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!
4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”1
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?2 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds3 and teachers,4 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,5 to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!—21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self,6 which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
[1] 4:8
[2] 4:9
[3] 4:11
[4] 4:11
[5] 4:13
[6] 4:22
(ESV)
E pluribus unum. "Out of many, one." If only it were true. Yes, this motto appears on our currency and on the seals of our president and vice-president. It was even the de facto motto of our country before "In God we trust" was adopted in 1956. But a perusal of a newspaper or a surf through some cable news channels quickly jars anyone who might be serenely snoring in the dust of an imaginary national unity and drags them wide awake into the harsh reality of our prevailing partisanship. E pluribus plures. "Out of many, many." We can't seem to agree on much of anything.
I suppose it was bound to happen. For trying to unify different people with different ideologies is no small feat. And even if such a conglomerate of people is unified for a time, such unity never lasts. For humans, thanks to sin, have a proclivity to fracture from each other rather than to walk with each other.
There is an old story about a man who is marooned on a desert island for nearly a decade. One day, mercifully, some rescuers finally come along. Upon arriving, the rescuers find two shacks. Thinking there is another castaway on the island, they ask the man, "Why are there two shacks? Is someone else with you?" "No," replies the man. "I sleep under the stars. The shack is where I go to church." "What about the other shack?" inquire the rescuers. "What's that for?" "Oh," replies the man with an edge of indignation in his voice, "That's where I used to go to church." E pluribus plures. It seems humans will find a way to separate from each other - even when there's only one human.
Like our nation's historic motto, the Scriptures also issue a clarion call toward unity, as can be found in today's reading from Ephesians 4: "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (verse 3). The difference between Scripture's call to unity and our nation's call to unity, however, is that whereas our nation takes the many and in vain tries to make them one, Scripture begins with the one God who then serves as the great unifier for his many people. Indeed, this is exactly how the apostle Paul delineates Christian unity in this chapter. He begins with the unity of God and his gifts:
There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (verses 4-6).
Paul uses the word "one" seven times in these verses. Thus, the things of this list, describing God and his gifts, are the hallmark, source, and sustainer of true unity. Paul then continues by explaining how this divine unity brings together the many in the body of Christ:
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (verses 11-13)
The one Christ gives gifts to his many people so that they may experience the joy and blessing of being unified by Christ. Ex uno plures. "Out of one, many." This is how true and lasting unity happens - not by taking many disparate, dissident factions and striving to unify them by human effort, but by beginning with the unified Godhead whose unity can bring even the most dis-unified people together. Praise be to God that we are one, not of ourselves, but in Christ!
6:1 “Come, let us return to the LORD;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
3 Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes early away.
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have slain them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth as the light.
6 For I desire steadfast love1 and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;
there they dealt faithlessly with me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with blood.
9 As robbers lie in wait for a man,
so the priests band together;
they murder on the way to Shechem;
they commit villainy.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.
11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.
When I restore the fortunes of my people,
7:1 when I would heal Israel,
the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,
and the evil deeds of Samaria,
for they deal falsely;
the thief breaks in,
and the bandits raid outside.
2 But they do not consider
that I remember all their evil.
Now their deeds surround them;
they are before my face.
3 By their evil they make the king glad,
and the princes by their treachery.
4 They are all adulterers;
they are like a heated oven
whose baker ceases to stir the fire,
from the kneading of the dough
until it is leavened.
5 On the day of our king, the princes
became sick with the heat of wine;
he stretched out his hand with mockers.
6 For with hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue;
all night their anger smolders;
in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7 All of them are hot as an oven,
and they devour their rulers.
All their kings have fallen,
and none of them calls upon me.
8 Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;
Ephraim is a cake not turned.
9 Strangers devour his strength,
and he knows it not;
gray hairs are sprinkled upon him,
and he knows it not.
10 The pride of Israel testifies to his face;2
yet they do not return to the LORD their God,
nor seek him, for all this.
11 Ephraim is like a dove,
silly and without sense,
calling to Egypt, going to Assyria.
12 As they go, I will spread over them my net;
I will bring them down like birds of the heavens;
I will discipline them according to the report made to their congregation.
13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
I would redeem them,
but they speak lies against me.
14 They do not cry to me from the heart,
but they wail upon their beds;
for grain and wine they gash themselves;
they rebel against me.
15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms,
yet they devise evil against me.
16 They return, but not upward;3
they are like a treacherous bow;
their princes shall fall by the sword
because of the insolence of their tongue.
This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
(ESV)
God never punishes sin out of meanness or vengeance. His purposes are always good and His desire is always for our welfare. Thus, God's people can say: "Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up." Their expectation was that revival would come after only a short period of time (... after two days... on the third day... ) just as surely as the rains return in their season. God, however, viewed their repentance as short-lived, like the morning dew. God's desire was for "steadfast love" and a personal "knowledge of God" rather than outward acts of repentance like sacrifice or burnt offerings. Israel's guilt was like Adam's. They broke the covenant without any reason. From the time they entered the Promised Land they established cities of "evildoers" and even the priests had blood on their hands. Even on their way to Shechem, where the covenant was renewed, they committed murder and defiled themselves. But God would not judge only Israel. The "harvest" of judgment would come to Judah as well, before God would "restore the fortunes" of His people. God's efforts to "heal" Israel would only reveal more "iniquity." There was a stark contrast between God's righteousness and their evil princes, for "by their evil they [Israel] make the king glad." Their desire for sin and spiritual adultery is like a "heated oven" that stays hot long after the fire ceases to be tended. As a result, they turn out like a "cake not turned," that is worthless because it is burned on one side, yet the damage goes unnoticed. Israel's pride is a witness against her, yet they refuse to repent. Like a senseless bird they flit and fly to Egypt and Assyria seeking refuge, but God promises to capture them like a fowler and discipline them, for they have strayed. Their wailing and gashing themselves is not sincere, but like the prophets of Baal, they seek only their own advantage—grain and wine for themselves. They may "return," going through the motions of repentance, but they do not turn "upward" to the Most High God. As a result, their princes will fall by the sword and they will be mocked in Egypt, from whom they sought aid.
15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.
16 The vexation of a fool is known at once,
but the prudent ignores an insult.
17 Whoever speaks1 the truth gives honest evidence,
but a false witness utters deceit.
18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
19 Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue is but for a moment.
20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
but those who plan peace have joy.
21 No ill befalls the righteous,
but the wicked are filled with trouble.
22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,
but those who act faithfully are his delight.
23 A prudent man conceals knowledge,
but the heart of fools proclaims folly.
24 The hand of the diligent will rule,
while the slothful will be put to forced labor.
25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down,
but a good word makes him glad.
26 One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor,2
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
27 Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,
but the diligent man will get precious wealth.3
28 In the path of righteousness is life,
and in its pathway there is no death.
[1] 12:17
[2] 12:26
[3] 12:27
(ESV)