Daily Bible Readings


"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."
Psalm 119:105

No matter how busy you are, taking time to spend in the Word of God and in prayer is time more than well spent. A stumbling block for so many women, however, is found in where to start. I would like to help you to develop a habit of reading your Bible daily through the use of a reading plan developed by a pastor named Robert Murray M’Cheyne over 150 years ago.

I learned about this read-through-the-Bible plan from a pamphlet from "The Banner of Truth Trust" that our pastor gave out to the congregation of my church several years ago, and I have been using the plan for several years as a guide for my daily Bible study.

Quoting from the pamphlet, published by The Banner of Truth Trust:
"Robert Murray M'Cheyne's 'Calendar for reading through the Bible in a year' was originally intended for the use of his own congregation at St. Peter's in Dundee. Writing at the end of 1842, about three months before his death, he tells his flock, 'It has long been in my mind to prepare a scheme of Scripture reading, in which as many as were made willing by God might agree, so that the whole Bible might be read once by you in the year, and all might be feeding in the same portion of the green pasture at the same time' (Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray M'Cheyne, Andrew Bonar, Banner of Truth, p. 619). The Calendar gives four portions (usually four chapters) for each day of the year: two for family worship, morning and evening, and two for private reading, morning and evening. In this way, the entire Bible is read once and the New Testament and Psalms twice in the course of a year. M’Cheyne’s own recommendations for using the reading scheme were these:
  1. In family or group worship, the leader, for example the father, should read over the chapters in advance, noting a few prominent verses to comment or ask questions on.
  2. Sometimes the chapter for family reading is more suitable for reading in private and vice versa. Where this is so, the other reading should be substituted.
  3. The conversation at family meal times should often relate to the passage read.
  4. Our private reading should be the first thing we do in the morning. God’s voice should be the first voice we hear. We should mark two or three verses which seem richest to us and pray over them.
  5. Above all, the Word of God should be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path – our guide in perplexity, our armor in trials, our food in times of weakness.”

OK, the whole scope of this plan can seem a bit overwhelming, but really its not. If you choose not to use the readings with your family, the morning and evening Bible readings will only take about 10 minutes each (you will still read the family portions, just on your own).

Some of you may already have a family Bible study time, but it seems this once common practice has fallen by the wayside in our modern world. Taking time to share Bible readings with your family will take longer, but the rewards for spending time together as a family studing the Word of God can have eternal rewards. Talk with your husband about leading a family Bible study either in the morning or evening (or both), as he is the spiritual leader of your family. However, if he doesn't feel led to this, ask if he would like to participate if you do the readings, but no matter what, be sure to follow his lead and desires.


May you be blessed as you spend time in the Word!

There is joy on this journey, on my way home to my Father's house,
Cindy <><
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...