It is that time of year – the New Year has begun, and with it a series of resolutions, self-promises to do better, and an optimism about what the year could bring. It is also the time of year when Christians dust off their reading plans and get ready to read through the Bible in a year. That is an excellent exercise and a proper goal. Rather than try and be all motivational (it is after all, already January 4 before I could get to this blog post!) I will simply remind you of the advice I gave last year in this blog post.

But it is a good idea to be organized and ready to try and read as much of the Scriptures as you can this coming year. There are many ways that you can read, whether it is the whole Bible, just the New Testament, or certain sections of the Bible. The best thing is to make an effort to begin and to let the Lord carry you forward. How should you organize your reading? Here are some suggestions:

• There is, of course, the “classic” M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan, that goes through the NT and Psalms twice and OT once in a year.
• Tabletalk has a reading plan with two readings each day (one OT, one NT), that is also available on the Ligonier iOS app or Android app
• A 52 week plan that goes through different genres (history, poetry, prophecy, etc.) each day
• A two year reading plan
• A flexible reading schedule that you can go through at your own pace
• The ESV’s website has 12 different plans
• Here is a site that has 14 different reading plans, from whole Bible, to just Old Testament, to just New Testament
• Or if audio learning is your style, the entire ESV audio Bible is available from Christian Audio for FREE this month.

One final word of encouragement: it is often helpful in Bible reading (like most things) to have accountability and fellowship. So you may want to see if some friends or family members want to join you in a given reading schedule. In that way, you can spur each other on!