Dave Miller's 2025 Bible Reading Challenge

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Zechariah 1-7 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai, and his prophecies are likely dated to about 520 to 518 BC. Zechariah is of the priestly tribe, and his name means "God remembered" - God did not forget Israel in Babylon. His message dovetails with Haggai's. Daily Devotional:   He Defends the Guilty What a powerful vision Zechariah had - not really a vision but an insight into reality. In Zechariah 3:1-5, we see a man named Joshua, a priest, the chief priest in fact, who was standing b...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Haggai 1-2 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Today's reading is unusually short but powerful. (Tomorrow's will make up for the shortness of today's - seven chapters of Zechariah.) Take a little extra time to meditate on the message of Haggai. It is written within the time period of Ezra and Nehemiah. He prophesied in 520 BC. The decree of Cyrus went out in 538 BC and nearly 20 years later the procrastinating Israelites were still making excuses as to why the Temple had not been rebuilt. Haggai challenged them to "give careful t...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Ezra 1-6, Psalm 137 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Several of the books of the Hebrew Old Testament seem to have originally been one book and were divided into two. This is true of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, which were likely divided because of the length of the scrolls. It seems that originally Ezra and Nehemiah may have been one book and were later separated, though that is less clear. Ezra is of priestly descent and his task is to bring Israel back not just to the LAND but to the LAW. They had ...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Daniel 9-12 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     The last four chapters of Daniel contain visions of the future - some of the most significant in the Bible. Daniel 9:24-27, the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, is a template for all future prophecies regarding the End Times. The prophecies of chapters 11 and 12, while having some historical content, also look forward to the great battles of the last days, which we often loosely call Armageddon, and tell us much about the Antichrist, modeled on the evil man known as Antiochus Epiphane...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Daniel 5-8 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     The book of Daniel is self-revelatory. Modern liberal scholars are convinced that it cannot have been written by Daniel because of the prophecies made about the kingdoms to come. If Daniel actually wrote the book, then it is evidence of the supernatural nature of scriptural prophecy, and skeptics cannot accept that. They claim that the book was written after the events took place and that the words were put into the mouth of the prophet Daniel. The only evidence for this is their lac...

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026 This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.  Bible Readings :   Daniel 1-4 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  Background:     Daniel is one of the truly great men of biblical history, one of the few characters of the Bible's story without a major flaw or a sinful failing. From his boyhood in captivity until his older years in the lion's den and through all the visions God gave him, he is an example of spiritual courage and moral excellence. Daily Devotional:   Into the Fire It is one of my favorite stories in the Bible and has been since my youth. It has drama and tension and intrigue - everything that...