Through-The-Bible Reading Plans

All throughout Biblical and church history, we would always read about mighty men of the faith who were sincerely devoted to God and had shown lifelong pursuit of God’s will and glory. We would read from Psalms David’s Psalm 19:7-11,

The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the LORD is sure,

making wise the simple;

the precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the LORD is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the LORD is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the LORD are true,

and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

We could sense from these verses how intimate David was not just with God, but with His law—His word. He doesn’t just read them because it’s required or because it’s expected of him as a king. He meditates on God’s law (day and night, like Psalm 1’s righteous man!) because the commandment of the LORD causes the heart to rejoice and the eyes to be enlightened. 

We hear of the same inclinations in Psalm 119 when the psalmist says, “I will speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love. I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes” (Ps. 119:46-48, emphases added). I believe it’s not an understatement when these psalmists have expressed their love for the word. They weren’t just being poetic when they said the word of God is to be desired more than fine gold. These psalmists have learned to love God and His word, especially for Psalm 119, a poem which is “a pattern, a thing done like embroidery, stitch by stitch, through long, quiet hours, for the love of the subject and for the delight in leisurely, disciplined craftsmanship” (Lewis, 1958). 

Such disciplined love for the word is not exclusive to the men in the Bible. We would hear of and read about Luther and Calvin, and Puritans like Spurgeon, Owen, and Edwards, to name a few—men of faith who would tremble in fear if they don’t get to meet and encounter God in their daily meditations. But what about us? Could we, like these men, cultivate in us a heart that loves God and His word? Could we cultivate a godly lifestyle that doesn’t treat God’s word as a manual to go back to every time we hit a roadblock, but something truly as essential—if not more!—like eating, drinking, and breathing?

Every year since I think 2009, I’ve been using Through-the-Bible reading plans that chunk down the Bible into 365 daily readings. These plans have immensely helped me not only to read more closely and familiarize myself with the words of the Bible. But as I go through the very same verses year after year, these plans have helped highlight texts—and contexts!—that reveal to the readers who God is and what it is that God requires of men like us. (Side note: daily readings of the word are different from meditating on His word. While one could draw from one's daily readings the text upon which one meditates, those two are very different habits that we all need to form.)

Personally, going through reading plans did not create a mechanical reading habit in me. Instead, when the “pages leap out of the book” and make me realize or learn something “new”, it further humbles me—simply because I knew it wasn’t the first time I’ve read that specific verse, and yet it was as if the words were new to me. It was in those specific moments that God shows to me all the more clearly that even our ability to understand, perceive, and accept His word is His gift. When you gain wisdom and insight from your readings and daily encounter of the Word, that’s His grace at work in you—not your intellect, not your reading habits. If you have never used a reading plan before to guide you with your daily readings, I’ve listed a couple here that you might want to check out. I’ll include the link to each, as well as a brief description for them.

M’Cheyne Reading Plan

2021, I believe, is my 12th round of reading through the Bible. In recent years, more 365-days reading plans had been developed, and I’m sure each one is immensely helpful in its own way. But I decided to go back to the very first one I used, more than a decade ago, the M’Cheyne Reading Plan (honestly, I have no idea how to read that out loud, haha). 

After going through this plan, you would have read the entire Old Testament once, and the New Testament and the Psalms twice. If I remember correctly, this is the reading plan I used that had so many instances of connecting texts about Historic Israel. Instances like reading from the Pentateuch how Israel promised as a nation that they would follow God wholeheartedly (Deuteronomy, Joshua) and then reading from the Kings or Chronicles how they’ve totally abandoned the LORD. It was very helpful in gaining an encompassing view of God’s work in, among, and through His people.

Digging Deep Into The Bible Reading Plan

A plan designed by ESV (if I’m not mistaken), the Digging Deep reading plan covers the entire Bible in 365 daily readings. There are four sections that you get to read each day: the Psalms and Wisdom Literature, Pentateuch and History of Israel, Chronicles and the Prophets, and Gospels and the Epistles.

I personally used this plan for the past two years because it’s easily integrated into the ESV Bible app. Going through the year with this one would have you read the Psalms and Wisdom Literature about twice or thrice through the year, and the New Testament twice. I think a good effect of this plan for me is the fact that I go through the psalms several times in a year, which helps me gain a more God-centered perspective in my prayers. (Side note: Another wonderful collection of poetry and prayers that could help you is the Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. This book also truly helped me a lot, and I would often read a poem or two after my daily readings.)

Every Day in the Word

This plan is another one developed by Crossway, similar to the Digging Deep. “The popular reading plan features a reading from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs each day. This plan divides the text into 365 sections, so you can read through the entire Bible in one unforgettable year—in as little as 15 minutes a day. In one year, you read the full Old Testament and the New Testament once, and Psalms and Proverbs twice” (Crossway, 2018).

I personally don’t think I’ve used this one yet, although it is a bit similar to the Digging Deep. There are still four sections of approximately 2 chapters from the Old Testament, 1 chapter from the New, and a few verses from the Psalms and Proverbs each day.

Straight Through The Bible Reading Plan

As the name indicates, this reading plan goes through the Bible, not by themes or genres, but it goes through the books as they appear in your Bible’s table of contents. Using this plan would get you started on Genesis and you would end the year reading Revelation 19-22. Still an average of four chapters a day, this plan would take you through the books of the Bible from the Old Testament to the New in one linear journey.

I’ve personally used this plan several times, I think, and it’s been helpful in familiarizing myself with which book is found where. It also helped in having a more in-depth understanding of what each book’s themes are since you really spend days on a single book. I will not lie, though. Perhaps my personal struggle as a new Christian (I think I used this the second time I did the through-the-Bible readings) with this plan is with the first quarter of the year because it deals exclusively with the ceremonial and civic laws of Israel. I get to appreciate and find significance in books like Leviticus and Numbers as I grew older, of course, but it might be a tough first reading plan with which to start.

Chronological Bible Reading Plan

This plan is another one I have yet to try, primarily because I don't think I have seen this one before. But as the name indicates, the Chronological Bible Reading Plan walks you through the whole Bible, not by its themes and genres, but by the actual historical time each event happened (or approximately happened). It's a little bit similar to the Straight Through The Bible in terms of its daily passage readings, but you would see the plan jumping from, say, Chronicles to Psalms every once in a while to accommodate the chronological order of events.

I think this plan would be immensely helpful for those who are more or less familiar with the events of the Bible already and would like to understand them more from a historical viewpoint. I personally might try this plan for the next round after using M'Cheyne.

There are other year-long reading plans from which one could choose these days. There are also thematic plans that go through just specific books of the Bible. In the end, though, these plans are merely tools; means to an end. While it’s crucial for us to know God and know His Word, it’s even more important to develop in us a heart that does not rely on any schemes of man, but fully depend and trust in Him alone. So let us do our part, working our “own salvation with fear and trembling”, not because we need to attain a certain degree of devotion to Christ in order to be acceptable, but because “it is God who works in you, both to will (to desire to obey His word) and to work (to cultivate godliness) for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12b, comments added).

Dear Christian, be intentional with your walk with the Lord. How do you intend to know God and His will this year?