MONDAY

Reading for Today:
John 1:1-18
James 1:1-11
Ecclesiastes 1
Jeremiah 1–2

Jeremiah 1–2
When God appointed Jeremiah as a prophet, Jeremiah told him, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young” (Jeremiah 1:6). Apparently, he thought he wasn’t old enough to do what God asked him to do. Many times we have similar concerns. We think we are too young or too old, not knowledgeable enough, too quiet, too timid, not holy enough, etc. We make excuses about what we can’t do instead of trusting him with what we can. The truth is, if God asks us to do something, he will prepare us for the task.

TUESDAY

Reading for Today:
John 1:19-28
James 1:12-18
Ecclesiastes 2:1-16
Jeremiah 3–4

Ecclesiastes 2:1-16
In Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon shared what he learned about pleasures and productivity. Both of them, he said, are “meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (v. 11). Most of us can understand the temptation to look to someone or something other than God to bring fulfillment to our lives. Maybe it’s a job, relationship, possession, status, or something else. No matter what it is, it will not provide what you need. You can have everything this world has to offer (like Solomon did) and still be empty. On the other hand, if you have God as your foundation, you have all you need.

WEDNESDAY

Reading for Today:
John 1:29-34
James 1:19-27
Ecclesiastes 2:17-26
Jeremiah 5–6

James 1:19-27
There’s a big difference between knowing about God and knowing God. Knowing about God is filling our heads with knowledge about Scripture but failing to let that knowledge get into our hearts. Knowing about God is reading the Bible, but not letting the words of God change our lives. Knowing God, on the other hand, is getting into God’s Word and allowing it to transform our hearts and lives. Knowing about God is information; knowing God is intimacy. Don’t let your Bible study be an end in itself. Rather, let it be the beginning of life-change.

THURSDAY

Reading for Today:
John 1:35-42
James 2:1-13
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
Jeremiah 7–9

John 1:35-42
John the Baptist pointed people to Jesus, even when doing so made him lose followers. In the text for today, he saw Jesus passing by and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36). Immediately, two of his disciples left him and followed Jesus. One of the greatest temptations of ministry is to make the ministry about us: to make it about our followers, our church growth, our message. John the Baptist recognized that his ministry was not about him. His ministry was about Jesus. What is your ministry about? Is it really about Jesus, or is it about you?

FRIDAY

Reading for Today:
John 1:43-51
James 2:14-26
Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
Jeremiah 10–11

Jeremiah 10–11
We like to think we’re in charge of our lives, but the truth is, we’re not. Control is like a bubble being chased by a toddler. The toddler chases it but can never quite reach it. He might get close. He might even touch it for a second. But then it pops in his hand. No matter how hard we try, we can’t really control our lives. That’s because we weren’t meant to. Jeremiah 10:23 says, “People’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” We can’t control our lives, but God can.

SATURDAY

Reading for Today:
John 2:1-11
James 3:1-12
Ecclesiastes 4
Jeremiah 12–13

James 3:1-12
What does your language sound like at church? It likely sounds clean. We do a good job of cleaning up our lives for Sunday. But what does your language sound like at home when your kids disobey, or at work when your coworkers share an offensive joke, or at the ball field when the referee makes a bad call, or at dinner with friends on Friday night? James 3 warns against a tongue that praises God yet curses men, who are made in the image of God (v. 9). Our language shouldn’t be any different on Sunday than it is on Friday.