At Bethlehem we close prayer week with a focus on the value of reading and memorizing Scripture in the new year. I preach on the value of God’s word and the importance of reading and memorizing the Scripture every day.

Justin Taylor has pulled together a list of possible ways to read the Bible in this new year.

I encourage everyone to take the closing days of the year to plan how you are going to read the Bible in the new year. Don’t leave it to chance. One of the main reasons we don’t read God’s word is that we don’t plan to.

This past year I used the McCheyne reading plan, reading it with the Olive Tree Software on the iPad. McCheyne takes you through the whole Bible once, and the Psalms and the New Testament twice. It was for me a rich daily feast.

We also love to recommend the Discipleship Journal Reading Plan for one main reason. Few things discourage us more from reading the Bible in a year than falling behind. This plan gives five catch up days every month. This is absolutely golden!

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. Those are the words of Jesus (Matthew 4:4).  Let’s take them seriously and live on the word every day in 2012.