Dave Miller's 2025 Bible Reading Challenge

   Through the Bible in 2021 Bible Readings:     Judges 9-10, Luke 10:1–24, Psalm 46:5–11, Proverbs 10:29-30    Daily Devotional:    Count Your Blessings The seventy-two disciples of Jesus returned from their travels, having been sent out by their master and empowered by him. They were breathless with excitement on their return, rejoicing that, "Even the demons are subject to us in your name." (Luke 10:17.) Heady stuff. To be able to speak to people who are under the control of the forces of darkness, and to have those demonic beings obey your commands - that is no small thing. They were amazed and excited at the new power that they were experiencing. But Jesus wanted them to keep things in perspective. It is easy for us to see things from a skewed perspective, a human viewpoint that fails to see things as God sees them. Jesus made it clear that there was something much more important than the fact that demons fled before them. I saw Satan fa...

   Through the Bible in 2021 Bible Readings:     Judges 6-8, Luke 9:46-62, Psalm 46:1–4, Proverbs 10:27-28    Daily Devotional:    Mighty Warrior? Me? My dad used to talk about the "divine videotapes" - speculating that in heaven we could watch replays of historical events. If that is so (I expect it isn't) I'd love to watch Gideon's face as the events around Judges 6:12 unfold.  Gideon was threshing grain in the winepress, keeping his head down. The most unlikely of heroes, he the insignificant son of an insignificant family in the large, but the mostly insignificant tribe of Manasseh – he was not voted “Most Likely to Deliver Israel” during his high school years. Yet, God used him. God appeared to him and defined him not by his past or even by his present, but by what God was planning to make of him. “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Mighty warrior? There was no evidence that this was true in Gideon’s life to this point. But...

   Through the Bible in 2021 Bible Readings:     Judges 3-5, Luke 9:23-45, Psalm 45:9-17, Proverbs 10:25-26    Daily Devotional:     A Daily Death In all of these chapters and verses, sometimes it is just one word that sticks out and strikes me. Today, it is one word from a verse I quote about as often as any other, Luke 9:23. The verse strikes at the heart of the problem, where modern American Christianity diverges from the faith of the New Testament era Christians. “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me." Today, Christianity is often preached as a motivational, self-help system. God will help find your self-esteem, be happy and healthy, and be the best, most successful you that you can possibly be. In this aberration of the faith, Christ came to help us attain our goals, dreams, aspirations, and ambitions. It's all about me. But biblical Christianity is something very different. Follow...

   Through the Bible in 2021 Bible Readings:     Judges 1-2, Luke 9:1–22, Psalm 45:1–8, Proverbs 10:23-24    Daily Devotional:    Jesus Just Didn't Get It Evidently, Jesus didn't understand some of the important principles that we are told are essential for effective leadership in churches today. There is an industry of leadership gurus who have developed a set of standards by which those of us in authority in churches need to operate if we hope to be effective. The first and foremost of those principles is the one that Jesus seemed to understand the least: Select and surround yourself with talented, qualified, capable, and motivated people who can share the burden of leadership in your organization.  Again, Jesus just didn't get it. He surrounded himself with the sorriest collection of misfits, outcasts, and losers you could imagine. Several of them were Galilean fisherman - hardly a noble or desired class. There was a tax collecto...

 Through the Bible in 2021 Bible Readings:     Joshua 23-24, Luke 8:40–56, Psalm 44:22–26, Proverbs 10-21-22    Daily Devotional:   Why Can't I Do What I Want?   Why can't I just do what I want? That is the spirit of our times, even among Christians. I'm going to do what I feel like doing and no one is going to tell me what I should do. Doesn't God want me to be happy? Would he really ask me to do something hard, something I don't want to do, something that makes me sacrifice and struggle? Well, yes. He would. In fact, it is the fundamental issue of Christianity - who is going to rule in your life? Those who enter a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ must give over the reigns of their lives to the one who purchased their souls with his blood! But let's return to the original question. Why can't I just do as I please? What gives God the right to tell me what to do? Joshua answered this question in Joshua 23-24 for the people of Israel. ...

   Through the Bible in 2021 Bible Readings:   Joshua 21-22, Luke 8:16–39, Psalm 44:15–21, Proverbs 10:19-20 Daily Devotional:  Venting Folly  We call it "honesty." We call it "venting." We use all sorts of positive and euphemistic terms to describe the unhindered and unfiltered flow of words that come from our mouths, trying to turn into a virtue that God's Word clearly labels folly and sin. Look at Proverbs 10:19. When words are many, transgression is not lacking,     but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. The abundance of words will almost always lead to sin. (That's bad news for someone like me who makes his living by talking - preaching, counseling, discussing, having meetings!) James warned us in the New Testament that only the wisest and most mature of believers is able to control the deadly poison that the human tongue contains. The problem today, though, is that we have switched the price tags all around. Those who vomi...

   Through the Bible in 2021 Bible Readings:     Joshua 19-20, Luke 8:1–15, Psalm 44:8–14, Proverbs 10:17-18    Daily Devotional:    Seeds, Soils, and the Word When we gather to worship on Sundays, we get cleaned up, dressed up, bundled up (when that is needed) and head to church. But getting ready for church ought to involve more than a shower and some clean clothes. There ought to some spiritual preparation that takes place as well.  We have a lot of farmers in our fellowship. I'm no expert in agriculture, but I do know that preparation of the soil is important before planting takes place when the ground thaws in a few months. Before you sow the seed, you prepare the soil.   The same thing is true with going to church. Every time we gather, there will be some seed sown. We will sing songs about God's glory and grace. We will pray together. I will preach God's Word from the pulpit and most of you will attend a Sunday School class as wel...