You intended for 2017 to be the year- the year of a daily Bible reading routine. Yet January 1st came… and the first week is almost closing up, yet still haven’t started reading the Bible daily.
Many love reading the bible, but sometimes it can be hard to know what book to read next. I mean there are just so many of them, where do you start!
Guess what? I have wonderful news; it’s not too late to choose a Bible reading plan for 2017!
In fact, it’s never too late to begin a daily quiet time routine with God. The key to establishing a routine is to have an actual plan. Without a plan, we all know it just won’t happen; intentionality is a must.
Today I have Five questions to ask when choosing a Bible reading plan. These questions will provide guidance for choosing a Bible reading plan that works for you!
1. How much time do I intend to spend reading the Bible daily?
Knowing how much time you are going to use will enable you to choose a plan that will work for you! Whether it is 10 minutes or 20 minutes, choose an amount of time that is reasonable for you.
2. What is the best time of day for me to read the Bible daily?
Currently I am doing my daily reading in the morning, but there have been times in the past when I read just one verse in the morning and waited until a better time later in the day to read a full chapter or more. I believe the more consistent you can be with the time you have, the better the results.
3. How many chapters do I want to read in a day?
Every reader will have a different comfortable speed of reading and different amount of time to spend reading each day. Think through these factors as you choose a Bible reading plan. This year I wanted to spend more time reflecting on the passage, so I chose to read one chapter a day. I won’t finish reading the Bible in a day, but that’s ok.
4. Should I read from Genesis to Revelation in that Order or follow a certain sequence?
We might be surprised to know that most of the Bible is not written in Chronological order, which means the order in which the books of the Bible were written. For example, most scholars believe that the Book of Job is the oldest of all of the books in the Bible and Job’s account would be about 1/4th of the way through the Book of Genesis, so the Book of Job predates the other books of the Bible.
This is only my personal opinion but I believe we should have a Bible reading plan and that plan should be daily. I believe it shouldn’t be a random, pick and choose, but a predetermined reading plan that has a prescribed order.
5. Do I plan to use any Bible study methods as I read or simply read and reflect?
Determining your study intentions before you begin the Bible reading plan will help you decide both your time factor and number of chapters per day. Whether you use a highlighting method or a simple Bible study guide each day will determine how much time you need to anticipate beyond the reading time.
What if I want to read through the Bible, but I know it will take longer than a year?
You can still read through the Bible AND do it all on your own. The first time I read through the Bible, I didn’t read 4 chapters a day and I didn’t use a set plan. You can find out what I did right here.
I hope these questions will guide you through the process of choosing a Bible reading plan that fits your current needs and desire.
By Evangelist Samuel Balagadde.
