I remember a few years ago hearing an “expert” say that the best New Year’s resolution is not to make resolutions. In addition to the logical contradiction with that resolution, there is the problem of the sinful flesh’s desire to take the easy way out. While many New Year’s resolutions are unrealistic and can simply lead to guaranteed failure, there is certainly nothing wrong with examining oneself and thinking of ways to improve, whether physically, mentally, or spiritually, whether in terms of education, finance, professional skills, relationships, or just crossing things off the bucket list.

We have this line in our order of private confession (LSB 292) after confessing specific sins to the pastor: “I am sorry for all of this and ask for grace. I want to do better” [emphasis added].

I think this is a healthy way to look at resolutions of self-improvement: first confess, second ask for grace, and only then express the heartfelt desire for improvement. And at the end of one year and the beginning of another is as good a time as any to think about and implement personal goals. And remember, goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based. Resolving to break the world record in the 100 yard dash is probably not an achievable goal if you’re a senior citizen and overweight. Maybe a more achievable goal might be to go for a walk three days a week. Resolving to “be a kinder person” is not exactly measurable, though maybe making a commitment to call up three friends or relatives every week could be a more grounded way to increase one’s empathy and grow as a person.

When it comes to our faith, we improve by receiving the Lord’s gifts in Word and Sacrament. And to say that “we improve” is not accurate in and of itself, for it is actually the Lord who improves us, who strengthens our faith by the means of grace of His choosing. Obviously, resolving to partake of the Holy Supper each and every week barring illness or being physically unable is a worthwhile commitment to make, so that the Lord can deliver His gifts to us by our being present. But what about the means of grace of the Word of God?

Obviously, “faith comes from hearing,” and that also happens in the Divine Service. That said, reading the Scriptures and learning them, becoming fluent in them, if you will, opens us up to better hear the Word when it is proclaimed. And it goes without saying that biblical literacy is on the wane - in both society at large, and in our churches. If we are to confess sola scriptura, it makes sense that we should have a deepening understanding of the Sacred Scriptures.

I recently conducted a six-week Saturday evening mini-course based on the book 30 Days to Understanding the Bible by Max Anders. I will write more about it in a future post. Suffice it to say, I’m a fan of the book, and the class went well!

I’m also a fan of The One Year Bible. I would like to ask you to consider this resource - or one like it - to read the Scriptures through in 2022. Doing so gives you not only the entire sweep of the narrative of the Word of God, it is also both catechetical and devotional.

The OYB has the readings broken out for each day of the year from January 1 to December 31: an Old Testament reading, a New Testament reading, a Psalm reading, and a Proverbs reading. It is a nice way to divide the Scriptures for daily study and meditation. It takes only about 20 minutes a day, and at the end of the year, you will have read all of the Bible (with two trips through the Psalter). And then you start over and do it again, and again, and again, until you die.

The OYB comes in many versions, including the ESV. There is also an ESV Bible app (Apple and Google Play) that has a reading plan called “Every Day in the Word.” It is the OYB plan. If you select it, you can read the daily OYB reading on your device, and/or listen to the narration of the daily readings. Note: either they changed the app, or it has a bug, as it no longer tracks with the OYB. However, there are other one-year reading plans that can be done through the app. You can still use the OYB plan with the ESV app narrator - it just takes a little manual taps to make it work.

Here are a few additional bells and whistles that some might be interested in:

There is a OYB Roman Catholic edition that includes the Apocrypha. It’s out of print. And it isn’t the best structure, as it simply adds a very short fifth reading from the Apocrypha. That said, it can serve as a supplement to include these books in your annual scan of the Scriptures. The reading schedule can be applied using the ESV apocrypha from CPH or from Cambridge over the course of a year in conjunction with the other readings. I’m not aware of any audio narration of the ESV Apocrypha anywhere. I’m appending the Apocryphal readings from January to March and will add more as I get them.

There is a One Year Bible Companion that can be read as a supplement - which is a brief one-page Q&A of two or three questions from the text. It’s mostly good, but has some doctrinal issues here and there, so if you do read it, do so with care and discretion. There is a One Year Bible Blog that provides a forum for those interested in discussing the text. There is also at least one Facebook group for One Year Bible readers. I can’t vouch for either the blog of the Facebook group.

Students of Hebrew and/or Greek can also listen to the ESV narration and follow along in the biblical languages.

But the best thing is to make your daily reading a joy rather than a burden. The OYB and the ESV app make it easy to do. And if you start on New Year’s Day, this time next year, you’ll be within a couple days of covering the entire Bible.

Resolved: a Happy and Blessed 2022 to all of you!

Appendix: Supplemental Apocryphal Readings (thanks to their being transcribed by Grace Beane)

January 1st - Ecclesiasticus Translator's Prologue

Jan. 2 - Ecclesiasticus 1:1-10

Jan. 3 - Ecclesiasticus 1:11-32

Jan. 4 - Ecclesiasticus 1:33-40

Jan. 5 - Ecclesiasticus 2:1-10

Jan. 6 - Ecclesiasticus 2:11-17

Jan. 7 - Ecclesiasticus 2:18-23

Jan. 8 - Ecclesiasticus 3:1-10

Jan. 9 - Ecclesiasticus 3:19-26

Jan. 10 - Ecclesiasticus 3:27-34

Jan. 11 - Ecclesiasticus 4:1-11

Jan. 12 - Ecclesiasticus 4:12-22

Jan. 13 - Ecclesiasticus 4:23-36

Jan. 14 - Ecclesiasticus 5:1-10

Jan. 15 - Ecclesiasticus 5:11-18

Jan. 16 - Ecclesiasticus 6:1-4

Jan. 17 - Ecclesiasticus 6:5-17

Jan. 18 - Ecclesiasticus 6:18-32

Jan. 19 - Ecclesiasticus 6:33-37

Jan. 20 - Ecclesiasticus 7:1-24

Jan. 21 - Ecclesiasticus 7:25-30

Jan. 22 - Ecclesiasticus 7:31-39

Jan. 23 - Ecclesiasticus 8:1-8

Jan. 24 - Ecclesiasticus 8:9-22

Jan. 25 - Ecclesiasticus 9:1-13

Jan. 26 - Ecclesiasticus 9:14-17

Jan. 27 - Ecclesiasticus 9:18-25

Jan. 28 - Ecclesiasticus 10:1-5

Jan. 29 - Ecclesiasticus 10:6-28

Jan. 30 - Ecclesiasticus 10:29-34

Jan. 31 - Ecclesiasticus 11:1-6

Feb. 1 - Ecclesiasticus 11:7-17

Feb. 2 - Ecclesiasticus 11:18-36

Feb. 3 - Ecclesiasticus 12:1-7

Feb. 4 - Ecclesiasticus 12:8-19

Feb. 5 - Ecclesiasticus 13:1-11

Feb. 6 - Ecclesiasticus 13:12-18

Feb. 7 - Ecclesiasticus 13:19-24

Feb. 8 - Ecclesiasticus 13:25-32

Feb. 9 - Ecclesiasticus 14:1-10

Feb. 10 - Ecclesiasticus 14:11-21

Feb. 11 - Ecclesiasticus 14:22-27

Feb. 12 - Ecclesiasticus 15:1-6

Feb. 13 - Ecclesiasticus 15:7-10

Feb. 14 - Ecclesiasticus 15:11-22

Feb. 15 - Ecclesiasticus 16:1-6

Feb. 16 - Ecclesiasticus 16:7-15

Feb. 17 - Ecclesiasticus 16:16-23

Feb. 18 - Ecclesiasticus 16:24-31

Feb. 19 - Ecclesiasticus 17:1-8

Feb. 20 - Ecclesiasticus 17:9-20

Feb.21 - Ecclesiasticus 17:21-31

Feb.22 - Ecclesiasticus 18:1-14

Feb. 23 - Ecclesiasticus 18:15-29

Feb. 24 - Ecclesiasticus 18:30-33

Feb. 25 - Ecclesiasticus 19:1-3

Feb. 26 - Ecclesiasticus 19:4-17

Feb. 27 - Ecclesiasticus 19:18-28

Feb. 28 - Ecclesiasticus 20:1-13

March 1 - Ecclesiasticus 20:14-25

March 2 - Ecclesiasticus 20:26-33

March 3 - Ecclesiasticus 21:1-9

March 4 - Ecclesiasticus 21:10-18

March 5 - Ecclesiasticus 21:19-31

March 6 - Ecclesiasticus 22:1-13

March 7 - Ecclesiasticus 22:14-23

March 8 - Ecclesiasticus 22:24-33

March 9 - Ecclesiasticus 23:1-8

March 10 - Ecclesiasticus 23:9-20

March 11 - Ecclesiasticus 23:21-31

March 12 - Ecclesiasticus 23:32-38

March 13 - Ecclesiasticus 24:1-16

March 14 - Ecclesiasticus 24:17-31

March 15 - Ecclesiasticus 24:32-47

March 16 - Ecclesiasticus 25:1-8

March 17 - Ecclesiasticus 25:9-16

March 18 - Ecclesiasticus 25:17-36

March 19 - Ecclesiasticus 26:1-15

March 20 - Ecclesiasticus 26:16-24

March 21 - Ecclesiasticus 26:25-28

March 22 - Ecclesiasticus 27:1-4

March 23 - Ecclesiasticus 27:5-8

March 24 - Ecclesiasticus 27:9-16

March 25 - Ecclesiasticus 27:17-24

March 26 - Ecclesiasticus 27:25-33

March 27 - Ecclesiasticus 28:1-9

March 28 - Ecclesiasticus 28:10-22

March 29 - Ecclesiasticus 28:23-30

March 30 - Ecclesiasticus 29:1-17

March 31 - Ecclesiasticus 29:18-26

More to follow…