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 :   1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 THREE letters. Romans. First and Second Corinthians.  On his fourth journey (the prison trip), Paul wrote FOUR letters. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon.  After his release, during h...

  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 :   Acts 17:16-18:22 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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" in 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...

  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 :   Acts 16:1-17:15 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 ...

  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 :   Acts 15 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 ...

  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 :   Galatians 5-6 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 all the way - emasculating themselves. It shows how strongly Paul feels abo...

  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 :   Galatians 3-4 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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.  Daily Devotional:   The Curse of the Law It seems a strange statement...

  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 :   Galatians 1-2 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 a...

  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 :   Acts 13-14 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 hea...

  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 :   James 4-5 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 teaching...

  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 :   James 3 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 saved at age six - you do the math), I would surmise that the highest percentage of my sins have been sins of the tongu...

  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 :   James 1-2 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 became the leader of the church of Jerusalem and was a key figure in the Council of Jerusalem. He addresses his book to the "...

  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 :   Acts 12 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 Pet...

  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 :   Acts 11 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 the...

  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 :   Acts 10 In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.  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 spoke clearly and without equivocation about the nature of the church. He had not sent his Son to die to redeem...