Stone Soup for Five: The Bible reading plan I'm using for 2017

The Bible reading plan I'm using for 2017



Last year I read a biography on George Muller that deeply affected me.  It spoke of the miracles he witnessed with money coming in for the orphanage he created, about his preaching and life, but mainly I was struck by his prayer life.



George Muller was a man of prayer.

In his younger years, however, he often found his mind wandering, restless, and distracted during prayer, and it frustrated him to no end.  (Isn't it reassuring when you find out the spiritual giants of old had the same struggles we do?)  He finally found the cure was to read and meditate on the Bible first, and his prayers were a natural outflow from that.  Then a staggering fact was listed: George Muller read his Bible through, cover-to-cover, over 200 times in his lifetime.  That's reading the Bible through over twice a year, because he didn't become a believer until he was in his 20s!

--And here I thought I was doing good to have read it through cover to cover once...

I read books of the Bible, chapters, and sections multiple times a month, but to read cover-to-cover was a big undertaking that I completed in 2013...and checked that box off.  Done.  Right?

Nope.

This year I've decided to read through it again, and hopefully again each year for the rest of my life.

There are a TON of reading plans you can download all over the internet, but the one I'm using this year was recommended by a good friend, and it has a paper plan AND an amazing free app you can use.  It's put out by The Bible Project.  (Nope, I'm not being paid or an affiliate or anything, it's just a great app/program!)

It has you reading about 3 chapters a day (20-25 minutes tops), and many of the days have a video to watch explaining what you are reading.  And these videos?  They are right up my alley with fun drawings and doodles!



The plan also has a section to read and pray through the Psalms daily after you read, and I'll end up praying through the Psalms two and a half times!  I'm loving the ease of using the app and having a paper copy for when I don't want to read online.

As I'm reading from my Bible, I'm summarizing each page, just like I did in my regular Bible when I read through it.

Another great feature of the app is you can enter in the date you're starting and it will automatically keep track of what you need to read on what day, so even if you didn't start on January 1st, they've got your back!

If you're looking for a Bible reading plan to start this year, I highly recommend it.  (I'm not an affiliate, just loving it!)  You can find it by clicking here.

I'll leave you with this quote from Mr. Muller:

"Here I again ask my beloved Christian friends:  Are we really men and women who love the Word of God?  How does it stand with us in this matter?  ...How much have we been reading of the Word of God?  Have we once been reading through the whole of the Bible?  Oh! beloved in Christ, it is a matter of deep moment that we are men and women given to the reading of the Word of God--regularly reading it, consecutively reading it; but, then, we should couple with this--meditation.  Meditate, if it only be for a short time, upon only a small portion of the Word, and do this always, with reference to our own hearts."  








Bible plan I'm using for 2017--you're here
Best Books I Read in 2016
Book Stack Jan/Feb 2017

The best thing I did to grow my faith in 2016

11 comments:

  1. My mom read through the Bible every year for most of her believing, adult life. I've read through the Bible several times, and even completed reading the Bible in 90 days, which was AMAZING! But after that I didn't do much Bible reading at all. I'm trying to get back into the habit of daily Bible reading - reading through it in a year.

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    1. (that's my sister there! Emily, that is) Yes, Mom's Bible reading was something we could depend on seeing her do each morning. After she died, we found her journals were mostly just verses she was writing out, not really her thoughts. But this was her meditating on scripture. It's something I have striven to do, but have fallen behind on with the addition of children to my life. Maybe its something I can get back to this year, even if its a bit of a late start. Yes, I'm that behind in reading my email. Luckily, email isn't that important!

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  2. I love The Bible Project! When I first came across their videos I thought of your doodles! Started on Jan 1st and am excited to see this great resource being shared with your readers. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills!

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    1. Isn't it great?! I'm loving it! And I love that I can also use the paper print out to keep on track if I'm not online!

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  3. It is a great habit to get into. I grew up reading the Bible through every year as a family and it is great way to put the Bible in your head even. I am 47 now, and my family still reads it together as a family almost every night using the same Bible Reading Companion here: http://www.christadelphians.ns.ca/plans-for-bible-reading/ although we have occasionally tried other plans. What is great about this plan is seeing how connected the Bible is when you read from three different books and they contain the same thoughts. Enjoy - it is worth it.

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    1. We tried out the Bible Project Genesis videos tonight - so helpful to get a "big" picture!!

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  4. Thank you for sharing this resource!

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  5. Thank you so much for the helps you have given. I really appreciate some of the thoughtful encouragements on meditation as well. What book did you read about George Mueller that gave you some of these insights? I have read a few different biographies and am challenged each time by them.

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    1. The exact book is in the post above, but everything I've read about Mr. Muller has been encouraging, convicting, and inspiring!

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  6. I tried signing up to make sure I get the posts and a free Bible Study but it didn't go. Reviewed some of your older videos and loved them.

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