“A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.” These words were written by Robert Murray McCheyne (1813–1843), the pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Dundee, Scotland. But McCheyne also believed that any believer is an awful weapon in the hand of God. Upon taking the pastorate in Dundee - hardly an easy place to pastor - he wrote of his desire for holiness among the 4,000 souls in his parish. After observing Dundee as “a city given to idolatry and hardness of heart” he added: “Perhaps the Lord will make this wilderness of chimney-tops to be green and beautiful as the garden of the Lord, a field which the Lord hath blessed.”[i]
McCheyne preached for holiness among his people. He wanted them to be a beautiful garden sprouting up to God’s everlasting glory. But he also knew that God’s Word must do the work. This led him to devise a one-year Bible reading plan for God’s people. This plan flowed from his own committed devotional life. It consists of roughly four chapters a day for reading. Over the course of a year one reads through the Old Testament once and the New Testament and the Psalms twice. McCheyne crafted the plan by dividing it between private and family devotions, two chapters for each.
McCheyne died at the young age of 29, but his system for reading the Bible lives on. More importantly, he is probably best remembered for what his system of reading the Bible did to him personally- live a godly life. One keen admirer of his life said of him, “Perhaps M’Cheyne is chiefly remembered today for what we might call his piety, the closeness of his walk with God.”[ii]
Here are 5 reasons why you should adopt a Bible reading plan, any Bible reading plan, for 2019.
1. We are commanded in the Bible to read the Bible.
Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Life is busy and for the long list of things that never get done during the day, reading your Bible should not be one of them. In fact, far from neglecting it, we are told to meditate on it day and night. Think of Scripture as the bookends of a long day. Begin the day by reading the Bible and close the day doing the same.
William Gladstone (1809-1898), the former Prime Minister of England, was once asked what kept him so peaceful during his busy life. Gladstone replied, “At the foot of my bed, where I can see it on retiring and on arising in the morning are the words, ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.’”[iii] Isaiah 26:3 was not a bad verse for Gladstone to wake up to and go to bed by. And the Bible is full of similar truths waiting for you.
2. The Bible is the only sure light in a dark world.
The Psalmist declares to God, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”[v] The Bible is God’s compass to navigate through the labyrinth of this world. Without wisdom from above[vi], we are lost. But God’s Word not only tells us where to go, but also how to get there. In this sense, it’s more like a fancy navigational system in a new car. It gives us up to date directions on how to go where God wants us to go, not just where to go.
Someone has well said that the Bible is more up to date than tomorrow’s newspaper. Such is true. In fact, Joshua 1:8 (quoted above) says that it makes our “way prosperous” and by following it we “will have good success”. The Bible is the only sure light in this dark world.
3. All of Scripture is profitable.
We’re all guilty of reading our favorite portions of Scripture to the neglect of sections we aren’t as familiar with or simply have difficulty comprehending. But Scripture itself says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching”.[vii]
One of the benefits of a Bible reading plan is the discipline of reading through all of Scripture over the course of the year. And if you follow McCheyne’s schedule you will read through some of your favorite New Testament passages twice in one calendar year. But his plan also forces us to read passages we might not normally select on our own. Such offers great balance to our general knowledge of Scripture, and also serves to strengthen and reinforce our theology. This is important since many churches are down to offering one service a week. How on earth do we expect to grow as Christians apart from exposure to God’s Word? Can one sermon a week with one text be enough? Surely not. Bible reading plans keep us systematically and consistently in the Word of God every day. One would be hard pressed to find a legitimate argument against Christians reading the Bible every day. On the other hand, its not hard to think of several reasons why failing to read the Bible daily spells trouble.
4. It shows your children that God’s truth is important to you.
As parents, what we say and do impacts our children. But the other side of the coin is what we don’t say and don’t do also impacts our children, sometimes even more so. Do your kids see you reading your Bible? How much do they see you scrolling on your phone? Do they sense your hunger for God’s truth, your desperation to know Him and obey Him? How about family devotions? Do you have them? Why not?
There’s an entire history (we’ll save it for another time) as to why McCheyne felt the need to divide his daily reading plan into two sections, one for private devotions and one for family. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to make the observation that family worship time was important to him. Further, it was important that his congregation engage in it as well. And this comes from a man who never even married or had children!
5. God’s Word will never fail you.
The prophet Isaiah comforted God’s people with a promise from heaven where God proclaims:
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”[viii]
God’s Word will never fail you! God’s Word is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword”.[ix] You have a nuclear weapon at your disposal. But the weapon of God’s Word doesn’t destroy; it builds up. God’s Word creates new life. The apostle Peter writes to the church, “you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God”.[x] That’s why he also says, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation”.[xi]
Conclusion
If you’re reading this it’s likely that you own a Bible. Its also likely that you don’t read that Bible enough. Who among us does? Charles Spurgeon once told his congregation, “There’s enough dust on some of your Bible’s to write the word ‘damnation’.” Don’t let your Bible collect one more crumb of dust. Open it and read it. Open it and read it regularly. Open it and read it daily in 2019.
Follow this link to McCheyne’s Bible Reading Plan for 2019.
[i] Andrew A. Bonar. The Memoirs and Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne.
[ii] Paul Yeulett. Roberty Murray M’Cheyne (1813-1843): a Short Life, Long Lessons. From A lecture given at Bethlehem Evangelical Church, Port Talbot, Wales on Thursday 28 March, 2013. (https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2013/robert-murray-mcheyne-1813-43-a-short-life-long-lessons/)
[iii] William S. Sadler. The Psychology of Faith and Fear (Chicago: A.C. McClurg, 1912), 381.
[iv] Isaiah 26:3
[v] Psalm 119:105
[vi] James 3:17-18
[vii] I Timothy 3:16
[viii] Isaiah 55:10-11
[ix] Hebrews 4:12
[x] I Peter 1:23
[xi] I Peter 2:2
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