Here is the list of readings for this week. Each week I will post 2 chapters to read per day as the main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2025, I’ll post the extra chapters needed for that goal. The main readings will include all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, the Pentateuch, Ecclesiastes, 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.
Follow along (or not) any way you choose! I will often be re-posting old blogs that comment on the chapters in this schedule.
Monday, January 13: Psalm 13, Genesis 13 Tuesday, January 14: Psalm 14, Genesis 14 Wednesday, January 15: Psalm 15, Genesis 15 Thursday, January 16: Psalm 16, Genesis 16 Friday, January 17: Psalm 17, Genesis 17 Saturday, January 18: Psalm 18, Genesis 18 Sunday, January 19: Psalm 19, Genesis 19
Additional readings if you want to read the whole Bible this year: 1 Samuel 17-25
On January 6, 1956, a group of American missionaries made first contact with a local tribe in Ecuador, trying to reach them with the gospel. Two days later, on this date, January 8, 1956, five of those missionaries – Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, Nate Saint and Roger Youderian – were speared to death by the very Auca tribe they spent years preparing to minister to. But their story was not over.
Jim Elliot and others had been ministering to the Quichua people in Ecuador since 1952, with many coming to faith in Jesus. However, the nearby Aucas (now called Waodoni) were known to kill any outsiders that entered their area, including Quichua and also oil workers at a site nearby. Jim “knew the only way to stop the Aucas from killing was to tell them about Jesus”[1] and came up with a plan to reach them. Working with Nate Saint, a missionary supply pilot, they spent months trying to safely build goodwill with the Waodoni by lowering supplies to them from a plane and speaking friendly Waodoni phrases from a loudspeaker.
On January 6th, they talked to a Waodoni called George, thinking they had gained some trust and they set up a later meeting. George, however, lied to them about his intentions, and ten members of the tribe were ready in ambush with spears on January 8th. The unarmed missionaries had no chance.
Jim Elliot
Seeking vengeance or giving up might have been a reasonable response for the other missionaries, but in a miraculous example of forgiveness, persistent faith, and a heart for the lost, Elisabeth and Valerie Elliot (Jim’s wife and young daughter), and Rachel Saint (Nate’s sister) learned the local language and moved into the jungle to live with the Waodoni in 1958. Elisabeth wrote about serving those who killed her husband: “The deepest things that I have learned in my own life have come from the deepest suffering. And out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires have come the deepest things I know about God.” Today, the Waodoni are a friendly tribe and many are professing Christians. Missionaries, including members of the Saint family, still live among them today. Elisabeth died in 2015 at the age of 88, after a long career as missionary, author, speaker, and radio host.
Jim’s Apparent Failure is God’s Victory In life, Jim Elliot was sometimes frustrated by his effort, once writing: “No fruit yet. Why is it that I’m so unproductive? I cannot recall leading more than one or two into the kingdom. Surely this is not the manifestation of the power of the Resurrection. I feel as Rachel, ‘Give me children, or else I die.’”[2] While attending Wheaton College in Illinois in the 1940’s, Jim developed a desire to preach the gospel, including taking the train to Chicago and talking about Jesus with people at the train station, but with little response.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
– Jim Elliot
But in death, Jim was used by God to inspire many other missionaries, including his own family, through whom God’s love for the lost went out and bore more eternal fruit than Jim may have ever imagined. His story is a reminder that faithfulness is the Christian’s objective, and God provides the fruit.
Jim wrote what has become a familiar quote to many: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” In Paradise, Jim, those affected by his ministry, and all other believers, will forever praise God for His steadfast love through the centuries. Nothing we do for God now can look foolish from that perspective. We have so much to gain that we cannot lose.
Soli Deo Gloria
Learn More: This story was dramatized in the 2005 film End of the Spear and in the 2002 documentary Beyond the Gates of Splendor. A website dedicated to Elisabeth Elliot’s life (https://elisabethelliot.org/) has more on this amazing history of God’s work.
Here is the list of readings for this week. Each week I will post 2 chapters to read per day as the main reading plan, and for anyone who wants to read the whole Bible in 2025, I’ll post the extra chapters needed for that goal. The main readings will include all of the New Testament, plus Psalms, Proverbs, the Pentateuch, Ecclesiastes, 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.
Follow along (or not) any way you choose! I will often be re-posting old blogs that comment on the chapters in this schedule.
Monday, January 6: Psalm 6, Genesis 6
Tuesday, January 7: Psalm 7, Genesis 7
Wednesday, January 8: Psalm 8, Genesis 8
Thursday, January 9: Psalm 9, Genesis 9
Friday, January 10: Psalm 10, Genesis 10
Saturday, January 11: Psalm 11, Genesis 11
Sunday, January 12: Psalm 12, Genesis 12
Additional readings if you want to read the whole Bible this year: 1 Samuel 8-16
Often in the Bible, a person’s name tells us more than just what they are called – it tells us something about their character or history. Also, a name describes the authority and honor due to someone, like when we do something in someone’s name, we claim their authority to do it. There are many names for our Lord Jesus, describing His character and authority, and a great summary of these is the worship song, “Jesus, Name Above All Names.” It has two main verses, listing many of Christ’s names, as follows:
Verse 1 Jesus, name above all names Beautiful Savior glorious Lord Emmanuel God is with us Blessed Redeemer living Word
Verse 2 Jesus, loving Shepherd Vine of the branches Son of God Prince of Peace Wonderful Counselor Lord of the universe Light of the world
There are many truths about Jesus we can know, and much meaning is contained in the names from this song, but as infinite God, we cannot understand every truth about Him. A verse that reminds us of this is Revelation 19:12 – “His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.”
We know Jesus by many names, but He has at least one that only He knows. We know many of His names, but none of them can fully describe Him. Likewise, He has many crowns (“diadems”), but none of them can fully describe His power, authority, and honor.
But it was because of our Lord’s humility, taking on the form of man and voluntarily suffering death on the cross for His people, that Philippians 2:9-11 declares: “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
He alone has the name that deserves all of our devotion and respect. While we cannot fully understand Him, we can seek to fully trust Him.
An old friend used to encourage me to read the Bible every day, and his reasoning was: “The Bible is 66 love letters from God. If you got a love letter from any other person, would you put off reading it?” It took many years before I really took this to heart, but I always remembered it.
Dear fellow travelers,
I pass along that story, but I’ll also add more to it. The best times are not when we just read these letters. Devotions aren’t just lessons, memorization exercises, a disciplinary action, or a time to pay your dues so you can get on with your day. They are time spent with Someone who loves you more than anything, and who wants you to love and trust Him more than anything. Treat Him as you would treat an honored guest, because He is really there with you.
Think of it this way – How often do you get to spend time with someone who fulfills 1 Cor 13:4-7 perfectly?
Someone who is patient and kind; who does not envy or boast; is not arrogant or rude. Who does not insist on His own way; is not irritable or resentful; does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [1]
Nobody else we see today will be nearly as good to us.
We all miss days, even weeks or longer, but He is patient and kind. We can try again tomorrow or later today, and He will be there.
[1] This paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 was suggested in a devotional: “August 30.” James Montgomery Boice and Marion Clark. Come to the Waters: Daily Bible Devotions for Spiritual Refreshment. (2017). It was also the basis of a prior post, Jesus is Patient and Kind Even When I am Not
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 