To know God's love, to show God's love

Possibly the most famous Bible reading plan is the one drawn up by Robert Murray M’Cheyne in the 19th century.

What provides is simply an entry for every date in the year. Each day has four separate readings from different parts of the Bible. In total it, in a single year, takes you through the New Testament and Psalms twice, and the Old Testament once. Why the New Testament twice? Probably because the New Testament is half the length of the Old Testament.

It takes the form of two Old Testament sections, one Psalm, and one New Testament section each day. One of the advantages is that you mix the more difficult books with something easier to get through: so, in the early chapters of Leviticus, you’re also reading Proverbs and Colossians. The downside is that chopping and changing may prevent you completely immersing yourself in the text.

It’s also fixed to the calendar, if you miss a day you might try to read two, or you just jump to the day’s reading. However M’Cheyne did this deliberately because he prepared the plan for his whole church to read together, so that the whole congregation would be reflecting on the same passage each day. And there’s immense power in this. As you try to develop a habit of Bible reading consider partnering with one or two others to read the Bible together.

Don Carson has a version that takes two years and most days you’ve have one OT passage and one NT passage.