Perhaps the whole reason that we have the notion of a “Bible reading plan” is due to a man named Robert Murray M’Cheyne (sometimes spelled McCheyne). M’Cheyne was a Scottish Presbyterian minister who devised his personal reading plan in the mid 1800’s. The plan is actually two plans in one. There are two sets of readings – one that M’Cheyne marked “family”, which were readings to read outloud with family at dinner time or some other time when everyone was together; and another marked “secret”, which were reading to read silently and independently. All together, the M’Cheyne plan gets you through the Psalms and the New Testament twice in one year, and the rest of the Bible once in one year.
You can find the M’Cheyne plan in a lot of places, but this is a helpful overview: https://bibleplan.org/plans/mcheyne/
In brief:
- Goes through the entire Bible in a year? Yes.
- Number of readings per day? Four.
- Readings mixed from Old and New Testaments? Yes.
- Average length of readings – 3-5 chapters (per day), about 20 minutes of reading out loud to read a normal day’s readings.
- Number of days per week in plan – Seven.
- Available smartphone app? Yes, you can use the “YouVersion” app and subscribe the M’Cheyne plan
- Available explanations/devotions/prayers? No.
- Available reminders? Yes. You can sign up for email reminders at the website above of the YouVersion app
The thing I like most about the M’Cheyne plan is that it is a family plan. Our girls are a little young for that right now, but the fact that there’s an allowance for this to be a communal activity as well as an independent activity means that if you start doing it with family or friends, you will be more likely to continue it.