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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16:1 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.1 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
[1] 16:27
(ESV)
It was my senior year in high school. And every day, for the better part of four years by this point, at the moment the closing bell rang, I would always dart out the door and start running down the street. Because, you see, the closing bell rang at 2:32 pm. And I had a bus to catch at 2:36 pm. Four minutes to run four blocks to the bus stop. Not a lot of time. But I was quick. And, most of the time, I made it. That is, until one January afternoon.
It was a beautiful January afternoon. After a couple of days of snow in the Pacific Northwest, which is where I grew up, the sun had finally emerged from behind the clouds and was now slowly and persistently melting away the snow that was now thawing into a muddy slush on the front lawn of my high school campus. And as I went running along on that muddy slush, I took a nose dive into that muddy slush. Ouch.
As I emerged from my fall, a sharp pain shot up my right leg. After taking a good 30 minutes to hobble the four blocks to my bus stop, I began to realize that something was terribly wrong. When you coupled that with the fact that my leg was beginning to swell and turn purple, I knew that a visit to the doctor was inevitable.
Sitting in the doctor's office, I received the bad news. "Your leg is broken," the doctor said. "You're going to have to wear a cast. But don't worry, you'll only have to wear it for a little while and then you'll be as good as ever." "A little while!" I shot back. "How long is a little while?" "About three months," came the reply. That didn't sound like a little while to me.
"In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me" (John 16:16). These are Jesus' words to his disciples in our reading for today. And, like me with my broken leg, the disciples wanted to know, "What does he mean by 'a little while'" (verse 18)? Interestingly, this is a question that puzzled not only the twelve disciples, but countless numbers of theologians throughout the centuries as well. Most scholars agree that the first part of Jesus' sentence, "In a little while you will see me no more," is a reference to his impending execution via crucifixion. But then, the second half of Jesus' statement, "And then after a little while you will see me," has caused much more confusion and conflict. Some theologians take this as a reference to Jesus' resurrection three days later. Not exactly a brief flash of time, but still a relatively short time period by normal standards. Others, citing the context of this passage and Jesus' promise that he will send "the Spirit of truth" (verse 12) after he "goes away" (verse 7), take this as a reference to Jesus' Second Coming at the end of time. And that time period lasts... well, we're still waiting. Three days. 2,000 years. Both are "a little while."
It's fascinating how relative "a little while" can be, isn't it? For a doctor it's three months. For a resurrection it's three days. For a Second Coming it's... I'm not quite sure. And yet, for God, all of these are only "a little while." As a Psalmist reminds us, "A thousand years in God's sight are like a day that has just gone by" (Psalm 90:4). From God's eternal perspective, it's all just "a little while."
This perspective on time can be of great comfort to us, especially when we face trials, troubles, and persecutions of every kind. Indeed, this is exactly how Jesus means to use his promise of "a little while." He says, "Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice" (verse 22). "Not to worry," Jesus says. "You may have trouble, but it will only last for 'a little while.' I'll see you again soon enough."
So, what trial, trouble, or persecution are you facing today? Is it an organizational problem at work that you'll have reconfigured by the end of the day? Is it a financial difficulty at home that you'll have resolved by your next paycheck? Is it a sickness that has landed you in the hospital and may only be relieved by eternity? Whatever your predicament, remember, from God's perspective, all of our problems, even if to us they seem to drag on forever, are only a flash in the pan. They only last for "a little while." For there will come a day, the Last Day, when God will overcome all of our trials, troubles, and persecutions and give us a perfect eternity with him. As Jesus says at the end of this chapter, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (verse 33). So, whatever trouble you face, be it today or tomorrow, take heart! It'll only be for a little while.
7 “Before she was in labor
she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
she delivered a son.
8 Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?
For as soon as Zion was in labor
she brought forth her children.
9 Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?”
says the LORD;
“shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?”
says your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her;
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious abundance.”1
12 For thus says the LORD:
“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,
and bounced upon her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
your bones shall flourish like the grass;
and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants,
and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.
15 “For behold, the LORD will come in fire,
and his chariots like the whirlwind,
to render his anger in fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment,
and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the LORD shall be many.
17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD.
18 “For I know2 their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming3 to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. 21 And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.
22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the LORD,
so shall your offspring and your name remain.
23 From new moon to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the LORD.
24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
[1] 66:11
[2] 66:18
[3] 66:18
(ESV)
God promises that His establishment of the New Heavens and New Earth will come about so quickly that it will be like a woman giving birth before going into labor. Nor will anything prevent Zion's children from being born, that is, God's people from dwelling with Him eternally. "Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?" God asks. God tells those who mourn for the present state of Jerusalem to rejoice for the New Jerusalem is coming, and there her children will be satisfied. God promises peace to the New Jerusalem and the people who dwell within her. They will be cared for like a young child bouncing happily on its mother's knee. But for the enemies of God there is nothing but fury and fire as God's vengeance comes upon them. Those who have followed idols will meet their end together. But God promises that there will be a worldwide evangelization to proclaim His glory among the nations and gather the redeemed in order that they might be priests of God (see 1 Peter 2:9). The New Heavens and the New Earth will not depart like this sin-sick world in which we live. They will endure forever before the LORD. Just as the joy of the redeemed will last eternally, so also the suffering of those who rebelled against God will endure forever, "For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh." In no other book of the Old Testament has the contrast between Law and Gospel been as stark as in the book of Isaiah. God caused the prophet to speak both words clearly. To the faithful and repentant of God's people, Isaiah spoke the Gospel. To the wicked and rebellious, the prophet spoke Law. The Gospel comforts and gives hope to the broken-hearted. The Law demands repentance of the evildoer and speak judgment to the unrepentant.
54:1 O God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might.
2 O God, hear my prayer;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers2 have risen against me;
ruthless men seek my life;
they do not set God before themselves. Selah
4 Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.
5 He will return the evil to my enemies;
in your faithfulness put an end to them.
6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good.
7 For he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
[1] 54:1
[2] 54:3
(ESV)