Well it is a new year.  And with most new years, one of the things many people do is make new years resolutions.  In my sermon on Sunday, I challenged the congregation to start a Bible reading plan.  We need to ingest more of God’s words to keep our hungry souls filled.  So I would like to also challenge those who read this blog to also start a reading plan.  It can be short like reading through the book of Psalms twice (read one chapter a day for all 150 chapters and repeat), reading through the book of Proverbs once a month for the year (31 chapters in 31 days: repeat 12 times), or read through the entire Bible in one year.  There are many plans out there.  Just goggle Bible reading plans and thousands will pop up.  I am using a plan from YouVersion (https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/158).  It goes in Biblical order.  But one problem I have found with Bible order plans is you start to get bogged down in February when to get to Leviticus.  This is also the time of year when other new years resolutions fall by the way side.  To combat this there is another type that divides the Bible in 7 sections and you read one section per day (https://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/).  Also on that website they have chronological order of the Bible which puts off reading more “boring” sections of the Bible until you have made it more of a habit.  I also like this because it places the Psalms with their historical times in David’s life and Paul’s letters into the history of the book of Acts.

     If you use your phone as a source for your bible reading there are many apps out there that you can you. 

     Let me give you a couple of tips for reading the Bible through.  1. Choose a reading plan that is right for you.  If you have limited devotional time, reading 2-4 chapters may be too much at first. Choose a three year plan if that is the case.  I would rather you read something then have you say, “I cannot read that much” and read nothing at all. 2. Choose a good translation.  If this is your first time attempting this, I would suggest the New Living Translation or another readable version.  KJV or NASV might be too difficult on your first go around.  3. Do not get discouraged or quit if you miss a day or two.  You can either read twice as much the next day until you catch up, or just continue being a few days behind the rest of the year and finish in January (or February).  The point is don’t stop until you reach your goal.  4. Do not read just to read (and boast that you finished).  Each day ask God to show you new things in the section you are reading.  And you know what, God will do what you asked.