# Reading plans vs. Large portions



## hdnesbit (Jul 27, 2016)

Hello all

I am interested in your feedback on the advantages/disadvantages of both following a bible reading plan (such as M'Cheyne, or OT, NT, Psalm, etc.) vs. reading whole books in one sitting, or at least large portions.

So, for those who do either one or the other, how have you seen this affect your understanding, growth in intimacy with the Lord, etc.

Also, has anyone incorporated both? For instance, following a plan, but reading whole books at another time in addition to the plan as you feel like it?

Thoughts welcome.


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## mgkortus (Jul 27, 2016)

I have only recently made it a practice to regularly read large portions of Scripture in single sittings. I have found this to be very helpful and would recommend it to everyone. For example, by reading an entire NT epistle at once, the major themes really stand out. Right now Im reading through Acts several chapters at a time - the history has never made more sense to me. Overall, this method enables me to understand the flow and progression of Scripture. 

In addition to reading through blocks of Scripture each day, I also try to digest slowly [WIKI][/WIKI]a few verses for my devotions. For this, I typically read from the Psalms, spending time to meditate on each verse, even if it means that I get through only a handful of verses. 

The combination of reading through large portions and meditating on a few verses has proved very beneficial for my spiritual health.


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## hdnesbit (Jul 27, 2016)

mgkortus said:


> I have only recently made it a practice to regularly read large portions of Scripture in single sittings. I have found this to be very helpful and would recommend it to everyone. For example, by reading an entire NT epistle at once, the major themes really stand out. Right now Im reading through Acts several chapters at a time - the history has never made more sense to me. Overall, this method enables me to understand the flow and progression of Scripture.
> 
> In addition to reading through blocks of Scripture each day, I also try to digest slowly [WIKI][/WIKI]a few verses for my devotions. For this, I typically read from the Psalms, spending time to meditate on each verse, even if it means that I get through only a handful of verses.
> 
> The combination of reading through large portions and meditating on a few verses has proved very beneficial for my spiritual health.



That's great advice. I've received similar advice from many respected men in my life. I do have a question for you, though. When you're doing these two types of reading, are they at separate times? For instance, do you read and meditate on the Psalms in the morning, and do more extended reading in the evening? Or do you meditate on a few verses, then switch over to larger portions? I'm working through this balance right now in the midst of other required readings throughout the day for seminary, etc.

Thanks!


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## bookslover (Jul 27, 2016)

Reading larger chunks of Scripture at one sitting is definitely beneficial. For one thing, it means you're reading the Bible the way you'd read any other book. After all, you wouldn't read a novel one paragraph or one sentence at a time.

Both ways of reading Scripture are beneficial, both are legitimate, and both are spiritually profitable.


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## JimmyH (Jul 27, 2016)

After reading that Martyn Lloyd-Jones did the M'Cheyne Bible reading plan for 53 years I determined to do it. Did the AV last year, and I'm working through the 1599 Geneva this year. Last year was the very first time I read every word in the Bible. Previously I had read the NT many times, bits and pieces of the OT as well, but never all of it.

I have read large portions of Scripture in the past, particularly the Gospels and epistles. One criticism of that approach is that we tend to read, and reread, our favorite books. In my experience there is something to that. Before the M'Cheyne plan I had not re-read Numbers or Leviticus for pleasure, or devotion. 

One of the most profitable methods I found for Bible reading is that of John MacArthur. Begin with 1John and read it every day for a month. The next month the Gospel of John broken up into thirds. Read the first third for a month, followed by the next two thirds one per month. 

At the conclusion of that period choose a short NT book and read it every day for a month. Then a longer book, split into thirds, or halves depending on the length, alternating short, long, short long. 

At the same time beginning in Genesis read 20 minutes a day in the OT. He also recommends using 3x5 index cards and writing an outline of each chapter as you go. A lot of work, and I confess I wasn't always faithful to that method, but it is a good one for someone devoted enough to continue with it.

One more point relative to my personal Bible study, I found in reading the M'Cheyne plans one chapter at a time, that I focus on the text more than when I read large portions. Less of the tendency for the mind to wander.


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## hdnesbit (Jul 27, 2016)

bookslover said:


> Reading larger chunks of Scripture at one sitting is definitely beneficial. For one thing, it means you're reading the Bible the way you'd read any other book. After all, you wouldn't read a novel one paragraph or one sentence at a time.
> 
> Both ways of reading Scripture are beneficial, both are legitimate, and both are spiritually profitable.




Thanks for this advice - great point that we need both "slow" and fast reading to get the most out of our Bible reading. Let me make my question clearer: I'm interested in how you go about the fast reading; namely, is it by reading large portions or by using a plan.

For instance, I'm memorizing Psalms for the "slow", meditative reading
And then I'm deciding between doing my fast reading by way of a plan like M'Cheyne's or simply reading large portions or books at a time. 

Thanks


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## Pilgrim (Jul 27, 2016)

Both of them are certainly legitimate. One possible "danger" of reading larger portions is a tendency to say "I'm too busy today, I'll get to it later" and not be in the Word as regularly as one would like. 

An advantage of M'Cheyne (or Horner for those who can read 10 chapters per day) is that it has you reading from several parts of Scripture daily as opposed to spending all of one's time in the Psalms, the Gospels, the Epistles and so on. As Jimmy noted, that is a danger if you are not reading with a systematic plan, even if the plan is starting from Gen 1 and Matt 1 and working your way through the Bible. 

Perhaps a good balance is to follow something like M'Cheyne daily and supplement it with reading large portions on the Lord's Day and otherwise as able.


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## RamistThomist (Jul 27, 2016)

Of interest is that Thomas Torrance also did M'Cheyne's plan.

I've done both and both work. The drawback with the M'Cheyne type plan is that you can often miss the narratival flow. The drawback with the huge chunks approach is that it is hard to be systematic about it.


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## Toasty (Jul 27, 2016)

If you are reading a narrative, it would be a good idea to read it frequently. If you stop in the middle of a narrative and take a long break, you might forget what you were reading about when you resume reading.

You can read one book of the Bible at a time or read all of the texts that pertain to a particular topic.


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## GulfCoast Presbyterian (Jul 27, 2016)

I have been doing the Prof. Horner plan for several years. It takes a while to read 10 chapters everyday, but I have found it to be profitable. It is the one "plan" I have stuck with for multiple years, instead of lots of "starts and stops."


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## Dekybo (Jul 27, 2016)

I am the type of man to prefer a plan. I have made my own though reading through the bible 4 times a year. There are 1189 chapters in Scripture. Doing the math that equates to 13 or 14 chapters a day depending on the months.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Jul 27, 2016)

When I became a Christian I took the following passage to be very important. 


> (Joh 15:3) Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.



I was so evil and needed to renew my mind that I just wanted to be clean. I would get off my duty and go to my barracks and read because I believed that that my mind and life needed a cleansing. I also read and memorized a lot of passages during that time because I was involved with a group called the Navigators. I think I read the whole Old Testament in three Months in the NIV translation. Now I know that I lifted that passage out of context. But I wanted to be clean. I experienced a lot of mind renewal during that time. I received an over all view of the Scriptures that helped me with understanding things in context. So I have always encouraged younger Christians to plow their way through the whole Bible Book by Book first. It was truly cleansing for me.


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## hdnesbit (Jul 27, 2016)

ReformedReidian said:


> Of interest is that Thomas Torrance also did M'Cheyne's plan.



Interesting! Do you have a reference for this info?


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## johnny (Jul 28, 2016)

PuritanCovenanter said:


> I received an over all view of the Scriptures that helped me with understanding things in context.



I have listened to the bible on headphones for around five to six hours every working day and have done so now for over ten years, I have the chapters on shuffle and I'm quite used to it moving around everywhere. When I was a driver I used to leave it on in the car, now that I work in a cold room, I have an iPod inside my beanie with headphones stitched in. I'm at the stage now that when I go on holidays, I get withdrawal symptoms and don't function well. Recently I tried to learn the Shorter Catechism on my headphones but I had to stop since it was eating into my bible listening time. 

I have always been a bit eccentric so this kind of suits my personality, I'm not recommending it for everyone, in fact, I think I am a bit crazy. I took up this habit for roughly the same reasons that Martin suggested. The listening part is easy compared to the application.


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## TylerRay (Jul 28, 2016)

The great disadvantage of following a plan with assigned daily readings is that you end up playing catch-up if you ever miss a reading. For my own part, I have never gone a year without missing a bible reading. Although I appreciate tenacious and systematic methods of bible reading, I cannot live up to the perfection that a plan calls for, and trying to catch up tends to ruin the spirit of worshipful reading.

Instead, I prefer a regular, systematic practice of reading about 75 verses of the Old Testament and one chapter of the New Testament a day. The average chapter size in the Old Testament is 25 verses, so reading about 75 verses a day will be about three chapters. I always stop at the end of a chapter, even if it gives me 70 or 85 verses. Sometimes 75 verses can be covered with only one or two chapters, and sometimes it will take several. The average length of a NT chapter is 30 verses.

This plan will get the reader through the Old Testament in about 10 months, and the New Testament in about 8.5 months. So, one may read through the entirety of the Bible in less than a year, and still have space


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## RamistThomist (Jul 28, 2016)

hdnesbit said:


> ReformedReidian said:
> 
> 
> > Of interest is that Thomas Torrance also did M'Cheyne's plan.
> ...



He mentions it in a lecture called "Theological Instinct." PM me. People get nervous when I link Torrance stuff.


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## mgkortus (Jul 28, 2016)

hdnesbit said:


> mgkortus said:
> 
> 
> > I have only recently made it a practice to regularly read large portions of Scripture in single sittings. I have found this to be very helpful and would recommend it to everyone. For example, by reading an entire NT epistle at once, the major themes really stand out. Right now Im reading through Acts several chapters at a time - the history has never made more sense to me. Overall, this method enables me to understand the flow and progression of Scripture.
> ...



Typically, these are at different times. I will read a long portion in one sitting and meditate on a few verses in another sitting. These days, I have been reading a longer portion after work or before bed and I try to meditate on a few verses in the morning. However, if I fail to do so in the morning, I will read at that earliest convenience. 

One thing worth noting though - if you find a verse that strikes you while you are reading through long sections of the Bible, dont hesitate to slow down and spend time on that one verse. So in practice, you could combine the two methods in a single sitting. As you read a large portion of Scripture, make note of any verses catch your attention and then come back to them when you are done. 

Regarding the intake of large chunks of Scripture. I do not follow a plan. I agree with Tyler in that having a plan often leaves one with the feeling of being behind. There are some days that my "large portion" is only a chapter... and that is okay. For on other days, my large portion will be several chapters or an entire book.


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## mgkortus (Jul 28, 2016)

johnny said:


> PuritanCovenanter said:
> 
> 
> > I received an over all view of the Scriptures that helped me with understanding things in context.
> ...



I have just recently started listening to Scripture in large chunks while Im doing monotonous tasks. However, I cannot say I do this regularly since I still thoroughly enjoy sermons and podcasts during such periods of time. Nevertheless, I do recommend the practice since I have found it very beneficial the few times I have done so.


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