For those looking for a Bible reading plan, each week I post 2 chapters to read per day as a main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2026, I’ll post the extra chapters to read that week. The main readings will include nearly all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Prophets, and a few other Old Testament books.
Reading 3 chapters a day on weekdays and 4 on weekends almost exactly covers the 1,189 chapters of the Bible, so the “extra” readings will be about 9 chapters per week. These readings will cover the Pentateuch, the OT histories, a few other OT books, plus Jude and Revelation from the NT.
Regardless, I hope this schedule encourages others to read and study their Bible more, whatever parts they decide to read. Follow along (or not) any way you choose!
2 chapter a day plan: Monday, July 27: 1 Corinthians 9 – 10 Tuesday, July 28: 1 Corinthians 11 – 12 Wednesday, July 29: 1 Corinthians 13 – 14 Thursday, July 30: 1 Corinthians 15 – 16 Friday, July 31: Isaiah 1 – 2 Saturday, August 1: Isaiah 3 – 4 Sunday, August 2: Isaiah 5 – 6
Extra chapters for those reading the whole Bible in 2026: 2 Samuel 5 – 13
In life there are many difficult questions, and two of the hardest are also common objections to Christianity: 1) Why doesn’t God do anything about the evil in this world? and 2) Why do bad things happen to good people?
However, the Bible does not leave Christians without hope in the face of these questions.
First, part of what God is doing about the evil in this world is the fact that everyone dies. The Bible teaches that every bad thing in this world is a result of sin – people deviating from God’s purposes – and that because of that sin the world is cursed[1]. Not only do people hurt each other, but the creation itself, including human nature, is not in its ideal state.
Death was not originally part of this world, but came in to the world as a result of sin and is a constant reminder of it. In Genesis chapter 5, there is a genealogy from Adam to Noah. The phrase “and he died” is repeated over and over again and is a reminder that this world is not perfect. God created a consequence for the sin of mankind: death. While the Bible doesn’t explain why there was a snake in the garden or why Adam and Eve sinned, it does describe what God is doing about it. When we ask why bad things happen, we acknowledge that bad things exist, that they shouldn’t exist, and that they can happen to anyone. God isn’t doing nothing about the evil in the world – we all die and that is part of the judgment.
So, the two objections to Christianity (Why doesn’t God do anything about the evil in this world? and why do bad things happen to good people?) end up being contradictory because part of what God does about the evil in this world is that bad things (death) happen to everyone.
However, the Bible teaches that there are two deaths: a physical death and a spiritual death. In the first, our soul is separated from our body and our body dies. In the second, our soul is separated from God eternally and our soul dies but exists forever away from God’s presence and blessings. A second thing that God is doing about the evil in this world is that the first death is universal, but the second death is not.
Fortunately, judgement and death aren’t the only things God is doing about sin. What does this mean? Note the second half of God’s curse on the serpent from Genesis 3:15 –
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Who is being bruised here? In the last phrase, Satan is injuring Christ through the crucifixion, but it’s described as a wound to the heel because it is not fatal. Jesus was raised to life eternal. On the other hand, Christ shall bruise the head of Satan – a fatal blow that he will never recover from. This was determined from the beginning.
While judgement comes to all in physical death as a result of sin, through Christ there is a way out from spiritual, eternal death. Jesus has paid the price for our sin and has conquered eternal, spiritual death as a result.
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” – 1 Corinthians 15:26
Many times, in the Old Testament, places were named or re-named to remind people of something significant that happened there. One of these times happened in Genesis 22:14, which says: “So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”” Those who know their Bible well and who have walked along with the Lord know that God provides in many places and at many times, but only one place was given this name. What did God provide to Abraham and why was it so meaningful that a place needed to be named for it?
Back in Genesis 22:1, we are told that “God tested Abraham” by telling him to go and sacrifice his only son Isaac on Mount Moriah. This is startling is so many ways, not least because human sacrifice is involved. Although some cultures in Old Testament times practiced human sacrifice, in modern times it’s probably universally condemned.[1] To Abraham however, it would also be startling because Isaac was his only son, and God had promised Abraham that “I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven.”[2] If Abraham killed his only son, who was born in Abraham’s old age from the previously barren womb of his wife Sarah by the promise of God, how would Abraham have so many descendants that he couldn’t count them?
While this didn’t make much sense, Abraham trusted God anyway and decided to follow His command. Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead if He so chose. However we got there, God was going to keep His promise. Abraham was able to keep this faith even though the trip to Moriah took more than 3 days.[3] His faith in following through on this seemingly barbaric command was tested by time, but Abraham kept walking in faith.
Which brings us back to the place name “The LORD will provide.” After Abraham had bound his son Isaac, laid him on the wood and prepared to offer him as a burnt offering, God called out to him, saying “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”[4] Abraham then saw a ram caught in the bushes nearby, a perfect substitute for Isaac as a burnt offering! Isaac was set free and the ram was sacrificed. Dilemma resolved. Then the place was named, but also, we read “as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.””
When the Bible says “as it is said to this day” it usually means until the day the passage was written down. So, the saying “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided” lasted until Moses wrote the book of Genesis. But when and why did the phrase fall out of practice? When reading this story, I thought this saying needs to be revived! God still provides for us in amazing ways, but maybe not on Mount Moriah.
Does He provide for us whenever we want Him to? Warren Wiersbe answers this question as: He provides for us “in the place of His assignment. Abraham was at the right place, so God could meet his needs. We have no right to expect the provision of God if we are not in the will of God.”
Abraham, in faith, knew that God would provide a solution to a seemingly offensive and impossible situation, and so He did. But in our case, there are at least two ways we can fall short of obtaining God’s provision: one, we fail to follow His command because it doesn’t make sense to us, and two, we can expect Him to provide what we need for us even though we aren’t doing what He wants us to do.
What if God is asking us to do something that seems unwise financially, socially, or otherwise? Maybe it doesn’t even make sense theologically, as it may not have to Abraham? God wants to provide for us a way through that, a way to reward our faith and glorify Himself for our good. But, if we aren’t willing to follow Him in that instance, we miss out on the blessing.
What if we feel like we’re missing out on some blessing and we don’t know why? Maybe we don’t feel close to God, we don’t feel like He answers our prayers, we don’t feel like He loves us?[5] It may be that He is asking us to do something and we aren’t following through. We expect the blessings to flow at no cost to us.
If Abraham had not followed God’s command, he would have not been able to experience the amazing provision from God that led him to name the place “The LORD will provide.”” And sometimes if we aren’t walking with God in faith (or maybe not even spending enough time with God to know what He wants), we will never learn how He can provide.
What might God be asking you to do today? Have you asked Him? Follow Him and He will prove Himself faithful. He will be glorified and it will be for your good.
Amen.
[1] I’m not aware of any place that still practices it, but I’m not an expert. [2] Genesis 26:4 [3] Genesis 22:4 [4] Genesis 22:12 [5] I don’t mean to minimize the fact that some people just won’t feel good for medical reasons, such as clinical anxiety or depression. Sometimes there are other factors at play that need to overcome in other ways.
The words “grace” and “mercy” are often used interchangeably, as if they mean the exact same thing. But what if they’re both used in the same sentence? For example, the apostle Paul almost always opens his letters to the churches with some version of the phrase “grace and peace,” but in 1 Timothy 1:2 he added “mercy”, writing:
“To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If grace and mercy were the same thing, it would be redundant for Paul to use both words, so they must have different meanings. Paul uses these two words again later in the chapter, in 1 Timothy 1:13b-14, verses that give a clue to the different meanings:
“But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”
Paul had been writing about how before Christ found him, he was a zealous persecutor of Christians, dragging them to prison and also supervising the stoning of Stephen, one of the church’s first deacons, then “But I received mercy…”. Paul deserved to be punished for his hate of and actions against Christ’s people, but instead received mercy.
Then he writes that “the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” Here, Paul is receiving something from God – faith and love. Did Paul deserve these things? No, but he got them anyway.
Perhaps mercy is when you don’t get a bad thing that you do deserve, and grace is when you do get a good thing that you don’t deserve. In Christ, we get both grace and mercy. Paul’s words in 1 Timothy match this description. By mercy, Paul didn’t get the punishment he deserved for his sins, and by grace Paul did get the faith and love he didn’t deserve.
Therefore, Paul, along with all of us, have 3 things to be thankful for: God’s mercy, and the faith and love that we get by God’s grace. None of us deserve the “faith and love” God gives us (or it would not be grace), but when we are saved, we all receive these same gifts. And we get them in place of what we actually deserve.
So, consider what we have received by grace. Even our faith is a gracious gift – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). This faith we receive is enough to save us and reconnect us to God but is not yet a perfect faith that enables us to fully trust God with all of our life decisions. We receive a love that is part of God’s character and is what we are to give to all people, but not enough for us to love perfectly. However, when we are reborn in the new heaven and new earth, we will have perfect faith and love. What a world that will be!
Knowing the difference between grace and mercy gives us more to be thankful to God for, so thank God for both His grace and mercy, and the faith and love that come with them!
For those looking for a Bible reading plan, each week I post 2 chapters to read per day as a main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2026, I’ll post the extra chapters to read that week. The main readings will include nearly all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Prophets, and a few other Old Testament books.
Reading 3 chapters a day on weekdays and 4 on weekends almost exactly covers the 1,189 chapters of the Bible, so the “extra” readings will be about 9 chapters per week. These readings will cover the Pentateuch, the OT histories, a few other OT books, plus Jude and Revelation from the NT.
Regardless, I hope this schedule encourages others to read and study their Bible more, whatever parts they decide to read. Follow along (or not) any way you choose!
2 chapter a day plan:
Monday, July 20: Hosea 9 – 10 Tuesday, July 21: Hosea 11 – 12 Wednesday, July 22: Hosea 13 – 14 Thursday, July 23: 1 Corinthians 1 – 2 Friday, July 24: 1 Corinthians 3 – 4 Saturday, July 25: 1 Corinthians 5 – 6 Sunday, July 26: 1 Corinthians 7 – 8
Extra chapters for those reading the whole Bible in 2026: 1 Samuel 27 – 31; 2 Samuel 1 – 4
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 