Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll once said, “If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else day in and day out.” He viewed success as somehow tied to habits and personal discipline.
D.A. Carson said basically the same thing about spiritual growth, “Christians at best have saturated themselves in the Bible.”
One of the surest ways to saturate ourselves in the Bible is by following a reading plan for the year. If I did not personally follow a plan, there is no way I would grow in the Word.
The plan that I like best and have followed for well over a decade is the M’Cheyne plan. It was put together by a young Scottish pastor, Robert Murray M’Cheyne (pictured above); he simply wanted the people of his church to love God’s Word by reading it. The plan can be used either personally or as part of family devotions/discipleship—he intended both when it was put together. A helpful commentary for the daily readings by Don Carson can be found here.
M’Cheyne said that each day the first voice we need to hear is God’s. He was suggesting that early morning is the best time to devote to the Word. That may not be the best time for everyone obviously. But we will make time somewhere in our schedule for what we find most important to us. In other words, if God’s Word is a priority, we will set time to saturate ourselves in the Bible.
