The Psalmist says, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). One of my prayers for 2009 is that this verse might become more and more true for all of us in Desiring God Community Church.

If we love God’s Word, we will read it; if we are to meditate on it all the day, we must memorize it. Note: reading the Bible is not the goal, but a means to achieve the goal. Memorizing Scripture, likewise, is not the goal, but an intermediate step that enables us to meditate on it.

Even loving God’s law is not the goal. The psalmist loves God’s law because it is God’s; that is, because it is God’s precious and unique revelation to us about Himself, His creation, and ourselves. We love God’s law because we love God; and we love God more when we come to know Him more and more deeply through daily reading of His revelation of Himself.

In 2008, I fell somewhat behind in my daily Bible reading; four daily readings remained the morning of December 31. I read two upon waking, and then, about 9 in the evening, left our evening festivities and read of the excellent wife in Proverbs 31, of God’s delight in those who fear Him and hope in Him (Psalm 147:10-11), and Jesus’ promise to wipe every tear from our eyes when He comes soon (Rev 21:4-8, Rev 22:20).

This morning I began once again the Bible Unity Reading Plan – reading of creation and fall (Gen 1:26-27, Gen 3:1-19) and the Word made flesh to redeem mankind and all creation from that fall (John 1:10-18).  I also rememorized this week’s Fighter Verse – first memorized in 2000 when I was resident in Minneapolis and Bethlehem Baptist began this same set of Fighter verses:

Deuteronomy 7:9:  Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

So I encourage you to begin the year by joining me in committing yourself to read the entire Bible and to memorize this entire set of Fighter Verses in 2009. Make this commitment in order that you might meditate on His Word day and night, and so know God better and love Him more. May the Word dwell in us richly, so that we rejoice in Him fully, and do all to His glory (Colossians 3:16-17).

Here is the list of Fighter Verses for this year. And below find links to some Bible reading plans that I have used (Justin Taylor has a helpful post pointing to numerous other reading plan options):

  • The Bible Unity Reading Plan: an Old and New Testament reading each day, with the longer reading following a chronological track, covering the entire Bible. I put this plan together eight years ago after being blessed mightily by reading the Bible chronologically, but not wanting to have my devotional reading only in the Old Testament for three-quarters of the year.
  • The Bible Unity Reading Plan, Original Languages: The Bible Unity Plan is set up for those reading in English. For those who want to read the entire New Testament in Greek, the selections in that plan in October and November from Luke and Acts are too long. So a few years ago I modified that plan, taking account of the relative difficulty of the Greek in different New Testament books. This is the plan I’ve used the last several years (though last year, after getting behind, I switched to English. In 2009 I plan to read the entire New Testament in Greek. Please spur me on by asking how it is going.)
  • The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan, covering the entire Bible with four readings each day: Gospels, other New Testament, wisdom literature, other Old Testament. (Edit 19 Jan: If you use this plan, check out this blog which posts the readings daily and adds excerpts from sermons or devotional material on the topics.)

Pick a plan. Ask others to hold you accountable. Find someone else using the same plan and regularly discuss what you are reading. Know God better. Love Him more. Live for Him more fully. And delight in Him above all else.

 

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