This Bible reading plan takes you through most of the Holy Scriptures each weekday of the year. Each day has three Bible readings:
You're welcome to read one, two, or all three of the readings every weekday. And if you fall behind, don't worry! You can either use the weekends to catch up or you can simply dive in to the reading for that day, even if you've missed a few days, weeks, or even months!
You can download a foldable bookmark here: 2026
19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants,1 he gave them ten minas,2 and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!3 Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”
47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.
[1] 19:13
[2] 19:13
[3] 19:17
(ESV)
This past weekend, I had the high honor of baptizing the daughter of one of my close friends after our Saturday evening service. As I look back on that evening, I once again stand amazed at the grace and salvation that God can work in even the smallest hearts and lives.
Following the baptism, I had an opportunity to chat with my buddy about how things were going with he and his family. Because of our busy schedules, we don't get to see each other very often. Indeed, the past several times we have seen each other, we have talked about the need to get together and "catch up." But we never managed to put a solid date on the calendar and, thus, never got together. But that evening, I pulled out my calendar and said to my friend, "If we don't schedule something today, we're never going to have a get together, so let's put a date on the calendar today. We need to catch up."
In our reading for today from Luke 19, Jesus is on his way through Jericho. Jericho was one of the finest cities in the ancient world, being rebuilt and remade by Herod the Great. Herod built aqueducts in the city, a fortress, a lavish winter palace for himself, as well as a hippodrome for horse and chariot races. But to engage is such ambitious building projects, Herod needed money - and lots of it. This meant that taxes in Jericho, and in all of Herod's provinces for that matter, were sky high and remained so even after his death shortly before the dawn of the first century. Enter a man named Zacchaeus.
Luke says that Zacchaeus was not only a tax collector in Jericho, he was a "chief tax collector" (verse 2). In other words, he was the head of Jericho's IRS and was also very wealthy, not so much because being a chief tax collector paid well, but because the tax collectors of his day were well-known as tax cheats. They would over-collect on taxes and then line their pockets with the excess dollars. As such, Zacchaeus was a despised and disparaged man. But even a despised and disparaged man like Zacchaeus wanted to see a revered and righteous man like Jesus. And so, Zacchaeus climbs a sycamore tree so that he can get a prime vantage point of Jesus as he passes through Jericho. But then, something completely unexpected happens: "When Jesus reached the spot [where Zacchaeus was], he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today'" (verse 5).
Interestingly, the position of the word "today" in Greek is emphatic. Jesus literally says to this tax collector, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. Today, I must stay at your house." Jesus, it seems, isn't wasting any time with Zacchaeus. He doesn't say, "We need to get together some time and catch up." No, Jesus wants to meet with Zacchaeus today. And Zacchaeus gladly welcomes him today and repents of his sin: "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount" (verse 8). Zacchaeus' encounter with Jesus has transformed him from a degenerate to a disciple. And Jesus rejoices at his transformation: "Today, salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham" (verse 9). When does this salvation come to Zacchaeus and his house? "Today," of course.
The Psalmist instructs us, "Today, if you hear God's voice, do not harden your hearts" (Psalm 95:7-8). The Hebrew word for "if" is im, an intentionally ambiguous particle mixing the contingent force of "if" with the more definite force of "when." Thus, it's not so much if you will hear God's voice today, it's that when you will hear God's voice today, you should take to heart what he says. You should believe and obey today.
So today, you have a promise that we will hear God's voice. Through the pages of his Word, in prayer, and by the whisper of his Spirit, God will speak to you today. Jesus will reside in the house of your heart today. And his salvation will come to you anew today. You see, Jesus never puts you off. He never says, "We need to get together some time." No, Jesus always wants to meet with you today. So whatever obstacle you may face, whatever challenge you may encounter, and whatever worry you may meet, Jesus will face, encounter, and meet it with you - not later, but today... and every day.
37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley;1 it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath2 to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling,3 and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.”
[1] 37:1
[2] 37:5
[3] 37:7
(ESV)
This is without a doubt the most famous passage in the entire book of Ezekiel. The vision God gave to his prophet in the valley was of a large number of very dry bones. The LORD asked Ezekiel, "Son of man, can these bones live?" It was clear that humanly speaking there was no way for these bones to live again. But Ezekiel knew that with God anything is possible, so he said, "O LORD God, you know." It undoubtedly took an act of faith for Ezekiel to prophesy to those dead, dry bones, telling them to come to life. But as Ezekiel spoke the Word of the LORD to the bones, God's Word accomplished exactly what it said, and that is always the case with God's Word. At first there was a rattling sound among the bones, then the bones began to join, bone to bone, and flesh came upon the bones to complete the human forms, but they were still not alive and breathing. God then told Ezekiel to "Prophesy to the breath," the Hebrew word breath here being ruach, which means breath or wind or spirit. This is the same word used in Genesis 2 when God created Adam out of the dust of the earth and "breathed" into his nostrils the "breath" of life and man became a living soul. As Ezekiel prophesied, the God-given life returned to the corpses, and standing on their feet they assembled together like a mighty army. God then explained to Ezekiel the miraculous sign he had just witnessed. Even though Israel believed their bones were dried up and their hopes were cut off, God would raise them up again, and bring them back to the land He promised them. The restoration of God's chosen people would be no less a miracle than what Ezekiel had just witnessed. And when God breathes new life into anyone who is dead in sin, and raises them from the dead spiritually, it is also just as great a miracle. This miraculous vision that God gave to Ezekiel, then, pointed to hope on several levels: first, the hope of a restored Israel, second the hope of a born again New Israel in the Church, and finally a resurrected body of believers who would glorify God for eternity. Thus, this most hopeful passage in Ezekiel gives hope for restoration, renewal, and resurrection.
138:1 I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.1
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.2
4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
for great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
[1] 138:2
[2] 138:3
(ESV)