Need a Bible Reading Plan?

Happy New Year!!! As 2026 begins and you make those New Year's Resolution or break them after one hour, hopefully one thing that you have a planned is to have a good Bible reading plan. Maybe you already have one whether with your church, small group, or just you are doing yourself. Whatever you have, praise God.

What if you do not have a Bible reading plan? I got you covered. 

Here are a few places to check out for your next Bible reading plan:

A list of Bible reading plans from Ligonier Ministries.

A reading plan based on The MacArthur Daily Bible, which is the same plan used in the LSB Daily Reading Bible.

Three Year Bible Reading Plan.

Hope Drawn From Scripture

My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word - Psalm 119:81 (KJV)

What says David? "I hope in thy word" "Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope" (Ps. 119:49). What says Paul? "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope" (Rom. 15:4). If our hope is sound, we ought to be able to turn to some text or fact or doctrine of God's Word as the source of it. Our confidence must arise from something which God has caused to be written in the Bible for our learning and which our heart has received and believed

It is not enough to have the good opinion of others about the state of our souls. We may be told by others on our deathbeds to keep up our spirits and not to be afraid. We may be reminded that we have lived good lives, or had a good heart, or done nobody any harm, or not been so bad as many. And all this time our friends may not bring forward a word of Scripture and may be feeding us poison! Such friends are miserable comforters. However well-meaning, they are downright enemies to our souls. The good opinion of others without the warrant of God's Word will never make up a good hope.

I warn everyone to beware of a hope not drawn from Scripture. It is a false hope, and many will find out this to their cost. That glorious and perfect book, the Bible, however people despise it, is the only fountain out of which man's soul can derive peace. Many sneer at the old book while living who find their need of it when dying. Honor your Bible, read your Bible, stick to your Bible. There is not on earth a scrap of solid hope for the other side of the grave which is not drawn out of the Word.

Adapted from Our Great Redeemer: 365 Days with J. C. Ryle

Dr. Mark Ward: How We Got Our New Testament

Dr. Mark Ward: How We Got Our Old Testament

The Bible Alone

The Bible alone gives us true views of God. By nature man knows nothing clearly or fully about Him. All his conceptions of Him are low, groveling, and debased. What could be more degraded than the gods of the Canaanites and Egyptians, of Babylon, of Greece, and of Rome?

What can be viler than the gods of the Hindus and other heathen in our own time? By the Bible we know that God hates sin. The destruction of the old world by the flood; the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah; the drowning of Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the Red Sea; the cutting off the nations of Canaan; the overthrow of Jerusalem and the temple; the scattering of the Jews—all these are unmistakable witnesses.

By the Bible we know that God loves sinners. His gracious promise in the day of Adam's fall, His long-suffering in the time of Noah, His deliverance of Israel out of the land of Egypt, His gift of the law at Mount Sinai, His bringing the tribes into the promised land, His forbearance in the days of the judges and kings, His repeated warnings by the mouth of His prophets, His restoration of Israel after the Babylonian captivity, His sending His Son into the world in due time to be crucified, His commanding the gospel to be preached to the Gentiles-all these are speaking facts. The Bible alone explains the state of things that we see in the world around us. There are many things on earth that a natural person cannot explain.

The amazing inequality of conditions, the poverty and distress, the oppression and persecution, the shakings and tumults, the failures of statesmen and legislators, the constant existence of uncured evils and abuses—all these things are often puzzling to him or her. One sees but does not understand. But the Bible makes it all clear that there is a good time certainly coming, and coming perhaps sooner than people expect it—a time of perfect knowledge, perfect justice, perfect happiness, and perfect peace!

Adapted from Our Great Redeemer: 365 Days with J. C. Ryle

Todd Friel on Why Andy Stanley's Teaching About Unhitching the Old Testament from the Faith is Dangerous

Phil Johnson: The Reliability, Authority, and Sufficiency of God's Word

Why I made the Switch to the LSB

This is from my original post Switching to the LSB:

When it comes to Bible translations, this is something that I do not take very lightly. I do not switch when new translations come out, but when it came to the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), it was almost an easy decision but still something that was not made overnight. Why did I make the switch? Here are my reasons.

First, it is a better update of NASB. When it was announced that the New American Standard Bible (NASB) was getting an update, I was excited because I love the NASB, but there was a lot of jargon in the translation. There were a few verses that were confusing that made it hard to read. However, I read the NASB 2020 and was disappointed they were going to the gender-neutral way of translating the Bible as other translations such as the New International Version (NIV) and Christian Standard Bible (CSB). The LSB is what the NASB 2020 should have been.

Second, it is a smoother read. Unlike the NASB, the LSB is a better read even though the translators focused more on what the author of the text said rather than focusing on how the readers is going to take it. 

Third, the use of Yahewh. In most translations, the Old Testament has God's covenant name, Yahewh, as LORD. God's name is not Lord. Lord is a title that we ascribe to God. Yahewh is His name. In Exodus, we see:

Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation (Exodus 3:13-15).

In Psalm 110:1, we see God's covenant name and the Hebrew word for Lord, Adonai, used:

Yahweh says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.”

In other translations, it would read, "The LORD said to my Lord," which reading it, it made no since especially when reading it out loud. Reading Psalm 110:1 in the LSB shows us that Yahewh is speaking to an earthly master. Yes, there was the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) that did use Yahewh in the Old Testament, but that translation is out of print and became the CSB. There is also the Lexham English Bible (LEB), which is a great translation to use for study, but it is not that accessible unless you have Logos or use Bible Gateway. 

Fourth, the use of doulos. The LSB uses the Greek word doulos as slave rather than servant or bondservant as other translations have used. I know in America; the word slave is not very appealing. If we understand how the word was used when the Greek New Testament was written, we would see that it is not referring to what most Americans think of slavery. We owe a debt to Christ for saving us from our sins which can never be repaid. We call Jesus our Master; therefore, we are His slaves. 

Fifth, the consistency. The LSB is a very consistent translation. It does not translate the text based on tradition. One place would be the model prayer. As Jesus concludes the prayer, most translations have it as "And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil" (ESV). The LSB has it as this, "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." This is translated the same way in Matthew 5:37 and John 17:15. 

Finally, When I read the LSB, it gives me a greater desire to go in depth into the original languages of both testaments. I will admit, I am not a great Hebrew and Greek scholar, but I always want to see what the original word was when it written. As I read the LSB, I seek to see how it was translated. I compare it to other translations to see if it was the right way to translate it or not. One passage that comes to mind is Psalm 73:25-26. My pastor uses the ESV and made a reference to this passage which reads:

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

This is how the LSB translates this passage:

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

My flesh and my heart fail,

But God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.

Both translations read very similar except where most translations say, "God is the strength of my heart," it says in the LSB, "God is the rock of my heart." The original Hebrews refers to a rock, cliff, block of stone. So the word "rock" is a better translation than "strength." 

I highly recommend the LSB to any pastor and anyone that loves God's Word. 

Do Not Neglect God's Word

Is the Bible the word of God? Then mind that you do not neglect it.

Read it! Read it! Begin to read it this very day. What greater insult to God can a man be guilty of than to refuse to read the letter God sends him from heaven? Oh, be sure, if you will not read your Bible, you are in fearful danger of losing your soul! You are in danger, because God will reckon with you for your neglect of the Bible in the day of judgment. You will have to give an account of your use of time, strength, and money; and you will also have to give account of your use of the Word.

You will not stand at that bar on the same level, in point of responsibility, with the dweller in central Africa who never heard of the Bible. Oh, no! To whom much is given, of them much will be required. Of all men's buried talents, none will weigh them down so heavily as a neglected Bible. As you deal with the Bible, so God will deal with your soul. Will you not repent and turn over a new leaf in life and read your Bible?

You are in danger because there is no degree of error in religion into which you may not fall. You are at the mercy of the first clever Jesuit, Mormonite, Socinian, Turk, or Jew who may happen to meet you. A land of unwalled villages is not more defenseless against an enemy than a man who neglects his Bible. You may go on tumbling from one step of delusion to another, until at length you are landed in the pit of hell. I say once more: Will you not repent and read your Bible?

Adapted from Our Great Redeemer: 365 Days with J. C. Ryle

TruthBeKnown Podcast Discuss the KJV and Other Translation

Peter Goeman: The Sufficiency and Superiority of God's Word

Abiding In Jesus' Word

Adapted from How to Abide in Jesus' Word by Ian Hamilton:

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples…” John 8:31

According to Scripture, true disciples abide in God’s Word. What does it mean to abide in God’s Word?

The word “abide” means “live in,” “remain,” or “to have your roots in.” In Scotland, someone might ask you, “Where do you abide?” meaning: “Where is your home, where do you live, and where are your roots?” Jesus is posing a test of truth that every professing Christian needs to hear and take to heart.

Let’s unpack Jesus’ statement.

First: to abide is to believe.

To abide in Jesus’ Word means to believe the truth of His Word, especially Him, who is the Truth (John 14:6).… True faith receives Jesus Christ, who is the good news of God, and rests all its hopes before God on Him.

Second: to abide is to obey.

To abide in Jesus’ Word means to obey the commands of His Word. The life of discipleship is to be shaped principally by Jesus’ commands—not by some of them, or even most of them, but by “all” of them.

Doing good is a mark of an authentic disciple. However, the good we do does not and cannot earn us any merit before God. All our merit is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Where there is no obedience, there is no saving faith; there can be no saving faith. The reason for this bold statement is not just that a true-hearted disciple is a new creation with a new heart disposition, although that is wonderfully true. The more fundamental reason is that a true-hearted disciple is someone united to Jesus Christ, the commandment-loving, commandment-keeping Savior. He came from heaven not to do His own will but the will of the One who sent him (John 6:38).

Third: to abide is to continue in His word.

To abide in Jesus’ Word means to persevere or “continue” in His Word.

Jesus had earlier spoken of professing believers who eagerly embraced His teaching but who turned away when opposition and persecution came their way (see Mark 4:16–17). To abide in Jesus’ Word is to so prize its truth that you would rather suffer and even die rather than abandon it.

Fourth: to abide is to abide in Him.

To abide in Jesus’ Word means to abide in Him!

Jesus is impressing on His disciples that He is the spiritual source of their lives. Their connectedness to Him will determine whether they “bear much fruit and so prove to be [His] disciples,” thereby bringing glory to the Father. Abiding in Jesus’ Word and abiding in Him are two sides of the same reality. The written Word and the incarnate Word cannot be separated. The Christian life is lived out of union with Christ. From the moment faith takes you into Christ, He becomes your life (Colossians 3:4). The imagery of the vine and its branches is vivid and evocative. Jesus could not have spoken more forcefully to these men: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

A Discussion on Dreams

Over at the Living Waters Podcast, Ray Comfort, Emeal "E.Z." Zwayne, Mark Spence, and Oscar Navarro have a discussion on what does the Bible say about dreams

LSB Audio Bible: John 10

LSB Audio Bible: John 9

LSB Audio Bible: John 8

LSB Audio Bible: John 7

LSB Audio Bible: John 6

LSB Audio Bible: John 5

LSB Audio Bible: John 4