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!
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1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship1 from God that is by faith. 5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.
8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers,2 liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound3 doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.4 Amen.
18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
[1] 1:4
[2] 1:10
[3] 1:10
[4] 1:17
(ESV)
The bicycle is one of the most magnificent machines ever invented. It is one of the most efficient means of transportation ever devised. With very little effort on a good bicycle, a cyclist can proceed at three times the speed he could by running. It's quite safe compared to a skate board, having handlebars for steering and brakes for stopping. But suppose for a moment that I were to climb on my bike backwards, sit on the handlebars and hold on to the seat and pedal. What would be the result? If you're thinking "disaster" you're on the right track.
Paul says something similar about God's Law in 1 Timothy 1:8: "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly." The Law is good, but it can be misused in disastrous ways.
Some people, often Christian people, use the law hypocritically. They use it to judge and condemn others, while ignoring their own sins. "You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: 'God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.'" (Romans 2:23-24). When the Law is used hyprocritically it causes others to reject God's Law, because the one who wields it like a hammer disobeys it himself.
Some people use the Law against themselves, when they should be applying the sweet salve of the Gospel to their wounded soul. When we are aware of our sin and guilt, putting ourselves on a further guilt-trip by beating ourselves up with the Law is useless. When we are sorry for our sins and have confessed them we need grace not guilt. But some people find it hard to forgive themselves even after they have sought God's forgiveness. They continue to listen to the Law's harangue when they should listen to the Gospel. Such misuse of the Law leads to despair and distance from God. Paul said, "We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for law breakers..." (1 Timothy 1:9).
Some people misuse the Law by attempting to make themselves right with God by their own efforts. They think they can earn their standing before God by obeying the Law (or their own watered down version of the law that they find easier to keep). Paul said: "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." (Romans 3:20) Our own righteous acts will never be sufficient to overcome our sin. Instead we need to put our faith in the righteousness of Christ.
Rather, we should use the Law as a mirror to make us aware of our sins, so that confessing them and repenting of them, we can receive God's grace and be forgiven.
10:1 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD:
“Learn not the way of the nations,
nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
because the nations are dismayed at them,
3 for the customs of the peoples are vanity.1
A tree from the forest is cut down
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
5 Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”
6 There is none like you, O LORD;
you are great, and your name is great in might.
7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For this is your due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you.
8 They are both stupid and foolish;
the instruction of idols is but wood!
9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz.
They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is violet and purple;
they are all the work of skilled men.
10 But the LORD is the true God;
he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”3
12 It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
13 When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
14 Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
15 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the LORD of hosts is his name.
17 Gather up your bundle from the ground,
O you who dwell under siege!
18 For thus says the LORD:
“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
and I will bring distress on them,
that they may feel it.”
19 Woe is me because of my hurt!
My wound is grievous.
But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,
and I must bear it.”
20 My tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
and they are not;
there is no one to spread my tent again
and to set up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds are stupid
and do not inquire of the LORD;
therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flock is scattered.
22 A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—
a great commotion out of the north country
to make the cities of Judah a desolation,
a lair of jackals.
23 I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,
that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
24 Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;
not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,
and on the peoples that call not on your name,
for they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.
(ESV)
Jeremiah's warning, "Learn not the ways of the nations," should be a powerful warning for us as contemporary Christians. It is far too easy to conform our attitudes and actions to the ways of the world. This is what Jeremiah condemned the people of Israel for doing. His indictment of people foolish enough to bow down to an idol that is nothing more than "a scarecrow in a cucumber field" is scathing. In stark contrast to these wood and stone images is the greatness of the one true God, who is the only living God. While He lives eternally, "The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens." Jeremiah points to God's tremendous creative wisdom and power to establish His divine authority. On the other hand, the "creativity" of the goldsmith who fashions and idol simply demonstrates his stupidity. As a result of their unfaithfulness, the LORD will afflict a grievous wound on his people. God's judgment is coming from the north, and Jerusalem will be desolate after God is finished "slinging out the inhabitants of the land." Pleading for mercy, Jeremiah makes the argument, "it is not in man who walks to direct his steps." Only by the power of God's Holy Spirit at work within in us can our steps be directed into the paths that God would have us follow. Therefore the prophet begs, "Correct me, O Lord, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing."Jeremiah also appeals for God's just judgment on the enemies of God's people.
65:1 Praise is due to you,1 O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
2 O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
3 When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
5 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
7 who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it;2
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
(ESV)