Dave Miller's 2024 Bible Reading Challenge

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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 w

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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 circumcisi

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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 circ

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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 iden

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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. Daily Devotional:   Satan's Greatest Servant When I look back on my 6 decades of Christianity (I was sa

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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. Still, it seems likely that the book was written by James, the brother of Jesus, who becam

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   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.  Daily Devotional:   From Every Nation When God speaks, it is often loud and clear! In Acts 10, God spo

  Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024 This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened."  Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.   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 :   Acts 9 Background:    Acts 9 is one of the significant turning points in Scripture, especially those that do not have to do with the life of Christ. Of course, Christmas, the events of Holy Week, Pentecost - these are the greatest moments in history. But is was a significant day when the man from Tarsus was headed toward Damascus breathing out murderous threats and suddenly was on the ground h