be a little abnormal for some. This plan comes from the Daily Office Lectionary found in the Book of Common Prayer used by the Anglican and Episcopalian churches. It is a two year cycle of scripture reading that offers morning and evening readings. It starts every year at Advent and ends at Advent two years later. Each day there is a morning Psalm, evening Psalm, Old Testament reading, New Testament reading, and a gospel reading. This one has actually already started, but don’t be afraid to jump right into it at the new year and let this guide your scripture reading for two years.

Chronological: For those of you in need of a proper chronology with scripture, this reading plan is for you. This plan has readings each day that flow as the events in scripture happened chronologically. This again might be a little strange to some, but it may be helpful in understanding the history of the people of God.

All of the above suggested reading plans have been taken from the ESV website, but can be used with a version of scripture you have. For ease of use, they are all on the internet, but I encourage you to read out of your own Bible for personal study, to make notes, use study helps if available, and be comfortable using a physical Bible.

Also, as just some encouragement for your devotional life for the next year, don’t be overwhelmed by reading scripture this next year. The Bible is a big book, written by and about a BIG God. There is no rule that says you have to read through the entire Bible every year. If you need to take two or three years to read through the whole thing in your own devotional life, thats okay. Don’t let reading scripture and engaging with God the Father be such a daunting task that you don’t do it. And don’t quit if you miss a day. These reading plans are structured with a reading a day, but if you miss a few days, don’t give up because catching up would be difficult. Instead, start where you left off and know its okay if your “Read Through the Bible in a Year” plan ends up taken 13, 18, or 24 months. Thats okay.

But I do want to encourage you to engage the scriptures this next year. Really dig deep into the word of God. The Bible is God’s revelation of himself to his people, so if your desire is to know God better, what better place to start than really digging into his revelation of himself.

Let me know how I can help you make reading the Bible a better practice in your life.