Updated!
And updated yet again!
Without a Plan
When I took a Bible Survey class way back before I was married, I had to read through the whole Bible. I enjoyed it and learned lots about the different genres contained in the Good Book and how everything in it fits together. I used one of the through-the-Bible-in-a-year plans a couple of years ago and it was a good refresher, I suppose, but I also found it frustrating, because when I read, I like to ponder what I read. I like to answer the questions and unwrap the layers and you can’t do that with 10 chapters (or whatever it is) per day.
So I plan to never do a through-in-one-year plan again. I’ve spent over half a year reading and studying Romans now and I love reading that way.
This year, Aaron Armstrong is not using a reading plan for much the same reason.
For me, the problem was that I wasn’t spending enough time soaking in the Word. With a strict schedule of 4+ chapters a day, I found there was very little time to stop and savor. Much of the time was spent consuming. This is not the way that I prefer to read my Bible.
Instead, Aaron plans to read a few books, “mastering them and being mastered by them.”
In my opinion, through-the-Bible-in-a-year plans are good for showing the whole storyline, and knowing the storyline is a necessary foundation. But once you’ve established the foundation, it’s time to move forward and build on what you’ve got by digging deeper into the text.
With a Plan
My friend Rosemary is using a plan, but not a through-in-one-year plan. She’ll be choosing books and reading them through twenty times before she moves on.
How are you reading your Bible this year? Let me know and I’ll update this post with your info, too.
- Diane is going through the Bible slowly, too. She “started Genesis LAST January and just finished Deuteronomy.”
- Madge finds reading on a schedule frustrating.
- Kim’s (Hiraeth) daily reading is in Berkhof’s Systematic Theology, but she’s leading a study in Acts and participating in a study of Romans.
- Kim (The Upward Call) is reading the bible in a year chronologically and also teaching the book of John.
- Judy is reading through in one year again.
- Becky is using this plan.
- Persis is using a Bible reading plan for shirkers and slackers.
- Staci Eastin is using Professor Horner’s plan.