Dave Miller's 2025 Bible Reading Challenge

Today's Readings -  Ezra 9-10, Acts 13:13–34, Psalm 82, Proverbs 17:14–16 Devotional - Failure Isn't Fatal Barnabas and Saul reached the coastal city of Perga in Pamphylia ready to begin a gospel thrust into a region where no one even knew who Jesus was. It would be a productive time, planting churches in Pisidian Antioch, Lystra, Derbe, bringing the message of Christ to the Galatians. But one of their number did not make the trip. A young disciple named John, whom we know by the name Mark, "left them and went back to Jerusalem." (Acts 13:13) Was he homesick? Did he miss his momma, or perhaps his wife? Was he just scared of the difficult task that lay ahead? We simply do not know, but we do know that his faith was weak and he cut and run. This is just the beginning of an interesting story. Barnabas and Saul completed the journey and returned to Jerusalem to meet with the Apostles and elders to resolve the issues raised in the book of Galatians - the question as to ju...

Today's Readings -  Ezra 7-8, Acts 13:1–12, Psalm 81:11–16, Proverbs 17:12–13 Devotional - The Greatest Church  It is an inherently silly question, I suppose, but I will ask it anyway. What is the greatest church in the book of Acts? The best ever? Of course, the Jerusalem church saw the day of Pentecost and it remained faithful to God in spite of suffering and persecution. They had great fellowship and Spirit-empowered generosity. It was a great church in so many ways. But there is another church that would deserve consideration in this debate. After the persecution under Saul of Tarsus dispersed Christians, a church formed in Antioch that had some qualities that were worth emulation. First of all, it was a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic church. The Jerusalem church was pretty much entirely Jewish, but when you look at the list of leaders in Acts 13:1, you see racial, ethnic and geographic diversity. This diverse makeup led to their most important quality. They got hold of God...

Today's Readings -  Ezra 5-6, Acts 12, Psalm 81:4–10, Proverbs 17:9–11 Devotional - Be Like Pete He was scheduled to die the next day. He'd seen his friend James put to the sword by Herod and it was his turn the next morning. The church was fervently praying that their leader would be spared by God's power. Peter was chained to two guards and the door was guarded by two others. You can imagine the stress that Peter felt knowing that he was about to die, right? Act 12:6 tells us exactly how anxious Peter was. He was sleeping. That's right. With his life hanging in the balance, with the sword about to fall on his neck, chained and guarded by soldiers all around, Peter was at rest. He had such faith in God's plan that he was free of worry and care. If he died, he would see Jesus again. If he lived he would serve him. And he was leaving the choice in God's hand. We know the rest of the story - and it is one of the funniest in the Bible, one I used to tell my childr...

Today's Readings -  Ezra 3-4, Acts 11, Psalm 81:1–3, Proverbs 17:7–8 Devotional - The Cold Water Committee  I've met them more times than I can count, the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem. We used to call them the Cold Water Committee. Oh, the ones I mean weren't actually Jewish, nor were they from Jerusalem. But the similarity of behavior is unmistakable. In Acts 11, Peter returned to Jerusalem to regale the believers with the glories of God displayed in the salvation and Spirit-filling of the Gentiles in Caesarea. He was overjoyed with what God had done and reported that to the church. And most of the church rejoiced with him. But not everyone. There were Jewish believers who put a high priority on Christianity remaining Jewish. They emphasized circumcision and the continued observance of all aspects of the Jewish Law. And Gentile believers who were uncircumcised and inobservant of the Law did not fit into their plan. They were not happy at all when Peter reported the outp...

Today's Readings -  Ezra 1-2, Acts 10:34–48, Psalm 80:9–19, Proverbs 17:4–6 Devotional - To the Ends of the Earth 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 world. He sent Philip to the Samaritans and then to the Ethiopian Eunuch, who took the message of Jesus back to his homeland. Finally, God spoke twice - once to Cornelius to tell him to send men to Joppa to get Peter and then t...

Today's Reading s -  2 Chronicles 35-36, Acts 10:1–33, Psalm 80:1–8, Proverbs 17:1–3 Devotional - God's Goodness Abused Our God is relentlessly good, merciful and kind. He does not treat us as our sins deserve but pours out grace on us day by day. Unfortunately, all too often we treat God as if he not just merciful and good, but weak. We treat him as if he is a pushover who doesn't have the backbone to stand. He will, some think, just look the other way when we sin, when we ignore his word and his commands. We have turned the God of love into a God of wimpy sentimentality.  It is a serious error. Israel learned this in the events described in 2 Chronicles 36. That chapter describes the final destruction on Judah that came as a result of their sin and it demonstrates that even though our God is loving and merciful he is not a God to be ignored, to be messed with, to be treated with disdain. Verse 16 says,  " But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his wor...

Today's Readings -  2 Chronicles 33-34, Acts 9:26–43, Psalm 79:9–13, Proverbs 16:32–33 Devotional - The Encourager  In reality, he is one of the most important characters in the early church, though his name seldom comes up when we discuss that era. His name was Joseph, but people called him Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement. Every time you see him, he is working to make someone else successful. He first appears in the report of his generous giving in Acts 4. Later he will be a leader of Saul's first missionary journey, then splits with Saul over his desire to reclaim and encourage Mark. At every moment, he is building up the Body of Christ, lifting others up, and making their service to Christ better.  In Acts 9:1-25, Saul of Tarsus was converted and the persecutor became a preacher, devoting himself to the mission of Christ. But when, in verse 26, Saul headed to Jerusalem, he was met with understandable reticence. Those people knew him. Some had likely spent time...