I hope in your word. – Psalm 119:14
We know God in and through his written Word, the Scriptures. In Psalm 1, we are told that the man who delights in and mediates on the Word day and night will be like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season. Therefore, it is essential that we devote ourselves to both reading and meditating on God’s precious Word. This is why we have two Bible reading plans suggested for 2020.
5 Day Bible Reading Program
This reading plan takes the reader through the entire Bible in one year, reading 5 days a week. The plan generally follows the Bible chronologically, including both Old and New Testament readings each day. The average reader may spend about 20 minutes per day in reading. Benefits of this plan include exposing yourself to the entire counsel of God every year. Instead of just focusing on the parts we like the most or find easiest, we engage with all of what God has said to us in his Word. The 5 day per week plan means two days for catch-up, which is something we all need from time to time.
You can find the plan here.
Grace Life Church Bible Meditation Plan – Philippians
This reading plan takes the reader through the book of Philippians in one year (5 days per week). This plan is designed to help meditation on God’s Word be possible. It is difficult to meditate on 20 minutes of reading as we go about our day. But we can meditate on one verse throughout the day. The plan divides the book of Philippians based on the words per verse (about 8 words per day) There are three levels of engagement offered in this plan.
1) Reading and Meditation
In this basic level, you will read the verse of the day, consider the context of the verses around it, and think through its meaning – how it reveals God and how it applies to your life.
2) Widening the Context
In this next level, you will also read the entire book of Philippians each day (about 10 minutes). This will help you understand where the verse of the day fits into the greater message of Philippians.
3) Memorization
When you are reading the whole book daily and thinking about each verse for a day or two, memorization is not far behind. Commit yourself to memorizing the entire book of Philippians in 2020. Memorizing is easier when you do it this way, and it gets easier as you practice. You can do this!
You can find the plan here.
Which plan is for me?
It might depend on a few things. Maybe you have never read through the whole Bible and this is the year! Maybe you have read through the Bible many times but haven’t really dove into one book and given it careful thought. There is no rule that says you have to read the whole Bible each year, or that you have to read Philippians this year. But the pathway to abundant life in Christ comes through regular Scripture reading and meditation. So pick one, or do both!
I don’t have time to read, meditate on, and memorize the Bible
We all have time for this. John Piper says, “One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.” The same is true for Bible reading. You can check your phone to discover your “screen time” each week and you might find that you have more than enough time to devote to even 40 minutes a day in the Word! Or, it might mean less TV, or hockey, or recreation of other varieties. But you will not ever regret a greater devotion to hearing God’s voice.
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