Dave Miller's 2024 Bible Reading Challenge

Today's Reading - 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8 Background Remembering the books that Paul wrote on his missionary journeys is easier than you think. On his first journey, Paul wrote ONE letter. Galatians.  On his second journey, Paul wrote TWO letters. First and Second Thessalonians.  On his third journey, Paul wrote (guess) THREE letters. Romans. First and Second Corinthians.  On his fourth journey (the prison trip), Paul wrong FOUR letters. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon.  After his release, during his second imprisonment, and just before his execution, Paul wrote three more letters to individuals. Titus, First and Second Timothy.  That's thirteen in all. I am convinced that Paul did not write Hebrews. Though I am no Greek scholar, the style of the Greek in Hebrews is not that which Paul wrote. It is more formal - I suspect it might be Apollos, but no one knows for sure. I'm only sure it's NOT Paul. Paul visited Thessalonica after he l...

Today's Reading - Acts 17:16-18:22 Background One of the papers I did in my fourth year of Greek in seminary was on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. In that passage, Paul says that he entered Corinth determined to know nothing but Christ and Christ crucified. It has been assumed by many that this was the result of Paul's "failure" Athens, in which he attempted to debate with the philosophers in Athens. As the theory goes, he realized his mistake in trying the intellectual approach and entered Corinth determined to preach the gospel pure and simple. But is that what really happened? Others debate that simple theory and maintain that Paul was not a failure at all. He debated with the philosophers because that was what was required with the philosophers - it's called contextualization. If you speak to a group of religious people, you start by quoting scripture, but it you are speaking to an atheist group your approach may need to be different. Wherever Paul started - the Jewish...

Today's Reading - Acts 16:1-17:15 Background After splitting from Barnabas, Paul took Silas and went back out on his second missionary journey. Paul headed by to Galatia, where at Lystra he met a young man who would become his key assistant, Timothy. He tried to go first to Asia (Asia Minor - Ephesus and surrounding areas), then to Bithynia, but was redirected by the Spirit both times. Then in a dream, he was called to go to Macedonia. There he planted churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. He moved down the coast into Greece, ministering first in Athens and then in the city of Corinth. Today's readings focus on Paul's entry into Philippi and the very familiar story of the conversion of Lydia and the Jailer, as well as his short time in Thessalonica and Berea. Devotional - Barnabas to Paul to Timothy There is an old adage that Christianity is always one generation from extinction. It is, in reality, true, though if we believe the church is founded by Christ for God...

Today's Reading - Acts 15 Background Irresistible force, meet immovable object! When Saul of Tarsus met Jesus the passion with which he persecuted the church became the force with which he proclaimed Christ and nothing was going to stop him, not even his Jewish critics. Paul's first journey was a great success as many Gentiles came to Christ but he also encountered growing opposition from the circumcision party. He wrote the book of Galatians to forcefully confront their false teachings and to remind the Jewish leaders that the gospel was meant for the world, not just for the Jews. Things came to a head in Acts 15, as Paul returned from his trip and went to Jerusalem to meet with the Apostles and figure out a unified approach to bringing together Jewish and Gentile elements of the church. They sought God, reached a compromise that unified the church and protected the gospel, and they moved the work of Christ forward. Acts 15 ends with the sad chapter of the split between Paul a...

Today's Reading - Galatians 5-6 Background Galatians 5 is one of those mountaintops of the Bible and one of the formative texts for my ministry. It begins with a strong rebuke to the Galatians who had begun so well, being saved by grace but had now turned toward the law of God to try to live in the flesh. Verse 12 is probably the strongest thing Paul says in any of his letters, wishing those who pushed circumcision and the Jewish law would just go ahead go all the way - emasculating themselves. It shows how strongly Paul feels about the works of the law. He then turns to a contrast between the life of the Spirit and that of the flesh, that which the law produces. The life of the Spirit leads us away from the works of the flesh. Chapter 6 carries a series of final instructions, then a last exhortation written in Paul's own hand - the rest of the book was likely dictated to a scribe. His first instruction can seem odd after his harsh words in chapter 5. After his rebuke of...

Today's Reading - Galatians 3-4 Background Galatians 3 contrasts the way of the law and the way of grace. Paul confronts the false reliance of the circumcision party on Jewish law and rituals, demanding they come to God through faith and faith alone. Galatians 4 continues the argument of chapter 3, the superiority of grace over the law, but here there is a series of metaphors related to our standing as sons and heirs of God through that grace.  Devotional - The Curse of the Law It seems a strange statement when you realize that God himself inscribed the Ten Commandments on a stone tablet. They were not a human creation but divine revelation. How, then, can Paul look at the Law of God and call it a curse? For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse.  Galatians 3:10 The Law of God, written by God's finger, becomes a curse to those who rely on it and live their lives by it - the words of God are a curse to those who hear them. Strange and strange. Fortunately...

Today's Reading - Galatians 1-2 Background Figuring out when Paul wrote his other epistles is generally easier than setting a date for Galatians, which has been much debated. The issues have to do with the identity of the Galatians and are likely not of interest to many of our readers - a basic Bible dictionary or encyclopedia would explain those issues for those who wish to go deeper. It seems best to identify the Galatians with the churches Paul visited on his first missionary journey and to place the book sometimes in about 49 AD, as he was headed back toward Jerusalem. During that journey, many Gentiles came to Christ and a great controversy was born as well. Did Gentiles need to be circumcised and observe Jewish law? In other words, does a Gentile have to become a Jew to be a Christian? Is the Jewish culture and heritage of the early church and the early Christians an essential part of the gospel or an impediment to the spread of the gospel to the nations? The backlash agains...

Today's Reading - Acts 13-14 Background Acts 13-14 records Paul's first missionary journey. It is a true turning point in the life of the church. It begins in Antioch in a worship service when the Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to go out as missionaries. They did, traveling to the Galatian region. A funny thing happened there. The process which began with Cornelius came to full fruition. Chased out of the synagogues and rejected there, they found a hearing among the Gentiles and many came to Christ. This brought to a head the growing problem in the church back in Jerusalem that was the key issue throughout Acts - just how Jewish was the church going to be? The Council of Acts 15 would settle the issue, or at least, give a template for settling it, but Paul first answered his critics with guns blazing in a strongly worded book which we shall begin reading tomorrow, Galatians. Several significant things happen here, among them is John Mark's cowardice, when he abandons the ...

Today's Reading - James 4-5 Background James did not get the memo that "you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar," nor did he understand that those who proclaimed God's word were to be unfailingly positive and encouraging. In James 4 he blistered his hearers for their spiritual adultery and their friendship with the world. As they got away from Jerusalem and from the center of worship they tended to adjust to the ways of the world and adopt the practices of the peoples with whom they lived. Two other key teachings are found in chapter 4. James begins the chapter with a teaching on prayer and he ends it with an exhortation toward humility about the future. James 5 concludes with a series of teachings that may go against some of our commonly held ideas. Verses 1-6 are a harsh condemnation of riches, one that strikes hard at a wealthy nation such as ours. He is condemning riches gained by oppression and we are reminded that the love of money is at the root of a...

Today's Reading - James 3 Background James 3 deals with two topics. First, James transitions from a warning about the high responsibility of teachers to a discussion of the power of the tongue. He then reflects on the wisdom of God and contrasts the wisdom from above and the wisdom that is from below. Devotional - Satan's Greatest Servant When I look back on my 5 decades of Christianity, I would surmise that the highest percentage of my sins have been sins of the tongue. I avoided most of the "big" sins that sidetrack so many in their earlier years, and I would have to confess to more that a few sins of the mind - lust, anger, pride and such. But when I've gotten into trouble it's usually been my big fat mouth that started it all. I guess that ought not to be a huge surprise. My life, my work, my ministry - it's all about words, whether written or spoken. I preach. I counsel. I discuss. I strategize. And all too often I sin. Angry words. Gossip. Backbiting...

Today's Reading - James 1-2 Background -  An Introduction to the Book of James We interrupt our reading of the book of Acts to read what is often believed to be the first of the epistles of the New Testament, James. New Testament scholars are not uniform in their opinions of the timing and setting of the book of James, but it seems likely that the book was written by James, the brother of Jesus, who became the leader of the church of Jerusalem and was a key figure in the council of Jerusalem. He addresses his book to the "Twelve Tribes in the Dispersion." It is a Jewish book, but it is not certain whether the dispersion referred to is the general dispersion of Jews among the nations (which took place under the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires) or the dispersion of the early Christians after the persecution of Acts 8:1-3. It was likely written after the establishment of the Antioch church and Saul's proclamation of his "salvation by grace through faith" doctr...

Today's Reading -  Acts 12 Background Acts 12 is about two deaths and a life.  It begins with the martyrdom of James, the Son of Thunder, who asked to be at the right hand or left of the Savior in his kingdom but instead had the privilege of going to the presence of Christ, dying by the sword at Herod's command. The chapter ends with Herod himself dying at the hand of God's angel, struck down because of his pride.  In the middle is the story of Peter's deliverance from the clutches of Herod. Why did God rescue Peter and allow James to die? Questions like that seldom have easy answers. God loved both and neither had displeased him. But in his sovereign plan, James' time was done and Peter had many years left.  It is important to note that God's love and grace are seen in his presence and his power, not in success or deliverance. Both men were loved, both were faithful. One died and the other was delivered.  Devotional - Be Like Pete He was scheduled to die ...

Today's Reading - Acts 11 Background God did something amazing in Caesarea, but there was still some difficult work to do back in Jerusalem. Already there had formed what would become the greatest rift in the early church - how Jewish was the church going to be? Did people have to be Jews to become Christians? The "circumcision party" had already formed in Jerusalem, Christians who put Jewish law ahead of God's grace. They did not rejoice that Gentiles had been redeemed and saved from hell unless they also conformed to their ways. This conflict would become the driving force in Paul's ministry, the subject of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15, and the cause of Paul's arrest and imprisonment in the later chapters of this book. The second half of this chapter is devoted to the establishment of the church of Antioch, which would replace the Jerusalem church as the key church in God's kingdom and would be the church from which world missions would go forward. ...

Today's Reading - Acts 10 Background Another boundary is crossed! When Saul was saved in chapter 9, it was to be an apostle to the Gentiles, but he would not make the first approach. As the Spirit was sent to the Jews in Acts 2 and the Samaritans in chapter 8, now he would come to the Gentiles in Acts 10.  Devotional - From Every Nation When God speaks, it is often loud and clear! In Acts 10, God spoke clearly and without equivocation about the nature of the church. He had not sent his Son to die to redeem a group of inwardly focused Jewish believers. Unfortunately, it appears that though they loved Christ and suffered deeply for him, the Apostles and believers in Jerusalem never really got that. They lacked a sense of God's love for the world and his heart to see the nations come to Christ. They were content to keep the gospel contained among the Jewish people. God wasn't about to let that happen. He sent persecution that forced the people out of Jerusalem and into the wo...