I read from several Bible books each day. To guide my reading I use a custom plan put together using the Bible Reading module of Logos Bible Software. Using this plan it takes six months to read the whole Bible. I have split my reading between morning and evening, usually doing it right after waking up and right before going to bed. The morning reading always comes from the Old Testament. In the evening reading I always have something from the gospels, something from the rest of the New Testament, something from Psalms, and something from Romans. Romans is a little different. It is the only book being read throughout the whole 6 month cycle, and I read through it every month. In his preface to Romans, Martin Luther recommended that every believer read Romans every day. For now I am taking that advice, though when I start my next 6 month cycle I will probably pick a different book of the Bible.

If I miss a day I always make it up next time. I don’t let myself fall behind. This means a lot of reading if I go a few days without my morning or evening reading but it keeps me focused and forces me to stay on track so that my reading plan doesn’t drift.

Christians need to read the Bible. We need to know what it says. We need to see how the pieces fit together. This is what makes consistent reading plans so important. A reading plan keeps us moving consistently through the Bible, doesn’t allow us to skip around the parts we don’t like (provided we are disciplined to reading everything listed), and ensures that our reading doesn’t drag out forever. There is something very good about taking your time to read the Bible, slowly moving through parts, letting the text sink in. But alongside that one should also be moving quicker through the whole, letting the whole thing get into our brains so that while we focus in on individual parts, the whole thing is also making an impact.

God has given us his word. He inspired his servants to put it in writing, he preserved it throughout centuries, and he speaks through it in hundreds of translations around the world. He has gone through a great deal of effort and care to get his written revelation to us. It stands as the container of the foundational truths of our faith. We don’t need to worship the Bible, we worship God who has given us his word. But the only way we know about God’s authority, the only way we know about God’s character and attributes, the only way we learn about sin and salvation, is through the word God has given to us. With such an important book given to us through so much care and effort, isn’t it worth our time? It is a sad thing that so few Christians spend much time reading the words of God.

There are several reading plans out there that might help you read:

• The ESV folks offer eight different reading plans you can follow through an RSS feed. 
• Logos Bible Software offers a free Bible reader that will help you follow a reading plan along with many other people, creating a community of people reading the same text together. 
• A quick Google search will reveal numerous sites offering Bible reading plans. One of the more popular plans is that put together by Robert Murray McCheyne.
• The Society of St. James, the group that puts out Touchstone Magazine, offers a daily devotional guide that we use in modified form with our family devotions.