Welcome to 2022!  In follow-up to the recent podcast on Visceral Reflections for developing a Bible reading plan for the new year, these notes are being provided as a supplemental guide to what was shared.

As was mentioned in the podcast, many people today will begin their “Reading the Bible in a Year” plan, which is admirable and ambitious, but I would like to invite you to go deeper.  The goals of Bible reading are to grow our faith, deepen our relationship with God, to be diligent to know our faith well enough to share it and provide answers for those who ask why we are Christian, and to become more like Jesus, which is our spiritual formation.  So, what is to follow will begin with some principles and suggestions for all believers, then a list of more focused reading plans. 

Suggestions for All Christians

Everything to follow transcends our churches and our traditions, as we are collectively the Church, Christian first and everything else second.

A.  Create Margin

Growing up spiritually requires that we make God a priority with our time.  This means that we may need to cut-out some things, and likely make some hard choices. For others, it may be easier such as reduce the number of hours watching TV or limit your time on social media.  Still others may need to overcome the sense of obligation or guilt of being at every church program, but however you spend your time, pray and see what God shines a light on in your mind.  Keep in mind that these changes may be for a season or possibly permanent.  Also, remember that God is always with each one of us, so engage Him wherever you happen to be (Psalm 139:7-10, Psalm 23:2-4; Isaiah 41:10;Hebrews 4:13; Matthew 28:20).  We are creating margin specifically for these three areas:

1. Time with God:  This devotional time is for growing our relationship with God.  This is where we grow our faith, read, pray, and practice other spiritual disciplines like solitude and silence, as a central part of Christ being formed in us.  In this time of communion, we will be transparent with God, confess our sin, seek wisdom, ask God to help us know the depths of His love, ask for His peace to rule in our hearts, pray for others, and ask God to speak to our hearts through the scriptures.  This is daily time ideally, with Bible and journal, and always best in the morning.  This can be difficult for people with young children, so give yourself some grace as pouring into children is a great ministry, so pray for grace, wisdom, patience, and ask God for energy and strength! 
2. Personal Bible Study:  This is time to study the Word of God and this can contain one of more goals.  This may be once or twice a week, however you feel led.  Suggestions range from memorizing verses such as select 5 verse on the Peace of God; or perhaps a study on a doctrine such as the Resurrection, Eternal Security, or the Deity of Jesus.  Another idea is to study the Sermon on the Mount or the Word of Jesus; one of my favorites is to look up and memorize all the verse where God tells us how He views His word.  Reading a book on discipleship, doctrine or spiritual formation is always a great choice. 
3. Community Study:  Ideally a mid-week Bible Study.  If your church doesn’t offer a mid-week Bible Study, then perhaps find a local church that does have one you can attend, or perhaps start one in your home.  Mid-week Bible Studies are becoming rare in the era of “small groups” which is not a bad thing if you have a group leader who is equipped to lead, and everyone in the group does the reading.  It can easily become social hour, so work on staying focused and save the social stuff for after the God-honoring tasks are completed. 

B. A Psalm a Day

Reading a Psalm a day would have great value for all believers.  The Psalms are rich with theology and the attributes of God, so they are a wonderful way to know God better, understand His attributes, His promises, His Sovereignty and His Love.  There are 150 Psalms, so if you break up Psalm 78 to two days and Psalm 119 to 3 days, give yourself some grace when you miss a day each week, and we should be able to read the Book of Psalms twice a year with a few days to spare. 

C. Bible Versions 

One of the best approaches to understanding the Bible is to read multiple versions together.  This helps with understanding a passage and also learning from another angle will often show us a depper truth.  A “version” is a translation (Word for Word) from the original languages, or a transliteration (thought for thought) from the original language.  The two best combinations that I have tried so far are The NASB – Message Parallel Bible, and the New American Standard used with the New Living Translation.  Other good versions to consider are the ESV, NIV, CSB, NRSV, and the NET which is a great treasure.  The New English Translation (NET) is designed with copious notes on each page that goes into rationale for translation, alternate translations, cultural references and a whole host of other subjects.  To get an idea of what this might include, you can download the YouVersion Bible App and select the NET version.  Scrolling through a few passages and clicking the “letters” that indicate a note will open up a lot of information in many cases.  YouVersion did a wonderful job of brining NET to the electronic format. 

Part two of this post will include the more specific Bible Reading plans as well as a survey of the Bible Tools that are available to us. 

Prayer: Eternal God, heavenly Father, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood.  Send us now into the world in peace and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart, through Christ our Lord. Amen!