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Introduction to

“A PLAN FOR BIBLE READING”

(A plan to read the Old Testament once and the New Testament and

Book of Psalms twice in a year- usually two O.T. and two N.T. chapters per day.)

As you begin-

  1. The reading booklet is organized in four columns, so you have four readings each day, usually about two chapters in the Old Testament and two in the New. You may want to use four permanent bookmarks to get to your places easily.
  2. You are encouraged not to use the King James Version (beautiful but obscure) or a paraphrase (The Message or The Living Bible- too dependent on one person’s interpretation.)
  3. The four daily readings can be done in the order you choose, not just left to right.
  4. If you read four chapters at a natural pace and see how long it takes you, you will have a rough idea of the time you will need daily, though chapters vary in length.
  5. Be sure to “count the cost” of doing this. When will you find enough time to read each day? Will your schedule need to change? Can you write down your plan for reading? Without a plan you may be setting yourself up for discouragement.
  6. Ask the Lord to help you. Are there other Christian friends who will pray for you?
  7. It is certainly O.K. to read ahead. Especially with some narrative passages you may want to keep going to see what happens.
  8. What if you ”fall behind”? Here are some options:
  1. Drop one column for several days and put a check in your booklet by

those chapters you missed. You don’t “owe” anyone those chapters, though you could read them later.

b. Drop a whole day or a couple of days, marking them if you choose.

c. Set aside some relaxed weekend or other time to catch up.

  1. Here is what not to do if you fall behind:
  1. Avoid your friends who are praying for you or going through the same

plan.

b. Have a crash program of speed reading.

c. Stay away from your fellowship group until you are “caught up”.

d. Quit.

10. You will be surprised at times when readings from different

parts of the Bible connect and correlate with each other.

11. If you are a note taker you may find yourself wanting to keep

notes of:

a. Important applications for you from some passages.

b. Questions you want to follow up later.

c. Verses you may want to memorize

12. Some parts of the Bible, especially psalms, were meant to be

sung, and sometimes you may want to stand up and sing

with the scripture writer.

  1. Chapter and verse divisions are handy, but they arearbitrary at times,

sometimes distracting, and vary widely inlength. Chapter divisions are

usually attributed to 13th century(A.D.) scholars; verse divisions to 15th

and 16th century scholars.

  1. Robert Murray McCheyne was a Scottish pastor who prepared

this Reading Plan for his congregation, St. Peter’s Presbyterian

Church in Dundee, to be distributed in December, 1842. He

died several months later at the age of 29. When his

biography was published after his death, his life became well-

known in Scotland. Through the biography this Reading Plan became

widely distributed, since the Plan, and the letter introducing it to his

congregation, were included there.