Recommendations for Resolutions

Last Sunday at church we looked at the historical reliability of the Bible. The Bible better be true, because we are called to believe big things and set the course of our lives by them. But believing the Bible is true doesn't do us any good if the scriptures stay on the shelf.

So if you are going to make any New Year's resolutions at all, please make feeding daily on God's word one of them. Here are a few Bible reading plans from the ESV website for you to consider. Find one that works for you!

• Daily Light on the Daily Path. For over a century, Daily Light on the Daily Path has been a favorite devotional book of those who realize the tremendous benefit of reading and praying Scripture. Originally printed in the mid-1800s, Daily Light was born out of the devout faith of Samuel Bagster, a British bookstore owner determined to share his faith with his twelve children. The Bagsters' daily practice of reading Scripture together, then connecting the day's verses with other passages, inspired one of the children to compile their devotions for publication. The family discussed and prayed over the selection and arrangement of each verse until they were convinced that no further improvement could be made. After two years of prayer and consideration, the devotions were printed in two volumes for morning and evening reading.
  
• Every Day in the Word. The popular reading plan features a reading from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs each day. This plan divides the text into 365 sections, so you can read through the entire Bible in one unforgettable year—in as little as 15 minutes a day. In one year, you read the Old Testament, New Testament, and Proverbs once, and the Psalms twice.
  
• One-Year Tract Bible Reading Plan. This plan is based on the M'Cheyne reading system, featuring four different readings for use in both family and personal devotions. Each day has two passages from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and one from either the Psalms or the Gospels. In one year, you read the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice.
  
• Through the Bible in a Year. The online version of the popular tract. Each day includes a reading from the Old Testament and New Testament. Starting in Genesis and Matthew, the readings continue sequentially—over the course of a year, you never read the same passage twice.
  
• Book of Common Prayer Daily Office Lectionary. This plan follows the Daily Office Lectionary found in The Book of Common Prayer (1979) used worldwide by Anglicans and Episcopalians.
  
• Daily Reading Bible. Follows the reading plan found in the ESV Daily Reading Bible. Each day has one Old Testament reading, one New Testament reading, and one reading from the Psalms. You read the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice over a year.
  
• Chronological. Read the events of the Bible as they occurred chronologically. For example, the Book of Job is integrated with Genesis because Job lived before Abraham. This reading plan is copyright Back to the Bible.
  
• Literary Study Bible. Readings every day from the Psalms and Wisdom Literature, Pentateuch and History of Israel, Chronicles and Prophets, and Gospels and Epistles.
  
• ESV Study Bible. Readings every day from the Psalms and Wisdom Literature, Pentateuch and History of Israel, Chronicles and Prophets, and Gospels and Epistles.