30 Day Bible Reading Tracks

                Periodically I publish different ways of dividing one's daily Bible reading to encourage people to read the Scriptures more thoroughly and effectively. Most people who have heard (or read) me teach on personal Bible reading know I am an advocate for reading the Psalms and Proverbs every month. This reading scheme is built with that discipline in mind. Whereas in the past I have developed plans for reading the entire Bible in just 30 days, that pace is not possible for many people and not sustainable for most. This handout divides the canon into multiple 30 day tracks, allowing the Bible reader to decide how often he wishes to survey the entire Bible and giving him a simple scheme for doing so. I hope some will find it interesting and helpful. –JME

30 Day Bible Reading Tracks

30 Day Schedules for Bible Reading
Opt 1	Jan, May, Sep	Feb, Jun, Oct	Mar, Jul, Nov	Apr, Aug, Dec	Odd Months	Even Months	Every Month
Opt 2	Jan, July	Feb, Aug	Mar, Sep	Apr, Oct	May, Nov	June, Dec	Every Month
Opt 3	Jan, July	Feb, Aug	Apr, Oct	May, Nov	Mar, Sep	Jun, Dec	Every Month
Day	OT 1	OT 2	OT 3	OT 4	NT 1	NT 2	Psalms & Proverbs
1	Ge. 1-7	Jos. 1-6	1Chr. 25-29	Jer. 1-5	Mt. 1-3	Ac. 1-6	Ps. 1-5, Pr. 1
2	Ge. 8-14	Jos. 7-12	2Chr. 1-6	Jer. 6-10	Mt. 4-6	Ac. 7-12	Ps. 6-10, Pr. 2
3	Ge. 15-21	Jos. 13-18	2Chr. 7-12	Jer. 11-15	Mt. 7-9	Ac. 13-18	Ps. 11-15, Pr. 3
4	Ge. 22-28	Jos. 19-24	2Chr. 13-18	Jer. 16-20	Mt. 10-12	Ac. 19-24	Ps. 16-20, Pr. 4
5	Ge. 29-35	Jdg. 1-5	2Chr. 19-24	Jer. 21-25	Mt. 13-15	Ac. 25-28	Ps. 21-25, Pr. 5
6	Ge. 36-42	Jdg. 6-12	2Chr. 25-30	Jer. 26-30	Mt. 16-18	Rm. 1-8	Ps. 26-30, Pr. 6
7	Ge. 43-50	Jdg. 13-17	2Chr. 31-36	Jer. 31-35	Mt. 19-22	Rm. 9-16	Ps. 31-35, Pr. 7
8	Ex. 1-6	Jdg. 18-21	Ezr. 1-6	Jer. 36-40	Mt. 23-25	1Co. 1-7	Ps. 36-40, Pr. 8
9	Ex. 7-12	Ruth 1-4	Ezr. 7-10	Jer. 41-45	Mt. 26-28	1Co. 8-16	Ps. 41-45, Pr. 9
10	Ex. 13-18	1Sa. 1-5	Neh. 1-7	Jer. 46-50	Mk. 1-3	2Co. 1-7	Ps. 46-50, Pr. 10
11	Ex. 19-24	1Sa. 6-10	Neh. 8-13	Jer. 51-Lam. 5	Mk. 4-6	2Co. 8-9	Ps. 51-55, Pr. 11
12	Ex. 25-30	1Sa. 11-15	Est. 1-10	Eze. 1-8	Mk. 7-9	2Co. 10-13	Ps. 56-60, Pr. 12
13	Ex. 31-36	1Sa. 16-20	Job 1-14	Eze. 9-16	Mk. 10-12	Gal. 1-6	Ps. 61-65, Pr. 13
14	Ex. 37-40	1Sa. 21-25	Job 15-21	Eze. 17-24	Mk. 13-16	Eph. 1-6	Ps. 66-70, Pr. 14
15	Le. 1-7	1Sa. 26-31	Job 22-26	Eze. 25-32	Lk. 1-3	Php. 1-4	Ps. 71-75, Pr. 15
16	Le. 8-14	2Sa. 1-6	Job 27-31	Eze. 33-40	Lk. 4-6	Col. 1-4; Phm.	Ps. 76-80, Pr. 16
17	Le. 15-21	2Sa. 7-12	Job 32-37	Eze. 41-48	Lk. 7-9	1Th. 1-5	Ps. 81-85, Pr. 17
18	Le. 22-27	2Sa. 13-18	Job 38-42	Dan. 1-6	Lk. 10-12	2Th. 1-3	Ps. 86-90, Pr. 18
19	Nu. 1-6	2Sa. 19-24	Eccl. & SoS	Da. 7-12	Lk. 13-15	1Tim. 1-6	Ps. 91-95, Pr. 19
20	Nu. 7-12	1Ki. 1-7	Is. 1-6	Hos. 1-7	Lk. 16-18	2Tim. 1-4	Ps. 96-100, Pr. 20
21	Nu. 13-18	1Ki. 8-14	Is. 7-12	Hos. 8-14	Lk. 19-21	Tit. 1-3	Ps. 101-105, Pr. 21
22	Nu. 19-24	1Ki. 15-22	Is. 13-18	Joel – Amos	Lk. 22-24	Heb. 1-7	Ps. 106-110, Pr. 22
23	Nu. 25-30	2Ki. 1-6	Is. 19-24	Obad. – Jonah	Jn. 1-3	Heb. 8-13	Ps. 111-115, Pr. 23
24	Nu. 31-36	2Ki. 7-12	Is. 25-30	Micah	Jn. 4-6	Jas. 1-5	Ps. 116-120, Pr. 24
25	De. 1-6	2Ki. 13-18	Is. 31-36	Nahum – Hab.	Jn. 7-9	1Pe. 1-5	Ps. 121-125, Pr. 25
26	De. 7-12	2Ki. 19-25	Is. 37-42	Zeph. – Hag.	Jn. 10-12	2Pe. 1-3	Ps. 126-130, Pr. 26
27	De. 13-18	1Chr. 1-6	Is. 43-48	Zech. 1-8	Jn. 13-15	1Jn. 1-5	Ps. 131-135, Pr. 27
28	De. 19-24	1Chr. 7-12	Is. 49-54	Zec. 9 – Mal.	Jn. 16-18	2Jn., 3Jn., Jude	Ps. 136-140, Pr. 28
29	De. 25-30	1Chr. 13-18	Is. 55-60	---	Jn. 19-21	Rev. 1-11	Ps. 141-145, Pr. 29
30	De. 31-34	1Chr. 19-24	Is. 61-66	---	---	Rev. 12-22	Ps. 146-150, Pr. 30-31

Five Books Every Christian Should Read

It is important to read good books. Some of you may not like reading at all, or you may only enjoy reading things that are light, easy to understand, and entertaining. That is okay. The Bible does not say you must read heavy, hard to understand books to go to heaven. But good books challenge our thinking and expand our horizons in ways that no other form of media ever can. Good books are those that are worth reading and thinking through more than once, books that help us ask better questions, books that excite our imagination and help us to think carefully and clearly. Which books belong on such a list is, admittedly, subjective, but here are five books I think every Christian, young or old, simple or sophisticated, would benefit from reading…more than once.

1) Knowing God by J. I. Packer

This new classic will help you think more carefully, deeply, and biblically about the God who has revealed Himself in creation, canon, and Christ.

2) The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

Okay, this is cheating. The Chronicles are seven books, but Lewis’s series will capture your imagination as few other writers can.

3) The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis

This little book presents a helps us think about the eternal consequence of human choice and the awesome reality of both Heaven and Hell.

4) The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

Bunyan’s allegory of the Christian life is food for the soul. You may find it easier to read in a modern English version the first time.

5) The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

This is a powerful, historical account of Corrie’s experience hiding Jews during WWII and being sent to Nazi concentration camps. This may seem an odd choice for a Top 5 list, but I find myself frequently referring to it and recommending it when counseling and discipling others.

            These are not necessarily my favorite books, and many others could be added or substituted on the list. But these are the five I most often recommend, those I often return to in my own library. They cannot compare to the importance of Scripture, but next to the Bible these may be some of the most important books you will ever read. –JME

Trust...But Verify

This Lord's Day I will begin preaching through Romans 14, but this is not the first time I have tackled this text as a preacher. I first preached on Romans 14 around 1999 or 2000, and I have taught the text in sermons or Bible classes probably around a dozen times since then. You might assume I know this passage so well that there is little new for me to discover. But this week I found something new in the very first verse.

I had never studied Greek or Hebrew when I entered full-time ministry in 1998. My ability with the biblical languages was limited to Strong’s Concordance and a Vine’s or Thayer’s Lexicon. I did the best I knew to do at the time (that’s all I am doing now, I just have a few more tools and a lot more experience), but of course, I made a lot of mistakes. For example, I taught for years that the definite article (the) was absent in the Greek text of Romans 14:1 in describing faith. This was not a big deal since the presence or absence of the article is not conclusive in Greek (as it can be in English). In fact, I (correctly) taught that the passage was referring to a man weak in his understanding of the faith, specifically the extent of liberty in Christ. But imagine my surprise while reading Romans 14:1 in Greek when I stumbled upon a little word: th| (the) faith. It was there all along (often untranslated), so why hadn’t I noticed?

The reason I never noticed that little article is that I had never carefully read the verse in Greek. Even once I learned how, I did not always go back to re-read, re-study, and re-vise my understanding of Bible verses in light of what additional study might uncover. I heard (and read) preachers and commentators confidently affirm that the article was absent in Greek, and I didn’t know any better at the time. My mistake was not in what I did not know; my mistake was repeating and taking for granted something someone else said, something I could not verify and yet confidently affirmed as if I could.

The moral of this little story is: always check what the text says, and always be willing to re-read, re-study, and re-vise your understanding of Scripture upon further, careful examination. Don’t assume that what you’ve been taught or assumed is accurate. In this case, the error I made was relatively minor. But all of us are susceptible to making much greater mistakes, assuming things a pastor or teacher told us is true, without ever doing the careful work of Bible study for ourselves. –JME