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.
I hope this 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, April 20: Psalm 110, Job 22 Tuesday, April 21: Psalm 111, Job 23 Wednesday, April 22: Psalm 112, Job 24 Thursday, April 23: Psalm 113, Job 25 Friday, April 24: Psalm 114, Job 26 Saturday, April 25: Psalm 115, Job 27 Sunday, April 26: Psalm 116, Job 28
Extra chapters for those reading the whole Bible in 2026: Numbers 25 – 33
When comparing Genesis and Revelation, we find similarities between the Paradise man lost and the Paradise to come. Consider these verses about each:
Genesis 2:8-9: “And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.” Revelation 22:1-2: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
A stream in Llanberis, Wales.
In each description is the tree of life, and also a river. Rivers are greatly beneficial to the growth of cities and civilizations, providing benefits for agriculture, trade, travel, etc. Even today, most large cities that don’t border a large body of water have a navigable river nearby or flowing through it. A big city without one is rare: in the United States, Dallas, Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina, may be the only major cities not located near a significant river.
Rivers are mentioned a lot in the Bible, including in this Psalm about God being our refuge and fortress. An unnamed river in the “city of God” is mentioned:
“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.” (Psalm 46:4)
However, Jerusalem, the place Jews in the Old Testament period would have considered the “city of God” does not have a river. The Psalmist certainly knew this, so their point is about something else, that the “city of God” has, well, it has God, as described in the next verses:
“God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah” (Psalm 46:5-7)
Jerusalem may not have a river, but it has God who provides all it needs and more. No river required. Even though the literal, ancient Jerusalem was eventually destroyed by the Babylonians, and later by the Romans, the eternal City of God will never be moved. All other nations “rage” and “totter,” but God’s kingdom is forever secured by the One whose voice melts the earth. Hebrews 1:10-12 (quoting from Psalm 102:25-27):
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”
Do you worry that you lack things others have? Things that would provide benefits for your business, spare time, or other pursuits? With God as our fortress and refuge, we don’t need a river, but in Paradise He will provide one anyway.
The story of the Tower of Babel, recorded in just 9 verses in Genesis 11, has a lot more to say than its length might suggest. It’s not just the story of a tower being built, or a story about the origin of different languages. It is also a story of why the tower was built and what it meant about the builders’ relationship with God.
The Tower of Babel was mankind’s best effort at achieving salvation, a path to heaven, based on their own works. In the tower we see man declaring his independence from God, his lack of need for the God, or any god. This act of rebellion was similar to Adam and Eve’s sinful desire to know good and evil for themselves in the garden of Eden, because the builders of the tower were saying that they know better than God. “We’ll get to perfection on our own,” they thought. They were the progressives of their day, believing in the infinite potential of mankind.
Also, verse 4 tells us that part of the motivation for building the tower was to prevent man from being “dispersed over the face of the whole earth,” but God had told His people to “fill the earth,”[1] not to settle down in one spot. In the next chapter God would tell Abraham that he would become a nation, and that through that nation, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[2] God’s people are not meant to hide in their own dwellings, but to bless the world by telling it of God’s love and by living out that love to “all the families of the earth.” Babel’s builders had the wrong priorities.
Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash. The Tower of Babel may have been a ziggurat or a pyramid.
The story of the Tower also tells us that our best efforts will always fall short. In the story, note that “the LORD came down to see the city and the tower.” Mankind intended for this tower to reach heaven, but God had to “come down” to see it. Our best efforts fall way below God’s standards and intention for us. While we might achieve a lot and take pride in it, it’s never as good as what God can do for us, and we know that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”[3] Later in history, He would show us that only He, in Christ Jesus, could be the path that gets us to heaven. There is no other way no matter how hard we try.
Another subtle point from the story is that the materials we decide to work with are never better than what God has already given us. Babel’s builders “had brick for stone,” meaning the tower was built with manmade bricks, not stones. We might think of stones as “natural” but really, they’re what God created in the form He created it, and they’re much stronger than bricks. In the same way, if we follow God’s intention for our lives rather than inventing our own ways, we will find that His ways are better and stronger than anything else available.
Lastly, the tower’s very name, Babel, is a form of “Babylon,” which is a literal city, but also in Revelation 17-18 Babylon represents any society where man attempts to live independently of God. To seek perfection without Him and by His righteousness. Revelation also tells us that Babylon will be destroyed, and everything that Babylon represents.
God has given us everything we need to live and to glorify Him today. Will we use it, or try to go our own way?
[1] Genesis 1:28, Genesis 9:1 [2] Genesis 12:3 [3] James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5
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.
I hope this 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, April 13: Psalm 103, Job 15 Tuesday, April 14: Psalm 104, Job 16 Wednesday, April 15: Psalm 105, Job 17 Thursday, April 16: Psalm 106, Job 18 Friday, April 17: Psalm 107, Job 19 Saturday, April 18: Psalm 108, Job 20 Sunday, April 19: Psalm 109, Job 21
Extra chapters for those reading the whole Bible in 2026: Numbers 16 – 24
Are there people in the church, either in your own church, another local church, or somewhere in the global church, that seem a bit un-Christian? Perhaps their doctrine is different than yours, or perhaps they behave differently. Maybe they dress differently or have different standards in music. They could have different political beliefs. It could be anything.
Within a parable Jesus told in Matthew 13:24-30 is some wisdom about “those people.” The parable is:
“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
For this post, the key phrase in the parable is “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.” The wheat in the parable represents God’s people, and the weeds represent unbelievers in the midst of them. The servants ask the master whether they should pull up all the weeds immediately, which seems like a sensible thing to do. Weeds are bad for crops, right?
The surprising response is that the servants should “Let both grow together until the harvest.” Why? Because in the master’s judgment it is better for the wheat if the weeds are allowed to grow. In other words, removing the weeds before the harvest – when God will separate the wheat from the weeds – would be bad for the wheat harvest. Until the harvest, the master warns that we could “root up the wheat along with them.”
In Matthew 25 where Jesus tells of the final judgment in verses 31-46, it’s strongly implied that some of the “wheat” will be surprised about being wheat and some “weeds” will be surprised about being weeds. In verses 37-39 Christians say: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” In verse 44, unbelievers say: “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?”
Therefore, if the wheat and the weeds themselves can be unsure which they are, how can anyone else definitively decide who doesn’t belong, especially to risk damaging those who do belong. There will always be true and false believers in churches until Christ returns, so remember: According to the Master, the wheat is better off with the weeds than without. Especially if sometimes what we think are weeds actually aren’t.
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 