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
2:1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,1 who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.
14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God2 not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,3 a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,4 he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant5 must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
[1] 2:2
[2] 2:14
[3] 2:15
[4] 2:21
[5] 2:24
(ESV)
Just the second time I went riding with my friend Michael he took me up the hardest hill I've ever climbed. It's over a mile long and quite steep, reaching a 20% grade in some sections. Several months later Michael told me that he used the hill to find out who would actually become a serious cyclist. If they made it up, they would. If not, they wouldn't. I made it up, but it wasn't easy. Endurance cycling is not easy. You have to ride through fatigue and pain. You have to keep going when you feel like quitting. It's not easy, but it's worth it.
Some people have the false idea that becoming a Christian will make life easier. They think that God will solve all their problems for them and that everything will fall neatly into place in their lives. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In 2 Timothy 2:3 Paul told Timothy: "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."
The analogy that Paul makes is even better than the analogy to cycling. Soldiers know when they sign up that it isn't going to be easy. But they do believe that it will be worth it. The work they do as soldiers for their country will help keep their homeland and families secure and free. So the hardship is worthwhile.
We need to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ. Yes, we are at war against the enemy, Satan. We can expect that he will regularly attack us and make our sevice to Christ difficult and discouraging. Hardship will come our way if we faithfully serve the Lord. Even though we don't belong to this world we are in the world and the world is not our friend. Even our own flesh will battle against the Spirit as we seek to serve Christ.
If we endure hardship for the sake of Christ, however, there will be a reward. That reward will be much better than the reward of fitness that comes from being an endurance cyclist. That reward is the crown of righteousness. It is the crown of life, eternal life with Jesus Christ.
So the next time life seems extra hard, and you're wondering where God is in the hardships you are having to endure, remember that Jesus never said it would be easy, he only said it would be worth it.
17:1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, 2 while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”
5 Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,1
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
8 He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 “I the LORD search the heart
and test the mind,2
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11 Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is he who gets riches but not by justice;
in the midst of his days they will leave him,
and at his end he will be a fool.
12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O LORD, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you3 shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.
14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for you are my praise.
15 Behold, they say to me,
“Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come!”
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
You know what came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
17 Be not a terror to me;
you are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 Let those be put to shame who persecute me,
but let me not be put to shame;
let them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed;
bring upon them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!
19 Thus said the LORD to me: “Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the LORD: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.
24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the LORD, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.’”
(ESV)
The sin for which God was going to exile His chosen people was not a brief episode or an insignificant straying from the path of righteousness. God said that their sins were etched in stone using an iron chisel. They were habitual idolaters who forsook the LORD again and again. Their fate was their own fault. Furthermore, when Israel looked for help they put their trust in man, instead of in the LORD. They relied on foreign alliances for deliverance instead of repenting and trusting in God. This is a danger for all of us, because sin is a part of our very nature. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Furthermore, the LORD searches our hearts and knows the truth about our sin, better than we understand ourselves. Therefore, all those who forsake the LORD will be put to shame. Instead we need to cry out like Jeremiah: "Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise." Jeremiah also trusted the LORD to deal with his enemies. God told him to confront the people of Jerusalem concerning their sins against the Sabbath. The fact that they despised God's Sabbath command spoke volumes about their relationship with Him. Jeremiah urged the people to turn away from their selfish toiling on the Sabbath and rest in the LORD, so that He could pour out His blessings upon them. Destroying fire would engulf them, however, if they continued to despise the Sabbath day and defy God's commands. To this day, it is important for us to set aside time every week to worship the LORD and hear His Word. We do so on Sunday, the day Christ rose, but the principle is the same. We cannot afford to relentlessly pursue our own desires and neglect our relationship with God.
10 When I wept and humbled1 my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14 Deliver me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
15 Let not the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Hide not your face from your servant,
for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
20 Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
[1] 69:10
(ESV)