Are you wondering how to start a Bible reading plan this year? Are you setting spiritual goals and excited to start reading your Bible?
If you’d like to know more about Bible reading plans and where to find the right one for you, be sure to read this article. It’s full of all the details you’ll want to know.
If you are excited to start a spiritual goal of reading your Bible each day, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to go over what a Bible reading plan is, why you should consider implementing a plan in your life, and how to get started with the best tips around.
Plus, we’ll cover a wide range of Bible reading plans for you to choose from. This is a great goal to have, so consider starting this endeavor in the new year.
Bible reading can enrich your life in so many ways! Personally, it was a Bible reading plan that jump-started my faith!
You can experience this, too, with the right Bible reading plan. Just choose the right one for you and get started today!
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What is a Bible Reading Plan?
A Bible reading plan is usually a plan to read God’s Word over the course of a year or more. Ideally, you would be reading each day of the week for at least 10 minutes a day, but it really depends on the plan you choose.
An example of a Bible reading plan would be a two-year Bible reading plan. A two-year reading plan would walk you through the Bible over the course of two years.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to read all of the books of the Bible all at once. If your chosen plan is to read through the Bible in a year, you would be reading the Bible, several chapters a day for a year.
If you’d like an easy plan, walk through Paul’s letters in the New Testament books over the course of 90 days. These would give you daily light readings. Paul’s letters are also known as the epistles. There are 14 books in the New Testament that encompass the words of Paul.
If you’d like to study the life of Jesus, read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. For some spiritual encouragement, you could read through Psalms; for nuggets of wisdom, consider checking out Proverbs.
Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths. – Psalm 118:105 (CEV)
Why Start a Bible Reading Plan?
Using the right Bible reading plan daily can lead to other faith endeavors. For example, when I started to really commit myself to my faith, it began by just reading a scripture a day as part of a simple Bible reading plan. Soon, I was devoting myself to Bible study and prayer!
My Bible reading plan also was an example to my husband. He saw me reading my Bible every day and was encouraged to join in. We grabbed a few daily Bible reading plans and began reading together each day as a couple, which strengthened the spiritual side of our marriage.
Did you know that 42% of Christians consider reading the Bible to be an essential aspect of being a Christian? In the study conducted by Pew Research, these Christians believed Bible reading was part of their Christian identity.
Daily Bible reading can have many benefits for your life. Reading and studying the Bible can help you grow in your faith, in your relationship with God and our Lord, Jesus Christ, and as a Christian, in general. Building a strong relationship with God will impact your life for the better.
The Bible is also a guide on how to live life as a Christian and how to become saved. It teaches us to obey God, listen to God, and pray to God. We learn everything from the instructions found in the Bible. It’s the Book of Life – an all-encompassing guide!
Learn all about the life of Jesus and your salvation in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). This is the most important thing in the world. After all, don’t you want to know the details about how you will be spending eternity with our Lord, Jesus Christ?
You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them, you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about Me. – John 5:39 (NIV)
Where You Can Find a Bible Reading Plan
Sharing Life and Love Bible Reading Plan
Sharing Life and Love Bible Reading Plan – Enjoy a year’s worth of daily readings of the Bible with our very own, original 12-month Bible reading plan. Each month has a different topic or theme, so you will get a variety of Bible verses to read throughout the year.
The themes for 2022 include New Life, Love, Hope, Friendship, Prayer, Worry & Anxiety, Encouragement, Faith, Joy, Rest, Grace, and Salvation. Of course, the worry & anxiety theme will be to ease these ailments, not encourage them!!
The Tear Up Your Bible Reading Plan by Jason Mayfield
The Tear Your Bible Up Bible Reading Plan – The idea is that a Bible falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t. Isn’t that awesome? Enjoy this plan created by Jason Mayfield, which will walk you through the entire Bible, a bit at a time! What a great learning opportunity!
Moody Church’s New Testament Bible Reading Plan
The Moody Church Bible Reading Plan – Read through the New Testament in a year with this Bible reading plan. You are welcome to join me in going through this Bible reading plan in 2022 with the Facebook group – Women in the Word. Print this PDF and follow along with our group!
The 2-Year Chronological Cross-Reference Bible Study Plan
The Chronological Cross-Reference Bible Study Journal – These 4 journals will walk you through reading the entire Bible in 2 years. Along with each reading recommended each day, you get an opportunity to answer Bible study questions AND get involved in the Bible more!
- The Chronological Cross-Reference Bible Study Journal Volume 1 – This will walk you through the first six months.
- The Chronological Cross-Reference Bible Study Journal Volume 2 – This will walk you through the second six months.
- The Chronological Cross-Reference Bible Study Journal Volume 3 – This will walk you through the third six months.
- The Chronological Cross-Reference Bible Study Journal Volume 4 – This will walk you through the fourth and last six months of the 2-year Bible reading plan.
More Details About the Bible Study Together Bible Reading Plan
My husband and I will be going through this chronological cross-reference Bible study plan in 2022. I’m very excited, as it is not just a Bible reading plan; it is also a Bible study! Each workbook or study guide is full of information and questions!
To expand a little further, each Bible study journal or workbook guides you through the Bible with questions to challenge you to think a bit further. This Bible study plan is perfect for groups or couples because you’ll want to share your answers with someone!
The group that created this Bible study is called Bible Study Together. Their mission was to start a Bible study revolution. They want to encourage people who get burned out when reading their Bible. The goal is to provide readers with inspiring content when reading the Bible.
The Bible study method involves pursuing God, pondering the scriptures, praying, and practicing what you learn. They have a complete online toolkit that goes with the Bible reading plan, as well. It is meant to keep you motivated as you work through the entire Bible.
The online toolkit gives you access to an application, a printable study journal, daily questions, 3-D maps, inspiring and engaging videos, and more! It’s similar to the Filament Bible, if you’ve ever checked that out – something I highly recommend!
Even More FREE Printable Bible Reading Plans
For even more FREE printable Bible reading plans, check out this article by Bloggers for the Kingdom. Some of these plans may require you to enter your email address, but they are all free plans. I often print these plans off to use as guides for reading during the year!
How to Start a Bible Reading Plan
Choose a Bible Reading Plan
Hopefully, you have now chosen a wonderful Bible reading plan that is just right for you. When deciding on a Bible reading plan, you should consider how fast you want to read through the Bible. Decide if you want to read through the whole Bible or use a topical reading plan.
For whatever plan you decide on, you will need to print the plan so that you can refer to it each morning or whatever time of day you decide to devote to Bible reading.
Choose the Right Bible
The next step would be to choose a Bible to read your Bible reading plan with.
There are some great study Bibles to choose from in this article, The SOAP Bible Study Method or in the How to Build a Bible Reference Library article, which will help you find the right reference books and Bibles.
Choose the best Bible version for you, as well. The NLT (New Living Translation) is my husband’s favorite and is very easy to read and understand. My favorite version is CEV (Contemporary English Version). It is written in everyday language.
Other great Bible versions include the NIV (New International Version), the NKJV (New King James Version), CSB (Christian Standard Bible), ESV (English Standard Version), and NASB (New American Standard Bible). There are plenty more!
Each Bible version has its pros and cons. Hit the library or a bookstore to check them all out! Some are closer to the original language but are more difficult to understand; others are simple to grasp, but they are further from the original language. Figure out what works for you!
With the right study Bible, you can refer to the footnotes for more information on the scriptures you are reading. This will allow you to dive even deeper into the Word of God and really study It.
Mark In Your Bible (Optional)
Once you’ve chosen a Bible, you might want to underline, highlight, or otherwise mark the verses you read in your Bible. Of course, you don’t have to do this, but it could be fun and beneficial to you in the long run. It’s nice to see what you studied in the past.
If you truly love marking in your Bible or color-coding it, and there is nothing wrong with that, you could really “tear it up!” Of course, I don’t mean destroying your Bible, but a little wear and tear can be a beautiful thing if done correctly. Read more about how to tear up your Bible.
Study Your Bible
If you’d like to do more than just read your Bible, I recommend studying your Bible through the use of the SOAP Bible study method or the HEAR Bible study method. Really studying your Bible is different than just reading it. Bible study is a very important part of being a Christian.
Memorize Scripture
Another powerful way to absorb the words of the Bible is to memorize scripture. Having the Word of God in your heart at all times will help you when you need to know your beliefs, convictions, and just truths and you do not have your Bible with you.
For some great memorization techniques, read about the Celebrate Recovery Serenity Prayer – something else you should consider memorizing! It’s very wonderful to have on your mind when trials and tribulations hit you, which is all part of life!
Ask Someone to Join You
Having an accountability partner to join you in your Bible reading plan is a really smart idea. You can help by encouraging them to continue reading their Bible, and they can do the same for you. It’s great to have someone to read the Bible with and will help keep you motivated!
Related: How to Be a Good Christian Friend
Add Bible Reading to Your Plans
As you begin the New Year, you are probably making resolutions and plans for each day, week, month, and year. When sorting through your goals and filling out your new planners, you should add Bible reading as a spiritual goal. It’s a smart one to have and will benefit your life!
Related: How to Create Spiritual Goals for the New Year
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good order for reading the Bible?
One way you can read the Bible is chronological. Another way to read It is from cover to cover. You could start by reading through the New Testament, the Psalms, or Proverbs. To learn more about the life of Jesus, study the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).
Should you read the Bible in chronological order?
If you tend to be an organized person who likes to do things in a certain way, having a plan when you read the Bible is a great idea. One plan would be to read the Bible in chronological order. There are many Bible reading plans that are organized that way.
How do you do a topical Bible reading plan?
If you do a topical Bible reading plan that is already created, you can just pick your favorite Bible and read along with the plan. If you have a topic in mind but not a printable plan, you can use a Bible reference book, such as a Bible concordance.
How do you study the Bible?
One recommended way to study the Bible is with the SOAP Bible study method. Another suggested method is the HEAR Bible study method. Both of these methods are simple for beginners, as they walk you through studying the Bible in a systematic way. Each article has a free worksheet to guide you.
What is a good topical Bible?
The MacArthur Topical Bible is a comprehensive guide and has every major topic that is found in the Bible listed in it. Nave’s Topical Bible is another great choice for a topical Bible. It has over 20,000 topics and subtopics listed in it and more than 10,000 cross-reference entries.
Conclusion
You should now know how to start a Bible reading plan this year. We’ve covered what a Bible reading plan is, why you should get involved with one, a variety of plans to choose from, and the best tips to get you started on the right foot today!
Do you know of a Bible reading plan that didn’t make the cut? Be sure to leave a comment with your favorite Bible reading plan! We’d love to hear from you!!
If you’ve enjoyed this article or found it helpful, Sharing Life and Love would appreciate it if you’d pass this along to someone else or share it on social media! Thank you for visiting our website today! God bless you as you read the Bible!
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. – Joshua 1:8 (NIV)
