Dave Miller's 2025 Bible Reading Challenge

Today's Readings - Ezekiel 33-34, Hebrews 5:11–6:20, Psalm 120, Proverbs 27:24–27 Devotional  My grandson Ellis is about to enter his "terrible twos" - with both feet! He is testing her limits, demanding his way, and throwing tantrums. We call him Hurricane Ellis - he leaves a swath of destruction wherever he goes. And it is incredibly cute. Even when he is being ornery he makes us laugh. But it won't be so cute in 15 years if she behaves the same way. What is cute in a toddler is annoying in a child and intolerable in a teenager. Ellis is normal - that is how two-year-olds behave. But if he is still behaving the same way when he is 18, there won't be anything cute about it. Somewhere along the way, he will begin to hear those fateful words that parents often say to their children - GROW UP! That is what the author of Hebrews was saying to his readers in Hebrews 5:12. Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principl...

Today's Readings - Ezekiel 31-32, Hebrews 4:1–5:10, Psalm 119:173–176, Proverbs 27:22–23 Devotional  Most of us live lives of stress and of tumult. Even when we lay our heads down on the pillow at night, our brains continue to race - thinking about money or relationships or job stress or life circumstances or whatever else life has thrown at us. Rest comes hard. Relaxation isn't always easy. But in Hebrews 4 we find out about a different kind of rest, the kind that God gives to those who repent of their sins and believe in his Son. Verse 1 makes an assertion and gives a warning. Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.  God promises us that there is rest - his rest, perfect rest. But he is talking about far more than just a good night's sleep, more than relaxation or unwinding from the stresses of life. God's rest is a life of complete trust in God, a life lived by faith instead ...

Today's Readings -  Ezekiel 29-30, Hebrews 3, Psalm 119:169–172, Proverbs 27:19–21 Devotional  It is interesting what sins seem to provoke God the most in Scripture. Often, they are not the ones we would expect. Of course, every sin is an offense, but in Hebrews 3, we are warned to avoid a sin that Israel committed which "provoked" God to the point that he sent Israel wandering in the desert for 40 years. Had to be something big right? Something awful. Something immoral or perverse. Had to be one of the big sins. But it wasn't. It was something much simpler and, unfortunately, more common, that aroused God's divine pique. The story starts in verses 1-6, when the author regales us with the goodness, glory, and works of Jesus as our great high priest. Jesus is our faithful high priest, bringing us into right relationship with the Father and serving our true spiritual needs. Jesus Christ was the Son who served God faithfully by fulfilling his mission - to die for ou...

Today's Readings - Ezekiel 27-28, Hebrews 1–2, Psalm 119:161–168, Proverbs 27:17–18 Devotional    I used to love body surfing, back in my Florida days. I'd go out into the Atlantic when the waves were right, dive and catch the wave at just the right time and see how far I could ride it up the beach. Out and back. Time and again. But I had to be careful. Most of the time, at the beaches I frequented, there is a side current that will cause you to drift up or down the beach. If you didn't pay attention, you could find yourself a long way from where you were supposed to be. The writer of Hebrews (I think it might have been Apollos, though no one really knows) was concerned about something similar. He observed people who came to faith in Christ but were drifting back into legalistic Judaism. In Hebrews 2:1, he said, Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.    As I had to pay attention to the beach not to drift ...

Today's Readings - Ezekiel 25-26, Philemon, Psalm 119:153–160, Proverbs 27:14–16 Devotional  Circumstances put Philemon and Onesimus on opposite sides of life's railroad tracks. Philemon was wealthy, successful, a man who was able to have a slave. Onesimus was that slave. Evidently, from what Paul said in Philemon 11, he was a "useless" slave, one who did not do the work he was assigned and who eventually ran away. Were he caught, the punishment would be significant. Then, something happened. Onesimus, while he was on the lam, met a man named Paul, who introduced him to Jesus Christ. Coincidentally, Paul had also met Philemon and introduced him to Christ. How lucky is that, huh? And when the two men met Jesus, everything in their lives changed, including their relationship to one another. Christ was the only one who could tear down the wall that divided them. Our human differences mean a lot to us. Republican. Democrat. Hawkeye. Cyclone. Cornhusker. Hobby preferences...

Today's Readings -  Ezekiel 23-24, Titus 3, Psalm 119:145–152, Proverbs 27:12–13 Devotional  When I say the word meditate, what comes to your mind? I'm guessing that you think of some kind of eastern mystic sitting with legs crossed chanting "om" - something like that. There is nowhere in the Bible that commands or recommends that kind of practice. But we are told to meditate. Psalm 119:148 speaks of this practice. I am awake through each watch of the night to meditate on your promise. There's nothing transcendental about that kind of meditation. Biblical meditation isn't about chanting or attaining some otherly-worldly consciousness. It is just taking a break from the routine, the hustle and bustle of life to think about what God has said, to consider thoroughly, deeply, and systemically what God's word is saying so that you can apply it fully. We are a hurried people, rushing around from commitment to commitment with little time to stop and think. A...

Today's Readings - Ezekiel 21-22, Titus 2, Psalm 119:137–144, Proverbs 27:9–11 Devotional  "It's very important that we teach sound doctrine, isn't it?" Some of you cringed when I said that because you aren't big fans of deep theological issues or you've been driven crazy by people who want to dig into the minutiae of theological issues. Others felt your hearts go thumpity-thump because you love to dive into the deep end and study those issues and you believe the church needs to be founded on doctrinal truth. You read systematic theologies for recreation. Some love doctrine and theology and others don't. But while our reactions to the word "doctrine" may differ, what is probably identical is our understanding of what the word means. Doctrine is a mental exercise, often divorced from practical concerns. But look at Paul's admonition to Titus that opens chapter 2. He tells him to "teach what accords with sound doctrine." But he do...