A New Year’s Resolution Worth Keeping: Reading the Bible in 2015
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Around this time every year almost everyone is thinking about the New Year’s resolutions they want to make. Sadly, the majority of resolutions never make it past January. This doesn’t mean they’re not important, however, and one great resolution you can make and fight to keep in 2015 is to read the Bible.
The Importance of Communication In Any Relationship
Reading the Bible is such a vital discipline that every Christian needs in their life. We are blessed beyond measure to have the written revelation of God given to us in the Bible. The greatest way God communicates to us is through his Word. Like any relationship, communication is an important element. How will our relationship with God grow if we do not hear from him? While God can and does speak to us through various other means, like prayer, the Bible is the primary way in which God has and continues to speak to us. So, if God has spoken to us, we should probably listen.
Unfortunately, reading the Bible is one of those disciplines I struggle to maintain on a consistent basis. Often times, in order to maintain discipline and consistency in our lives, we need a plan. Reading the Bible is no different. Thankfully, many have gone before us in providing some excellent plans to help us stay in the Word. Below you will find several Bible reading plans that can help you read the Bible consistently in 2015. Remember, these plans aren’t rigid rules. They are not designed to feel like a ball and chain. Rather, they are designed to be a guide or framework to keep us in the Word. Use these reading plans as a tool to help you read the Bible and ultimately grow in your relationship with God this upcoming new year.
2015 Bible Reading Plans
1. The 5x5x5 Bible Reading Plan
This is a great plan for beginners of the Bible. The 5x5x5 plan will take you through the New Testament in one year. In this plan, you read 5 minutes a day for 5 days. This allows you two days to recover and/or reflect on prior readings. This plan also provides you with 5 ways to dig deeper. These include underlining/highlighting, paraphrasing, asking/answering questions, capturing the big ideas, and personalizing the meaning.
2. Daily Reading Bible
The Daily Reading Bible Plan by ESV is designed for you to read a passage from the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms everyday. With this plan, you will read the Old Testament once, the New Testament twice, and the Psalms twice in one year. This is a great plan for someone wanting to take their Bible reading to the next level in 2015. On the same page, ESV has provided several other reading plans, all with the option of syncing to your various mobile devices and calendars.
3. The Discipleship Journal Reading Plan
In this plan there are four readings per day, two from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament. The other great thing about this plan is that in each month there are only twenty-five days of readings. So, you’ll have five to six days off where you can catch up if you’ve fallen behind or use those days to study a passage that you’ve already read.
4. M’Cheyne Daily Bible Reading Plan
In this plan, you’ll read through the New Testament and Psalms twice and the rest of the Old Testament once. Another awesome feature of this plan is that it begins with four great beginnings or births of Scripture: Genesis (beginning of the world), Ezra 1 (the rebirth of Israel after her return from Babylon), Matthew 1 (the birth of the Messiah), and Acts 1 (the birth of the Church). A great resource to use alongside of this reading plan is D.A. Carson’s For the Love of God. This is a devotional following alongside the reading plan. Carson’s devotional can be found here. For anyone looking to go a bit deeper in their daily Bible reading, the M’Cheyne Daily Bible Reading Plan is a great tool.
5. ESV Reading Plans & YouVersion Reading Plans
Here are two great resources for reading plans. On both of these websites are various different reading plans you can use if the ones above do not suit you. These reading plans can be emailed to you, placed on your mobile phone, or even sent to your calendar. Each one contains several different reading plans you can utilize in 2015.