Reading the Bible in 2013

How will you read the Bible in 2013? I'm assuming, since you found your way here, the pressing question os 'how; not 'why' or 'if.' How can we read the Bible well in the new year? We know we must. We know one of the marks of a flourishing relationship with Christ is a regular relationship with His Word. We know the way God speaks to us today is in His Word, so how will we best expose our hearts and minds to the written word?

For quite a long time, i was opposed to Bible reading plans. For the first four years of being a Christian i didn't use one (i've been a Christian for eleven years next Easter, for four years constitutes 'quite a long time!'). I thought they were guilt producing and unnecessary thank you very much, i'll read the Bible in my own way. But, i've pretty much done a one eighty in the last couple of years, and now, i think, i see a good Bible reading plan as almost indispensable.

I've used the following three of four over the years, and, as you plan your Bible reading in the new year, i commend one of these to you;

The Ron Frost Bible Reading Plan.

This takes you through the Bible three of four times in a year, and is the plan i've most recently been following. It's really simple, you start in Genesis, read ten chapters a day, and you get to Revelation a few short months laster. It's really wonderful to get a birds eye view of Scripture. To arrive at Sinai the week after you left Eden. To see the themes of the prophets unfold, and the sun rise from the dark as you land in Matthew. And when you get done in Revelation, turn round and start again. Ten chapters a day seems like a lot, but it'll take 30-40 minutes a day. Think of it, forty minutes a day gets you through the whole Bible several times a year!

Grant Horner's Bible Reading System.

This also takes you through ten chapters a day, the difference from the Ron Frost plan being that you read from ten different places a day. I can't recommend enough reading large chunks of the Bible every day, think of the pay-off you'll receive over the years. I found this slightly less satisfying than going from Genesis to Revelation because it was hard to hold ten parts of the story together at once, but, you see more of the Bible at once. It's a personal thing. If you're already reading the Bible through in a year, why not try and read it though three of four times in 2013? You won't, you can't regret it!

The McCheyne Plan.

This is probably the most popular 'Bible in a year' system. Used by men like Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor and Lloyd-Jones, it takes you through the New Testament and Psalms twice a year, and the rest of the Old Testament once. This is the plan i used for years, and, if it's good enough for the men mentioned above, who are we to disagree! Four chapters a day gives more time for reflection and prayer, more time for a journal, but if you miss a day, you'll have to catch up to keep with the schedule, something that's not true of the other two, because there is no schedule. But this served me well in the past, and no doubt will in the future. You can't go wrong with McCheyne.

Finally, remember, we read the Bible to commune with Jesus, not to tick a box. Don't read the Bible for the sake of a schedule, if you fall into that trap, spend a month in Galatians. Read the Bible to eat in the morning, read the Bible to feast! Read it because you need it.

Whatever else you do in 2013, take and read!