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We’ve adopted a two-year Bible reading plan for 2010 and 2011 utilizing the plan developed by 19th century Scottish pastor, Robert Murray M’Cheyne. You can find the daily suggested readings here. In addition to the Bible readings, you can take advantage of the daily companion writings of D. A. Carson in his book, For the Love of God, volume 1 (2010) and volume 2 (2011), which are designed to follow M’Cheyne’s plan, and are available in the NorthCreek Bookstore.
“In no way do these pages pretend to be a commentary as that word is commonly understood. My aim is much more modest: to provide edifying comments and reflections on some part of the designated texts, and thus to encourage readers to reflect further on the biblical passages they are reading. If there is something unusual about these comments, it is that I have tried to devote at least some of them to helping the reader keep the big picture of the Bible’s ‘story line’ in mind, and to see what relevance this has for our thinking and living. In other words, although I want the comments to be edifying, this edification is not always of a private, individualized sort. My aim is to show, in however preliminary a way, that reading the whole Bible must stir up thoughtful Christians to thinking theologically and holistically, as well as reverently and humbly.
“Finally, I should venture a few practical suggestions. If you must skip something, skip this book; read the Bible instead. If you fall behind, do not use that fact as an excuse for giving up the effort until next January 1. Either catch up (by an afternoon of diligent reading, perhaps some Sunday), or skip ahead to where you should be and take up there. If your schedule allows it, set a regular time and place for your Bible reading. M’Cheyne himself wrote, ‘Let our secret reading (precede) the dawning of the day. Let God’s voice be the first we hear in the morning.’ Whether that is the best time of day for you is of little consequence; regular habits are of more importance. When you read, remember that God himself has declared, ‘This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word’ (Isa. 66:2).
“One of M’Cheyne’s abiding concerns was to encourage his people, and himself, to read the Bible. To one young man, he wrote, ‘You read your Bible regularly, of course; but do try and understand it, and still more to feel it. Read more parts than one at a time. For example, if you are reading Genesis, read a Psalm also; or if you are reading Matthew, read a small bit of an Epistle also. Turn the Bible into prayer. Thus, if you were reading the First Psalm, spread the Bible on the chair before you, and kneel and pray, “O Lord, give me the blessedness of the man; let me not stand in the counsel of the ungodly.” This is the best way of knowing the meaning of the Bible, and of learning to pray.’” – For the Love of God, by D. A. Carson
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