A Gracious and Realistic Approach to a Bible Reading Plan

I have a confession to make: I’m not particularly good at Bible reading plans. At some point, I fall off the wagon and have to play catch up. Or, I let go of the plan altogether and settle for something that feels a bit more manageable.

This is the challenge of trying to read through the Bible. The Bible is long and varied; many pages and many genres within those pages. Sometimes we feel like we’re smoothly skiing down the hills of narrative and discourse. But then we come to what feels like a rough climb up mountains of prophetic oracles and ancient customs. Setting our expectations is key: the Bible is a unified whole. Therefore, we need all of it. Whether you’re particularly good or not at keeping a reading plan, you need it.

Here’s two encouragements as you embark on a journey reading through the Bible:

1. Grace is the Ground

Thankfully we are not declared righteous before God because of our Bible reading. We are justified by the grace of God through faith in Christ. God does not want us gauging our standing with Him based on how good we are at doing Christian things. Our confidence before God is Christ alone!

This means that a daily Bible reading plan is not about our performance before God (or others). It’s not about earning points or feeling like a better Christian than someone else. It is simply about grace upon grace (John 1:16). When we receive Jesus as our Savior, He invites us into deeper fellowship with Himself. Reading Scripture is not an end in itself - knowing our God is!

When you pick up the Bible every day, you’re not coming to a checklist God. You’re not coming to a God who thunders with demands and condemnation. You’re coming to the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul (1 Pet. 2:25). You’re coming to the God who says “Open your mouth wide and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10). You’re coming to the God who is Holy, Holy, Holy who fills the earth with His glory (Isa.6:3). This is a gracious invitation to know and behold your God.

Additionally, as you consider the unity of the Bible, Jesus’ words can ground you in grace: “‘…that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44-45). Speaking to religious people who had a high view of Scripture, Jesus said, “You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me.”

Don’t miss Jesus. It’s all pointing to Him. It’s all preparing us for Him. When you encounter the dark side of Scripture, remind yourself “This is why we need Jesus - the light of the world ” (John 8:12). When you encounter the demand of the law and human inability to fulfill it, remind yourself “This is why we need Jesus - the perfect law keeper” (Gal.2:16).

Grace is the ground for our Bible reading. This is also why prayer is essential to our reading. Christians read Scripture in the context of a relationship with God. He does not intend for this to be a one-way conversation. So receive the gracious invitation to better know your God and commune with Him.

2. Reality is the Context

Many people hit a wall in their daily reading because they don’t view their lives in context. We impose an ideal of what this should look like and when the ideal falls short, we get discouraged. Your reality is your context. Start there. We all inhabit a variety of situations - children, career, commitments, the daily commute, and other complicated factors. There’s a lot happening around us! Even more reason for us to be rooted in a habit of daily Bible reading. Yet, you need to allow the reality of your context help you be realistic with yourself. For some, listening to the Bible on their daily commute will work well. For some, waking up early and sipping coffee while reading will work just fine. For others, reading in bed at the end of the day. Try to find a time and a way that works for you.

At the same time, we need to be realistic about the things that clutter out quiet reflection on Scripture. If we were to assess our schedules, we would all find that we have more time than we realize. We just need to put some effort into organizing our time. Let the principle of via negativa (addition through subtraction) help you. Whether it's putting time limits on your phone, turning the tv off at night, delegating certain household duties - we all can afford to de-clutter our lives to make space for what matters most. The better portion is to sit at Jesus' feet (Luke 10:42).

But don’t do it alone. Dad and moms, welcome your kids into your Bible reading. Reading out loud at the breakfast or dinner table, and talking about Scripture, is a great way to do a plan (at least partially). One of the benefits of doing a church-wide Bible reading plan is the opportunity to meet up with other Christians and share our thoughts and insights. You could even set up a day a week where you meet with a fellow church member and simply read out loud, talk together, and pray in response to what you’ve read. Reality is the context, and the reality is that our lives have many relationships. Leverage those relationships to grow closer to God and one another.

As we begin the new year reading through the Bible, I hope this gracious and realistic approach will help you get started and also keep going. And let’s keep our eye on the goal - knowing and savoring our great and glorious God.