When I was in my twenties, I first heard someone call attention to the fact that there are thirty-one chapters in the book of Proverbs, one for each day of the month. He made it a daily habit—in addition to his other Bible reading—to read the chapter that corresponds to the day of the month. Accepting his recommendation into my own daily Bible reading routines was one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever taken. The Lord has guided me by means of the practical wisdom of Proverbs on countless occasions.
Ten years later, I realized I could approach the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119, in a similar way, reading one of the twenty-two, eight-verse sections on each of the first twenty-two days of the month. In this way I am regularly reminded (as I was today) of the value of the Word of God and how it should be “stored up . . . in my heart” (verse 11).
About the same time, I added the book of Ecclesiastes to my Bible reading routines. These twelve chapters are very similar to Proverbs, and I began receiving the same kinds of blessings in them that I enjoyed in reading through the longer book. So, during the last week of each month, I read one or two chapters each day, finishing the book on the last day of the month.
Then after another ten years I heard someone describe the book of James as the “Proverbs of the New Testament” because of its similarities with the Old Testament wisdom literature. Since my portion of Psalm 119 consisted of only eight verses a day, after that brief passage I began turning to James and reading one paragraph there. On many mornings these daily doses of “the wisdom from above” (James 3:17), taken in bite-size chunks, have been exactly the divine nourishment my soul needed.
Before this, when I was still a full-time pastor, I developed the habit reading a chapter each day from one of the three Pastoral Epistles (that is, the letters written especially for ministers). Referring to this instruction given by God through him, the apostle Paul wrote, “Practice these things, immerse yourself in them” (1 Timothy 4:15). One of the simplest ways I’ve found of obeying this Scripture is to cycle repeatedly through the thirteen chapters of these three letters of 1–2 Timothy and Titus. There’s no reason why every minister couldn’t profit from the ongoing consideration of these God-inspired words about “how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God” (1 Timothy 3:15).
Regardless of whether you are ready to add any of these routines to your regular Bible reading schedule, they demonstrate an easy way to work much-needed books or chapters of Scripture into your soul. And if you ever find your sensitivity to one of them dulled by sheer repetition, devote that segment of your daily reading to the enjoyment of other parts of the Bible until you can return to your routine with eager eyes.
In one sense, of course, we all need all of God’s Word all the time. If, however, you perceive that one or more particular sections of Scripture would be especially beneficial for you, consider making them part of your ongoing daily Bible reading routines.
