“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
– Romans 12:2
What’s Your Bible reading plan?
Some have said we live in a time when there has never been more resources available right at our fingertips to facilitate, encourage, and equip us everyday to read, study, and grasp more fully the Word of God. We have never had more access to the scriptures, and thus never has there been more opportunity to drink so deeply from God’s fountain of blessing that we may apply it to our lives, and through the power of the Holy Spirit be changed forever.
Consider one of the greatest promises found in the Bible regarding our struggle with sin and our hope for change in this life and eternity;
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
– 2 Peter 1:3-4
So the question becomes, if God has “granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him”, am I availing myself of all that God has granted? Specifically, am I reading, cherishing and applying God’s word to my life? Not only is our access to God’s Word seemingly limitless, we live in a time and place where our freedoms to have and study our Bible are nearly unprecedented, and the value of God’s word applied to our lives, incalculable! In Paul’s second letter to young Timothy he proclaims,
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
– 2 Tim 3:16-17
So here’s to a new year, and one of the greatest resolutions we could make; seek to be in God’s word every day. A great place to start is with a fresh Bible reading plan. Below are a number of excellent plans and tools that can supplement a rich rewarding devotional life in the years ahead.
Bible Reading/Plan Websites
Bible Gateway
For those who like to go and stay online, Bible Gateway is a great online resource with many tools and a large assortment of reading plans to satisfy any interest of focus.
ESV Bible
The ESV Bible is a wonderful translation, and the folks at Crossway have matched it with an assortment of online tools and training that will bless the new believer as well as the seminary student looking to unpack the texts Greek structure.
Ligonier Ministries
There are too many great things to list here about Ligonier Ministries, but we will say that in addition to a seemingly limitless amount of wonderful biblical resources for your Christian walk, they put out a great assortment of helpful reading plans.
Bible Plan
If you are looking for a no frills straightforward plan to guide your reading of that trusted well-worn personal Bible, this is the source.
The Navigators
The Navigators are a trusted resource offering several Bible reading plans to print off and carry along with your favorite Bible translation or Bible reading app.
Discipleship Journal 5X5X5 Bible Reading Plan
If you’re not currently reading the Bible, start with 5 minutes a day. This reading plan will take you through all 260 chapters of the New Testament, one chapter per day. The gospels are read throughout the year to keep the story of Jesus fresh all year.
Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan
The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan offers special features that will aid you in your journey through the Bible including:
• Reading from four separate places in the Scripture every day, offers a better grasp the unity of the Scriptures,
and you can begin at any point of the year.
• Each month of this plan gives you twenty-five readings, with several “free days” each month to set aside
Sundays, not read at all or to catch up.
• Easy to alter the plan to meet your needs. For example, you could read the gospels and the wisdom books
this year, and the other two categories next year.
Discipleship Journal Book-at-a-time Bible Reading Plan
This book-at-a-time Bible reading plan provides two readings for each day. The first reading alternates between Old and New Testament books, giving you three or four chapters a day. The Gospels are spread throughout the year.
The second reading takes you through a chapter or so of the wisdom literature and Isaiah. Combined, these readings will take you through the entire Bible in one year.
Five Day Bible Reading Plan
This special Bible reading plan allows you to read the entire Bible (or just the New Testament) in one year while only reading five times a week. Five readings a week gives room to catch up or take a needed day off, and makes daily Bible reading practical and do-able.
The Bible Project
The Read Scripture Reading Plan from the Bible Project folks is a new creative and quite innovative plan to read through the Bible in a year, with a twist. The plan incorporates a series of masterfully created videos (Genesis Sample) that seek to explore the entire biblical narrative that is telling one complete story from beginning to end. As you begin a new book, (and in some cases, during the book), visually engaging videos are employed to explain and visualize the Bible’s structure and story.
If the videos all seem to make the process a little too complex, you can also simply follow their reading plan without videos, which includes the special addition of praying through the Psalms.
Bible Study Apps for Your Mobile Device
The following apps are free to download and install, and provide free Bible translations to read and use. All apps also offer in-app purchases if you wish to utilize specific translations or Bible study tools and commentaries and upgrade the resources available in the mobile app.
Olive Tree Bible App *Staff Favorite
This app has been a favorite for years. The free download will give you a well designed interface and free Bible translation and the foundation for building a great biblical digital resource library from numerous additional free resources or in-app purchases available through the folks at Olive Tree.
Grace To You Bible App *Staff Favorite
The Grace to You Bible App brings together a wealth of resources to help you understand and apply God’s Word. Building on the foundation of the English Stand Version, this app gives you immediate access to Grace to You’s sermon archive, featuring more than forty-five years of John MacArthur’s Bible teaching.
ESV Bible App *Staff Favorite
Not only have the folks at Crossway produced one of the best modern english translations while complimenting it with robust online tools, they’ve produced an app worthy of the translation. One great touch to the app is the ability to play audio directly from the app; a terrific resource while mowing the lawn or washing the dishes.
Bible from Lifechurch.tv App
Bible is another great free app for Bible reading with lots of in-app opportunities for building a Bible study resource library.
Bible Gateway App
Bible Gateway has provided a good tool that integrates well with their web resources.
Faithlife Study Bible App
Faithlife is another well integrated app/web resource tool that has a growing user base.
Bible Study for those with visual disabilities
Bible Verses
BibleVerses.com has set their objective on providing an accessible source to the Bible online. There are over 285 million people around the world visually impaired (of whom 39 million are blind), according to the World Health Organization. BibleVerses.com offers a free version of the Bible created specifically for users with vision disabilities. The site is optimized for screen readers and braille displays, and tailored to individuals with low vision, color blindness, and any other sight impairment.
