My goal every year is to read the entire Bible. Every January I revisit my goals to see if they need to be renewed or updated. I’ve read the Bible multiple times and what I’ve realized is some Old Testament books I dread reading and some books are always on my mind and I long to return to them more often, like the gospels. It’s up to each of us to keep up our end of the conversation with God by daily prayer and daily Bible reading. How we do that depends on our personal preferences. We’re responsible for keeping our faith alive and the Bible tells us faith comes from reading, hearing and speaking God’s Word and this is especially true where the gospels are concerned. Think of the Bible as a spiritual battery charger to keep our faith fully charged. God’s eternal power is focused on us through his Word and distributed to us through the Holy Spirit as we read, hear and speak Scripture. When our faith remains strong our relationship with God deepens, our sanctification by God proceeds quicker because we’re more spiritually receptive and we’re less susceptible to the lies and temptations of Satan. When we’re walking humbly with God we have his protection.
Mark 1:15 – (Jesus speaking) – The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, and believe in the gospel.
Romans 10:17 – So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 15:4 – For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
I’ve looked at numerous, “read the Bible in one year,” formats but none of them work for me. I can’t read a few chapters and stop if I’m really into the story. I’m task oriented and I must complete what I start before I can rest easy. If you’ll notice in my blogs, once I start on a topic I can’t stop until I’ve exhausted all I have to say. Then I can stop and catch my breath. Getting back to my Bible reading plan, I’ve decided to make my own schedule which I think is much better because it puts more emphasis on the books in the Bible I consider more important. The focal point of the Bible is the four gospels of Christ. It’s the most important story in human history.
1 Thessalonians 1:5 – For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance.
2 Thessalonians 2:14 – To which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 4:15 – For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
I’m not content with reading Mark, Matthew, Luke and John once a year. Why should I be? One of the spiritual laws of God is that whenever someone receives God’s Word the Holy Spirit will always be present. When someone receives the gospel of Christ the Holy Spirit is present abundantly! I don’t think any believer should be more than a month away from the gospel message of Christ and being refreshed by the Holy Spirit of God. The rest of the New Testament is epistles (letters) providing further explanations and interpretations about the Christian faith in general and the gospels in particular. The Old Testament is the necessary historical backdrop that provides us with the background for the coming of Jesus. If it got right down to it, we could depend on the gospels alone for salvation and be just fine. Spend more time in the gospels and less time with the supporting information.
Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek (Gentile).
Ephesians 1:13 – In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Ephesians 6:19 – And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.
What I’ve done is break the Bible into monthly segments. Every month I read a new gospel and I then repeat so that I read each gospel three times a year. Now I have the right amount of focus on what’s important. Repetition is good for the soul. It keeps our faith alive and our salvation before our eyes. I allow the first week of each month for gospel reading. The second week of each month I read the New Testament epistles and I try to space it out evenly over twelve months. The third week of each month I allot to Old Testament reading using the same parameters. Week four is for tying up loose ends and researching additional information on the books being read that month.
I intentionally left out the Old Testament books of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy because they’re boring and deal primarily with God’s relationship with the Israelites during their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. When your focus is brought back to the gospel of Christ on a monthly basis you’re in God’s wheelhouse. You’ll be in your “sweet spot” with God the Father and you’ll be blessed by the Lord. You can always use a Bible commentary to brush up later on those three Old Testament books I removed from my annual Bible study. There you have it; 27 New Testament books and 36 Old Testament books being read in one year if we have the discipline. The outline below will keep you on track and keep you interested in reading your Bible:
TWELVE MONTH BIBLE READING OUTLINE BY WEEKS (1 TO 4):
January: `1. Mark 2. Acts 1-13 3. Genesis and Exodus 4. Research books; who wrote it, where did he write it, when did he write it and why did he write it, etc.
February: 1. Matthew 2. Acts 14-28 3. Joshua and Judges 4. Research
March: 1. Luke 2. Romans 3. Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel 4. Research
April: 1. John 2. 1 & 2 Corinthians 3. 1 & 2 Kings 4. Research
May: 1. Mark 2. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians 3. 1 & 2 Chronicles 4. Research
June: 1. Matthew 2. 1 & 2 Thessalonians and 1 & 2 Timothy 3. Ezra, Nehemiah, Ester, Job 4. Research
July: 1. Luke 2. Titus and Philemon 3. Psalms 4. Research
August: 1. John 2. Hebrews 3. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon 4. Research
September: 1. Mark 2. James 3. Isaiah 4. Research
October: 1. Matthew 2. 1 & 2 Peter 3. Jeremiah 4. Research
November: 1. Luke 2. 1 & 2 & 3 John and Jude 3. Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel 4. Research
December: 1. John 2. Revelation 3. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Zechariah and Malachi 4. Research