“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” – Psalm 119:103
Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the Bible and it is full of verses like this one, declaring how wonderful God’s word is. This helps us know how important it is to be in His word and spread it to others. Psalm 119 can be overwhelming to read with 176 verses. However, it is broken up into 22 sets of 8 verses. Read one set a day and meditate on what that set means to you and how you can apply it to your life. You can read that day’s set anytime you are most focused, on your break at work, while you walk on the treadmill, etc. Find time to fit this into your schedule. I encourage everyone to read Psalm 119 this month.
Here are some other helpful tips to keep yourself in God’s word:
- Pick a month with 31 days and read one Proverb a day.
- Find at least one verse a week and write it down or print it from your computer. Tape that verse to the dash of your car. Not only will you see it every time you use your car, but others will also and it becomes an easy way to tell others about God.
- Highlight verses that speak to you or keep a prayer journal
- Join a small group Bible study. There are some available here or if you can lead/host one if you feel led. Please contact Rachel or Mark to get involved.
- Find a plan that works for you. I found this resource online at allaboutgod.com:Bible Reading Plan – Getting Started
Each Bible reading plan is different. They are as varied as each individual, so you have many to choose from. Consider the following options, but remember to choose one. For the effective Christian disciple, regular reading in God’s Word is not optional. It’s a necessity!
- The Chronological Plan: Read the events of the Bible in the order they occurred. There are several Chronological Bibles available online and in Christian bookstores. For a 61-day chronological plan, visit this online resource. http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/chronological.php
- The Historical Plan: Read the books of the Bible in the order in which they were written in the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek
- The Old and New Testament Combined: Read portions from both Testaments each day to see the continuing thread of Truth from Genesis to Revelation.
- Variety Plan: Read a portion each week from the Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy, Gospels, and Epistles. Learn more here. http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/biblereading-1yr.html
- From Beginning to End: Reading through the Bible from Genesis 1:1 straight through to the last page of Revelation. Stop and start as if you were reading a novel.
- The Yearly Plan: Many Bibles are available that are divided into 365 sections, allowing you to finish the Bible in one year. The 1,189 chapters in the Bible can be read in a year at a rate of 3 1/4 chapters per day. Here is an online plan. http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/comprehensive.php
- The three-year-plan: Study at a slower pace by using this online plan. http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/biblereading-3yr.html
Study the Life of Jesus: This is a 30-day plan.
http://www.biblejames.com/read-the-bible-in-30-days.php
The Blended Plan: Combine the Bible reading plans above to find the plan that works for you.
