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
1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
4 And while staying1 with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with2 the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.3
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong4 he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,
“‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’;
and
“‘Let another take his office.’
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
[1] 1:4
[2] 1:5
[3] 1:14
[4] 1:18
(ESV)
It is one of the most oft quoted statements of Jesus. The setting is the Last Day. The Lord has returned and is going about separating his faithful sheep from Satan's reprobate goats. To the sheep he says:
Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25:34-36)
The sheep, unaware of the kindnesses they had shown to Jesus, are befuddled by Jesus' commendation. They ask:
When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? (Matthew 25:36-39)
Then comes Jesus' marvelous answer: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40).
What we do, we do for the Lord. This is a cornerstone of Christian theology. As Paul writes to the little church at Colosse: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord" (Colossians 3:23).
As true as it may be that as Christians, we are called to work for the Lord, there is even more to our Christian work than this. In our "Word for Today" readings, we begin studying the book of Acts. Like the gospel of Luke, which we have just finished reading, Acts too is written by Luke, a careful historian, respected doctor, and skilled rhetorician. Luke opens his second theological volume thusly:
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. (verses 1-2)
The word "began" in verse 1 has long intrigued me. What does Luke mean when he says that he has written in his gospel "about all that Jesus began to do and teach?" I've read Luke's gospel and it pretty much sums up all of Jesus' life and work - from his birth to his ascension, from his beginning to his end. What more is there to write about Jesus' work? How can Luke claim to have written only a beginning?
As we read through Acts, we quickly find our answer. Jesus' work continues through his people. Indeed, Jesus' thirty-three short years on this earth were truly only a beginning. For his work has continued through all those Christians who feed the hungry, give the thirsty something to drink, invite the stranger in, clothe the needy, and visit the prisoner. And this is the other side our Christian life. It's not just that we do things for Jesus, it's that Jesus does things through us. His work has just begun.
One of my favorite songs growing up was a 1970 hit by the brother and sister duo, the Carpenters. It was titled, "We've Only Just Begun." Originally a jingle for a bank commercial, Richard Carpenter turned it into one of the Carpenters' most successful singles. The lyrics sing of a newly wedded couple and how their life together has only just begun.
As Christians, we believe and trust that whether we are at the beginning of our earthly life or nearing our end, our life in Christ has "only just begun." Even as Jesus' incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension was only just the beginning of a mission that has continued for some 2,000 years, our temporal lives are only just the beginning of our eternal ones. And so, just as we will for all eternity, we continue our work for Jesus. And Jesus continues his work through us. And praise be to God, this is only just the beginning. There is so much more life in Christ to come, for there is an eternal life in Christ to come!
48 Then he brought me to the vestibule of the temple and measured the jambs of the vestibule, five cubits on either side. And the breadth of the gate was fourteen cubits, and the sidewalls of the gate1 were three cubits on either side. 49 The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the breadth twelve2 cubits, and people would go up to it by ten steps.3 And there were pillars beside the jambs, one on either side.
41:1 Then he brought me to the nave and measured the jambs. On each side six cubits4 was the breadth of the jambs.5 2 And the breadth of the entrance was ten cubits, and the sidewalls of the entrance were five cubits on either side. And he measured the length of the nave,6 forty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits. 3 Then he went into the inner room and measured the jambs of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the sidewalls on either side7 of the entrance, seven cubits. 4 And he measured the length of the room, twenty cubits, and its breadth, twenty cubits, across the nave. And he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”
5 Then he measured the wall of the temple, six cubits thick, and the breadth of the side chambers, four cubits, all around the temple. 6 And the side chambers were in three stories, one over another, thirty in each story. There were offsets8 all around the wall of the temple to serve as supports for the side chambers, so that they should not be supported by the wall of the temple. 7 And it became broader as it wound upward to the side chambers, because the temple was enclosed upward all around the temple. Thus the temple had a broad area upward, and so one went up from the lowest story to the top story through the middle story. 8 I saw also that the temple had a raised platform all around; the foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed of six long cubits. 9 The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits. The free space between the side chambers of the temple 10 and the other chambers was a breadth of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side. 11 And the doors of the side chambers opened on the free space, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south. And the breadth of the free space was five cubits all around.
12 The building that was facing the separate yard on the west side was seventy cubits broad, and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.
13 Then he measured the temple, a hundred cubits long; and the yard and the building with its walls, a hundred cubits long; 14 also the breadth of the east front of the temple and the yard, a hundred cubits.
15 Then he measured the length of the building facing the yard that was at the back and its galleries9 on either side, a hundred cubits.
The inside of the nave and the vestibules of the court, 16 the thresholds and the narrow windows and the galleries all around the three of them, opposite the threshold, were paneled with wood all around, from the floor up to the windows (now the windows were covered), 17 to the space above the door, even to the inner room, and on the outside. And on all the walls all around, inside and outside, was a measured pattern.10 18 It was carved of cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Every cherub had two faces: 19 a human face toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple all around. 20 From the floor to above the door, cherubim and palm trees were carved; similarly the wall of the nave.
[1] 40:48
[2] 40:49
[3] 40:49
[4] 41:1
[5] 41:1
[6] 41:2
[7] 41:3
[8] 41:6
[9] 41:15
[10] 41:17
(ESV)
After passing through the outer and inner courtyards with his angelic guide, Ezekiel finally arrived at the entrance to the temple itself. Another ten steps led him to the porch in front of the temple entrance, symbolizing the transcendent majesty of the LORD. Ezekiel was then ushered into the "nave" or the main part of the sanctuary, which was called the Holy Place. It was 70 feet long and 35 feet wide. At the front of the nave was the Most Holy Place, which was a perfect cube, 35 feet square. On each side of the temple were three stories of store rooms, 30 rooms in each story. These sat on a platform that extended out from the temple. The measurement of one hundred cubits (175 feet) repeated four times over (vv. 13-15) was a testimony to the symmetrical perfection of the new temple, which was a symbol of God's perfection. Ornate decorations covered the paneled walls inside the temple which included cherubim and palm trees. This must have been a breathtaking tour for Ezekiel, which was not yet completed, and would have offered him and his fellow exiles great hope for the promised restoration of Israel, with God once again in the midst of His people.
143:1 Hear my prayer, O LORD;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.
5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
7 Answer me quickly, O LORD!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!
I have fled to you for refuge.1
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!
11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.
[1] 143:9
(ESV)