About this time of the year I'm wondering what Bible plan I'm going to use for the next year or two. I think I've mentioned that I like to read the Bible right through at a leisurely pace (that is, not in a month or six months or even a year). In the past, I used to read it from cover to cover every eighteen months, but the last cycle I decided to do over two years, repeating the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs in that period.
This worked really well (plus for my personality, finishing something at the end of the year rather than part-way through feels more right) and I'm looking at doing something similar for this upcoming new cycle. However, because I like to change things around at times, I've decided this next cycle I will read chronologically. I have two versions of chronological Bibles so there's no flicking from one book/chapter/verse to another book/chapter/verse while I'm reading (something I particularly hate because I'm 1. lazy, and 2. usually eating breakfast or at least having my morning cup of tea at the same time and just do not have enough hands to be flicking backwards and forwards). I just couldn't decide what to read on the weekends given my weekends in the previous cycles have been devoted to Psalms and Proverbs (which are not so easy to find in a chronological Bible).
Of course, I could just use another Bible on the weekend (and probably will) but it gave me an opportunity to consider what else I would like to read. I tossed round a few ideas and have now decided that this cycle I will use weekends to study some of those books that I always think would be great for a deeper study but which I never seem to get around to. James. John's epistles. Romans. Micah. Some of the other minor prophets. And I could always do Psalms and Proverbs again if I get through my wish list.
By the way, you can download my Two Year Plan here. This plan only gives total number of chapters to read in a month (rather than day to day). For me this was approximately 3.5 columns in my Bible per day. It will, however, differ from version to version. (My current plan is approximately 3.5 pages per day in the chronological Bible.) The plan is also for reading the Old Testament for three days, the New Testament for two days, and Psalms/Proverbs over the weekend. Psalms/Proverbs is the equivalent of one day's reading so you can allow yourself a 'catch-up' day, or read only half as much and spend the rest of the time in prayer and/or meditating on The Word, read these passages twice in the weekend, or do a totally different reading (something that interests you). It's flexible. If you do try it, please let me know if you find any errors. I have trialled it but an error or two may have slipped through. And for some reason, I actually finished it two weeks early (even the New Testament and Psalms/Proverbs which are identical to the first year's readings and which I didn't finish early last year), so was able to concentrate on some passages about our Saviour's birth over the Christmas period.
So, because I finished early, I also started early ... at this rate in twenty-six years' time I'll be a whole half a year ahead!
This worked really well (plus for my personality, finishing something at the end of the year rather than part-way through feels more right) and I'm looking at doing something similar for this upcoming new cycle. However, because I like to change things around at times, I've decided this next cycle I will read chronologically. I have two versions of chronological Bibles so there's no flicking from one book/chapter/verse to another book/chapter/verse while I'm reading (something I particularly hate because I'm 1. lazy, and 2. usually eating breakfast or at least having my morning cup of tea at the same time and just do not have enough hands to be flicking backwards and forwards). I just couldn't decide what to read on the weekends given my weekends in the previous cycles have been devoted to Psalms and Proverbs (which are not so easy to find in a chronological Bible).
Of course, I could just use another Bible on the weekend (and probably will) but it gave me an opportunity to consider what else I would like to read. I tossed round a few ideas and have now decided that this cycle I will use weekends to study some of those books that I always think would be great for a deeper study but which I never seem to get around to. James. John's epistles. Romans. Micah. Some of the other minor prophets. And I could always do Psalms and Proverbs again if I get through my wish list.
By the way, you can download my Two Year Plan here. This plan only gives total number of chapters to read in a month (rather than day to day). For me this was approximately 3.5 columns in my Bible per day. It will, however, differ from version to version. (My current plan is approximately 3.5 pages per day in the chronological Bible.) The plan is also for reading the Old Testament for three days, the New Testament for two days, and Psalms/Proverbs over the weekend. Psalms/Proverbs is the equivalent of one day's reading so you can allow yourself a 'catch-up' day, or read only half as much and spend the rest of the time in prayer and/or meditating on The Word, read these passages twice in the weekend, or do a totally different reading (something that interests you). It's flexible. If you do try it, please let me know if you find any errors. I have trialled it but an error or two may have slipped through. And for some reason, I actually finished it two weeks early (even the New Testament and Psalms/Proverbs which are identical to the first year's readings and which I didn't finish early last year), so was able to concentrate on some passages about our Saviour's birth over the Christmas period.
So, because I finished early, I also started early ... at this rate in twenty-six years' time I'll be a whole half a year ahead!
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