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
14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master1 that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess2 to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.3 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.4
[1] 14:4
[2] 14:11
[3] 14:21
[4] 14:23
(ESV)
In my final blog after my Canada to Mexico bike ride I offered a few philosophical musings one of which was, "Beer, ice cream and big juicy hamburgers taste a lot better when you've been on your bike all day." Indeed! Yesterday after working in the yard under the hot sun for an hour or two I had a cold beer. I don't think a beer has ever tasted better! In fact, I told my wife, "That's the smallest beer I ever drank!", since it seemed to go down so well.
On the other hand, I remember an occasion when my wife and I were having dinner in a restaurant and I was enjoying a cold beer with my meal. A good friend and his wife came into the restaurant and greeted us before sitting down at the table next to ours. He was a fellow pastor from a denomination that views any use of alcohol as being sinful. I immediately felt uncomfortable. I continued to drink my beer, but I have to confess that I didn't enjoy it at all.
What was the problem? Paul put his finger on it in Romans 14. "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall." (vs. 19-21)
The problem was not that I suddenly realized I was sinning. I was not. The problem was that I didn't want to be doing anything that might cause someone else to stumble. I believe my friend was strong enough in his faith that my use of alcohol did not cause him to fall, but I was troubled, nevertheless, because he was a dear friend in Christ and I didn't want to offend him, tempt him, or even treat his understanding of right action (not using alcohol) with contempt.
Two points grow out of this discussion. We must always be aware of how our actions can effect others. We need to be concious of the example we are setting or the standards we are upholding by our actions.
Second we must always care enough about those around us to limit our freedom if exercising it might cause them to fall. Paul writes: "If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (vs. 15-17) Since our brother or sister in Christ is so precious to our Lord that he died for them, we ought to care enough to try to avoid anything that might cause them to stumble.
"For freedom Christ has set you free" Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1. However, if we use our freedom in such a way that it destroys the faith of a brother or sister in Christ, then what we consider good will be spoken of as evil. The love of Christ should empower us to place limits on our own freedom out of concern for a brother or sister in Christ. It's the least we can do for one for whom Christ died, and it's a practical demonstration of our Savior's love.
23 Behold the storm of the LORD!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intentions of his mind.
In the latter days you will understand this.
31:1 “At that time, declares the LORD, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”
2 Thus says the LORD:
“The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest,
3 the LORD appeared to him1 from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
4 Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
5 Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit.
6 For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
to the LORD our God.’”
7 For thus says the LORD:
“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O LORD, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
9 With weeping they shall come,
and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall be like a watered garden,
and they shall languish no more.
13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
14 I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the LORD.”
15 Thus says the LORD:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.”
16 Thus says the LORD:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the LORD,
and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17 There is hope for your future,
declares the LORD,
and your children shall come back to their own country.
18 I have heard Ephraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;
bring me back that I may be restored,
for you are the LORD my God.
19 For after I had turned away, I relented,
and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh;
I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 Is Ephraim my dear son?
Is he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
Therefore my heart2 yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,
declares the LORD.
(ESV)
Today's reading begins with a warning to the nations that they will not escape the fierce wrath of the LORD. His anger is described like a destructive tornado and it will fully accomplish His purpose in punishing the nations. His promise to Israel is just the opposite: "I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people." His covenant promise would be fulfilled because: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." The outcome would be different for Israel than for the nations, not because they were more worthy, but because God was faithful to His promise. In the restoration, the people of Israel would be fully reunited and by the grace of God would once again be His virgin bride, in spite of their history of spiritual adultery. At the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, the people of God would sing praise! God's promise was clear: "He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock." God's promise was to turn their mourning into joy, but for the present, Judah's mourning was very real. Rachel, the ancestral mother of Joseph and Benjamin, could be heard weeping for her children who were lost forever because of the Assyrian captivity of the Northern Kingdom (including the half-tribes of Joseph, Ephraim and Menassah) and the Babylonian captivity in which Ramah was used as a staging point to gather the captives before taking them away. The evangelist Matthew saw in this time of great mourning that took place in spite of the promise of return and restoration, a precursor of the mourning in Bethlehem over the slaughter of the innocents by Herod, in spite of the fact that Jesus the Messiah had been born to bring salvation. (see verse 15 and Matthew 2:17-18) God told His people to have faith and "Restrain your voice from weeping," for "there is hope for your future." God knew that His chastening discipline would accomplish its purpose. God heard His people's moaning: "After I strayed, I repented." Therefore, God would have compassion on His people and restore them as He promised.
32 In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he made their days vanish like1 a breath,2
and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being compassionate,
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
41 They tested God again and again
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember his power3
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 when he performed his signs in Egypt
and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.
(ESV)