Let 2016 Be the Year You Read the Bible
Christian persecution has accelerated exponentially in parts of the word and has emerged as a political weapon here in the United States despite our first amendment protections guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Over the years, I have met Christians, or people who profess to be Christians, who are ignorant of what the Bible states or how it can still apply in our lives today. There are also political leaders who enjoy misquoting the Bible for the purpose making their point. There are also forces, both in and out of the political sphere who would like ban the Bible, not only from the public forum, but from our society altogether. While we still enjoy this freedom, let’s take every advantage to illuminate ourselves with the wisdom of God’s Holy Word.
Most Bible studies are simplistic in design. They mainly ask the reader to read three chapters from the Old Testament and one chapter from the New Testament each day for all 365 days of the year. As a mathematician and a Christian, I wanted to design a program of Bible reading that shows how the harmony of the Bible and how its different parts are interconnected. The program listed below attempts to show this harmony. There are portions of the Gospels that are identical or close to identical. This is also true of the Old Testament histories along with portions of the major prophets. The program below is the result years of Bible reading trying to find those sections that have a common theme. I also tried to design a program that goes in chronological order from creation until Christ wipes away our last tear. Depending on your reading ability, an average day’s reading should take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.
A debate might arise as to which translation you should read. I only advise that you read a translation that is as true to the original manuscripts as possible and in a version that is easy for you to read. Many good men were martyred to create a version of the Bible for the people to read. So I only advise that you not let these scholar’s efforts not be in vain and select a true translation that will allow you to have optimal understanding of its wisdom.
Finally, I know this program is not perfect because it is the result of human effort. I welcome any constructive criticism that can make this program better. May the Holy Spirit give you wisdom to those of you who commit to this program for a year.
January
1: John 1:1-14; Genesis 1, 2; Psalms 104, 8, 148, 100
2: Revelation 12:7-9; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Psalm 19; Genesis 3:1-20
3: Genesis 3:16-End, 4, 5; I Chronicles 1:1-4
4: Genesis 6, 7, 8; Psalm 29
5: Genesis 9
6: Genesis 10, 11; I Chronicles 1:5-27
7: Genesis 12, 13, 14
8: Genesis 15, 16, 17
9: Genesis 18, 19, 20, 21
10: Genesis 22; John 3:16-21
11: Genesis 23, 25:1-18; I Chronicles 1:28-34
12: Genesis 24, 26:1-33
13: Genesis 25: 19-End, 26: 34-End, 27, 28
14: Genesis 29, 30; I Chronicles 2:1-2
15: Genesis 31, 32, 33, 36; I Chronicles 1:35-End
16: Genesis 34, 35, 38; I Chronicles 2:3-4
17: Genesis 37, 39, 40, 41
18: Genesis 42, 43, 44, 45
19: Genesis 46:1-27; I Chronicles 2:3-9, 4:1-8 & 24-26, 5:1-5, 6: 1-3 & 16-24, 7:1-26, 8:1-3, Genesis 46:28-End, 47:1-27
20: Genesis 47:28-End, 49, 49, 50
21: Job 1, 2, 3; Psalm 88
22: Job 4, 5, 6, 7; Psalm 39
23: Job 8, 9, 10
24: Job 11, 12, 13, 14
25: Job 15, 16, 17
26: Job 18, 19
27: Job 20, 21
28: Job 22, 23, 24
29: Job 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
30: Job 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37
31: Job 38, 39, 40, 41, 42
February
1: Exodus 1, 2, 3, 4
2: Exodus 5, 6, 7:1-13
3: Exodus 7:14-End, 8, 9, 10, 11
4: Psalm 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118; Exodus 12, 13
5: Psalm 91; Exodus 14; Psalm 66; Exodus 15:1-21
6: Exodus 15:24-End, 16, 17
7: Exodus 18, 19, 20
8: Exodus 21, 22, 23, 24
9: Exodus 25, 26, 27
10: Exodus 30, 31, 32, 33; Psalm 92
11: Exodus 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40
12: Exodus 28, 29, 39; Leviticus 8, 9, 10
13: Leviticus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
14: Leviticus 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
15: Leviticus 16, 17
16: Leviticus 18, 19, 20
17: Leviticus 21, 22
18: Leviticus 23, 24, 25
19: Leviticus 26, 27
20: Numbers 18, 19
21: Numbers 1, 2
22: Numbers 3, 4
23: Numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, 15
24: Numbers 9, 10, 11
25: Numbers 12, 13, 14, 16; Psalm 77; Numbers 17
26: Numbers 20, 21; Psalm 135
27: Numbers 22, 23, 24
28: Numbers 27, 36