Non-Traditional Bible Reading Plans

I love fresh starts. I'm not sure what it is about January 1, but every year I look forward to starting over. Plus, I love a challenge, so New Years Resolutions are right up my ally.

Of course, like most Americans I don't make it very far. Really, you can do anything for a few days, but 365 days? That kind of change is serious.

But for some of us it might be time for serious change. So before you set your New Years Resolution in stone (or put it on facebook...practically the same thing), I want to challenge you to make some big commitments this year.

This year resolve to walk with God. 

Of course, losing weight would be great too, but honestly, if you really want to change your life start by getting more serious about Jesus.

Over the next few weeks I want to share with you some ways you can begin to draw near to God. Maybe you are just starting out with a daily devotional time, or maybe you just want to find something new that will push you out of your comfort zone and into a deeper fellowship with the Lord. The truth is we all have areas of our spiritual relationship that God can grow and strengthen. We all need encouragement and accountability.

So if you are with me, then let's start by looking at...

Bible Reading Plans
We're all familiar with the one year Bible Reading plans that start with Genesis and end with Revelation. I've done that kind of reading plan. It's simple, straightforward, and very rarely do I make it to the end. While I know all scripture is God-breathed, some parts are harder to wade through than other parts. So today I want to share with you a few non-traditional reading plans that will hopefully make it easier to stay on track.

(Each link will take you to a website where you can download a PDF file for each reading plan.)

52 Week Bible Reading Plan
This reading plan takes you through the Bible in an entire year reading from a different part of the Bible each day of the week. This keeps you from flipping around all over your Bible each day, but also keeps you from getting bogged down in any one section for an extended period of time.

Old and New Testament Reading Plan
This reading plan has you read from both the Old and New Testament each day. Both the Old and New Testament readings are in chronological order instead of book order (except the Gospels). This is a great way to get historical perspective without lots of excess page flipping.

Legacy Reading Plan
This plan is for those free-spirits among us! Rather than break the reading down by days, this plan simply gives you a list of books to read in any given month. This allows you to read at your own pace without worrying about getting behind. You can read one chapter on Monday and 5 chapters on Tuesday or just sit and read the entire book at once! As long as you average 2-3 chapters a day (along with your Psalms and Proverbs reading) then you will read through the Bible in one year.

Stress Free Bible Reading Plan
I'm not sure about the title of this one. Shouldn't reading the Bible always be stress free? This plan is unique in that it only has 5 days a week scheduled leaving you two days a week to play catch-up or to get really busy and "forget" to read your Bible. The Old Testament books and New Testament Epistles are in chronological order while the Gospels are simply inserted strategically so that you are continually coming back to the life of Christ. There is some page flipping involved, and because you are only reading 5 days a week the daily readings are a bit longer. However,this plan would be very doable if you read the Old Testament each morning and the New Testament each evening.

1:3 Bible Reading Plan
This is the reading plan I've chosen to do this year. By following this plan you will read through the Old Testament once and the New Testament 3 times. I like this plan because it gives equal weight of time and importance to the Old and New Testament. Hopefully, this plan will allow me to really study the New Testament this year without neglecting the historical and theological foundations laid in the Old Testament.

I found the idea for this plan several places online, but the PDF is my own creation.  I designed it so that your current page could easily be folded into thirds and used as a bookmark to keep in your Bible. If you choose this plan, let me know! I'd love to know who is reading along with me.

(I'm also sure there are some mistakes in my plan! I've edited it ruthlessly, but nonetheless I'm sure I've missed something. I'll continue to update this page throughout the year, so if you find a mistake check back and let me know!)