Good Day TRC and Friends! I’ve had folks ask for my favorite Bible reading plan, and I have pointed them to an old post I wrote a couple of years ago. It’s time for a new blog post with some tips for 2023.
I did not create this plan I share with you guys. I have been using this plan since I was a new Christian, and I’m beginning year 30 utilizing this plan. Somewhere along the way, this plan was published along with the ESV, and used as an ESV Bible reading plan. The M’Cheyne Bible reading plan is similar and has been around longer as far as I can tell. The copy I now have has an ESV stamp on it. You can use it with whatever Bible translation you prefer.
This plan I have been using was given to me as a young Christian before the era of the interwebs, and I’ve had it in paper form, then digital from ESV, I transferred it to my digital calendar, and now I have it printed – laminated and folded in my Bible and journal. This plan is also scheduled on the family digital calendar to pop us daily in order to remind the family what our reading is for the day. I love this plan.
I don’t know who created it, but I’ve used it so long that I refer to it as “mine”.
I’m amazed at the “celebrity” Christians I see on social media who have been Christian “influencers” or “famous” for something in the Christian world talking about reading the Bible all the way through for the first time in 2022, and I’m thankful for that. That’s awesome, and at the same time, I’m a little perplexed.
How have folks become “celebrities” or whatever the doggone thing that is and never read the Bible through? I went to graduate school with dudes who had never read the Bible through and actually said they didn’t believe it was necessary to be a pastor. Ok.
I suppose it shows us that one need not possess a biblical framework to be thoroughly Christian nor speak to the masses of people calling themselves Christian. I’m not going to go further with my thoughts there for fear of my flesh rising up to be hurtful and I’d like to leave room for God to do more than I can imagine he might do in spite of what I would consider a shortfall. I don’t want to get in the way. I want to facilitate you reading your Bible and giving you some level of good motivation for doing so with some tips for success.
To be clear, I’m also not wanting to be in any position of fame. As much as I can stay hidden beyond TRC and our little influence for the Kingdom of God, I’m good. Jesus is the Famous one, and the rest of us are his hype folks. That’s the way it should be. I just want Jesus’ hype crew to know who they are hyping and hype him well. You do that by reading your Bible and knowing God and worshiping him and making disciples of Jesus. Period.
We all have excuses for why we can’t or don’t. It’s amazing how easily we can fall asleep, get distracted, believe that good “habits” are anti-spiritual because it’s a rote habit, or just bail because we don’t understand something.
No one uses the “rote habit” excuse about eating or breathing. Just saying.
Let’s kick excuses to the curb, and get after it!
Here are some tips on your Bible reading for 2023. Of course, I’d have to give you 11 and not 10. It’s my “uniqueness” working itself out. NOTE: I truly work to give you content from my own experience and soul, not a regurgitation of what someone else does, and I can promise this is not AI-generated or it’d be better. So, here are my 11 tips.
- Just do it. No excuses.
- You won’t regret it, and you’ll learn something you didn’t know last year.
- Reading is not studying.
- You need to read, and do deeper study later.
- Reading builds a framework for you to hang your study on later, but you need to read it all and have the Holy Spirit build the entire construction of the meta-narrative of the gospel in your soul. You need to see the cohesion from front to back.
- Take note of places you want to come back to for a deeper dive.
- Use a plan.
- If you don’t like “mine”, then pick one. Google it, and select one.
- Without a plan, you’ll falter. Aim at nothing and hit nothing.
- If you miss a day, then just start the next day with that day’s reading, and don’t worry about trying to catch up.
- This is a marathon, not a sprint, and you will catch those Scriptures next year.
- Or, you can go back and catch up on that missed day on a lighter day of reading or do that catch-up instead of some social media time. Your call.
- NOTE: No good reading plan is super heavy. I can do my little plan in 15-20 minutes a day.
- Read and share insights with church friends who are reading the same plan.
- The Lord works mightily in church fellowship over his word. God gives insight together when we come together and talk about his word.
- Focus on obedience not the accumulation of knowledge.
- Knowledge puffs up and loves builds up. I believe I read that somewhere. 🙂
- Jesus told us to hear and then obey. Give space in your day to obey the Holy Spirit.
- Try to read in a place where you can get focused and quiet so that you can learn to listen to the Spirit working in your soul through thoughts and holy desires.
- Quiet creates space for us to be able to listen to God and converse with him.
- Acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s presence as you read.
- If you are a Christian, God is never absent from you. Acknowledge his presence and ask him to speak to you, and make space to listen.
- If you are not a Christian and you want to read the Bible, the Bible says that God is not far from mankind.
- Acts 17:26-27 (CSB) 26 From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. 27 He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
- So, acknowledge that although you are not yet a follower of Jesus, God is near and wants you to know him through faith in Jesus.
- Journal.
- It’s good to keep some record of your thoughts and feelings as you read the Bible.
- Journal digitally or on paper in any manner that works for you that you will use and reference.
- Journaling helps to firm up what we learn and turn it into real action and knowledge.
- Bible reading is spiritual warfare.
- Listen, do you really believe Satan wants us to know God, hear him clearly, and obey him?
- Satan wants to keep us from God’s good and cloud our judgment.
- When you feel that tension and difficulty of Bible reading, fight back by actually reading your Bible and refusing to give an inch of ground to Satan.
- Listen, do you really believe Satan wants us to know God, hear him clearly, and obey him?
- Worship.
- Bible reading should lead us to enjoy the Lord, his presence, and giving back to him our joy in him as we know him through his word.
I hope these little tips and challenges help you.
Here is the plan 👇
Theology in the Dirt 