Finding a Bible Reading Plan that Works!

 Hello and welcome to the Women’s Weekly Bible Challenge! I’m Lisa Ann Spencer.

Today, our challenge is to find a Bible reading plan that works!

Q:  What is the best way to approach the Bible when reading or studying?

 A:  We must go to the Bible for our answer. 👇

1 Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

One of the best approaches to reading the Bible is simply to do it!  Give attendance to reading. This passage from the letter to Timothy is a Pastoral Epistle, but do not think that it applies only to pastors.  Notice that the previous verse tells Timothy that he is an example for all believers:

12  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

We can and should make application of this doctrinal letter written to Timothy by giving attendance to reading.

👉Another approach to Bible reading is found in 2 Timothy 2:15, which we will get to in a moment, but for now let’s look at a couple of READING PLANS.

There are many Bible reading plans from which to choose.  Some are Chronological, taking you through the Bible in the order of events; some are Canonical, taking you through the Bible in the order presented in the canon of scripture.  Many reading plans take a passage from the Old Testament and a passage from the New Testament as part of a daily reading assignment. 

#1 One Year Reading Plan. 

Just as the name implies, this reading plan takes you on a journey through the Bible in one calendar year.

Benefits:  You can completely read through the Bible, which is a noble goal. This is a great plan for young children who have learned to read and can handle three chapters a day. For non-readers or for struggling readers, three chapters can be read aloud as part of family ministry.  This is a great reading plan for moms of young children as it can be incorporated into another essential daily priority, meal-time! Consider reading aloud at breakfast, snack time, or after dinner with the entire family.

Problems: A year is a long time to cover the entire Bible.  Many things that are read early in the year are forgotten by the middle and end of the year.  If your reading plan includes daily passages from both the Old and New Testaments, the doctrine can get meshed together and cause confusion.  If you are not a disciplined person, or if your lifestyle is sporadic, you may fail to complete the task.  The strongest drawback to the yearly plan is that you do not reach apostle Paul’s epistles until August! Paul is our apostle, and his letters are written to those of us today living under the dispensation of Grace. If you never complete the yearly read-through and restart it each year without ever completing it, you will never get to the meat of the word of God.

#2 90-Day Bible Challenge:

As the name implies, this reading plan takes you on a journey through the Bible in 90 days. 

Benefits:  Covering the whole Bible in such a short time period keeps the events fresh in your mind so that important connections are made.  It can be accomplished in the summertime when school is out, or during the long nights of winter.  Anytime is a great time to do this challenge, whether individually or as a family.

Problems: The intensity and commitment of reading from 1-2 hours a day for 90 days is laborious! If you are reading aloud, it is especially straining to the voice.  (If you have a big family the reading can be shared.)

Here is a link to the Chronological 90-day reading plan that our family has used: https://images.template.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/13170252/90-Day-Chronological-Bible-Reading-Plan-Free-PDF-Template.pdf 

There are many other plans available with a simple search of the Internet.

Manage Your Time and PRIORITIZE THE READING OF THE WORD!

Time Management: I suggest you keep a Journal for a week to ten days.  Write down everything that you do in order to discover where you are spending your time.  How many hours a week do you watch TV, read the news, surf the internet, watch movies, garden and participate in other hobbies or an on-the-side-business?  Your time is a gift.  God expects us to use it wisely, or as He writes,

Ephesians 5:16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

HOW TO APPROACH THE BIBLE

The Bible is a GINORMOUS book!

Q: How do you eat an elephant?

A: One bite at a time.

The Bible is almost 2,000 pages long.  There are several classic novels with over 2,000 pages.  Have you read any of them? Were they profitable for you?

Novels start and end something like this,

Once upon a time… and they all lived happily ever after... THE END. 

The Bible is not a novel.  Novels are written for fleshly pleasure.  Jesus said, 

John 6:63 …the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Unlike novels, reading and studying the Bible is going to be hard work.  The Bible is for our spirit and for our edification. Listen to what Solomon, King of Israel said,

Ecclesiastes 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

Reading and studying the Bible will weary your flesh, but it will most certainly edify your spirit.

Now let’s consider 2 Timothy.

This is the last letter written and canonized in the scripture.  Paul was the last to see Christ.👇

1 Corinthians 15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

(I’ll wager that you have been taught that the book of Revelation was written last, without any Biblical evidence to prove it.)

In this last letter of Paul to Timothy, he tells us,

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

Now that Paul is finalizing the canon of scripture, he can say,

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 that the man of God many be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

We now have ALL we need in the completed canon of scripture to be perfect and throughly furnished!

The Word of God (capitol ‘W’), Jesus Christ, makes us complete in His finished work.👇

Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

The word of God (lower case ‘w’), the Bible, can equip us to stand complete in the will of God.👇

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

The completed Bible contains all scripture that God would have us to possess.  God said His words are pure, and He would preserve them.

Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

God said His word will not pass away.

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

God said His word will endure.

1 Peter 1:25 but the word of the Lord endureth for ever.

Knowing that the Bible is the actual words of God should motivate us to read it.

 

RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH

All the Bible is for us, but it is not all written to and about us! We must follow this second approach to Bible study found in 2 Timothy 2:15.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The entire Bible is about Jesus (See John 5:39), and the majority of the scripture is about God’s plan to reconcile the earth through the nation of Israel.  Genesis chapter 12 through Acts chapter 9 is all about the nation of Israel.

We who are saved today have not replaced God's plan for Israel.  (God will keep all His promises that He made to Israel.)  We who are saved today are the church which is His Body (Colossians 1:24).  We are a new creature (Galatians 6:15). We inherit heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3,20; 2:6; 3:10).  We were a mystery kept secret since the world began (Romans 16:25).

In order to rightly divide the word of truth, we must read the mail that was written to us! We should focus on Paul’s writings.

Have you ever reached in the mailbox and received mail that is not yours?  Why would you take it in your house and read it as if it belonged to you? It contains benefits and debts that are for someone else.  Do not treat the Bible any differently.

FOR EXAMPLE:

James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

The book of James, written to the twelve tribes of Israel, will cause confusion if you try to apply it to yourself, as will all the other portions of scripture that are not written to the Body of Christ.  Remember, we are not a tribe or a nation; we are a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17).

THE KEY TO BIBLE STUDY

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

All the bible is the word of truth.  This passage does not say divide truth from error.  There is no error in the word.  We divide based on the clear divisions that God has put in His word.

If you do not rightly divide, you will be confused and your growth as a Christian will be stunted.  The word of God should make you grow.

FOCUS ON PAUL’S WRITINGS

Let’s look at the first word in each of the following letters:

• Romans – Paul
• 1 Corinthians - Paul
• 2 Corinthians – Paul
• Galatians – Paul
• Ephesians – Paul
• Philippians – Paul
• Colossians – Paul
• 1 Thessalonians – Paul
• 2 Thessalonians – Paul
• 1 Timothy – Paul
• 2 Timothy – Paul
• Titus – Paul
• Philemon – Paul

There is a Biblical reason that Paul’s name is the first word in each of the letters that he wrote. While Paul was still living, Satan’s ministers were already busy corrupting the word of God.  Paul tells us that he writes his name as a salutation in every epistle.

2 Thessalonians 2:2 that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

2 Thessalonians 3:17 The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.

Can you see how and why Paul tells us that he wrote his name as a salutation in all his letters?  The Holy Spirit inspired that for our learning, and to keep us from deception.

Now take a look at the first word in Hebrews.

Hebrews 1:1 God…

In some Bibles, the header will attribute this letter to Paul. There is no evidence in the letter itself that attributes it to Paul.  God wrote all of the Bible, using different men, and God did not want to attribute Hebrews to Paul because it is a letter to the…

 

HEBREWS!

 

There are no Hebrews in the Body of Christ. 

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

I hope that seeing this helps you to believe the very words of God. Paul is our apostle, and we should rightly divide his letters from those addressed to Israel.

MY PERSONAL READING PLAN

• 1 Psalm a day – 5 months to completion
• 1 Proverbs a day – 31 days to completion
• 3 chapters of Paul a day – 1 month to completion
• Read through the Bible canonically as a family – ongoing

CONCLUSION: Read the mail that was written to you, and grow up into Him as a mature believer!

Be sure to join me again for the next challenge on “Self,Esteem and Confidence”.

The material covered in this Blog is presented in this YouTube video: