This plan provides a good balance between Old Testament readings and New Testament Readings because it guides you through the New Testament twice as you read through the Old Testament once. To allow time for reflection, it follows a two-year plan.
Every week I will post the readings for that week and add the daily devotionals as time permits. If you wish to print a copy of the plan without the devotions, you can find copies of it in pdf format at the link below. I like to print and use them as bookmarks in my Bible.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TQs0_oejNJO8HInVlN1JmSClMhWcEbiG?usp=sharing
The daily readings for this week are included below.
April 30 (Read: Ex. 5 & 6)
“Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me?’” (Ex. 5:22 NAS)
God rarely does things the way we expect Him to. What is our response when He appears to have failed us? Either we question whether we heard correctly, or we begin to doubt that God will do what we asked for. Many of God’s promises are conditional on obedience and faith, so our shortcomings could be a problem. What I have come to understand, however, is that even with our weaknesses, God is merciful and faithful. What we need is faith and patience to see His promises fulfilled (Heb. 6:12). With faith, we may immediately receive an impression in our heart that we have received the answer from God, but it may not be manifested right away. In those situations, I remind myself that Daniel fasted and prayed for three weeks before the angel Gabriel appeared to him with the answer. God had sent the answer as soon as Daniel began to pray, but the principality over Persia opposed Gabriel (Dan. 10:3,12,13). Daniel’s experience should help us understand that the enemy still attempts to prevent the answer to our prayers from reaching us. Sometimes we must continue to fast and pray so that the enemy can be defeated. At other times, we only need to wait patiently until the rearranging of some circumstances are completed. We should not be surprised, either, if our circumstances get more challenging after we pray. This is simply evidence that the enemy is threatened because God is answering our prayers.
Thank You, Holy Spirit, for placing me in Christ, where all the promises of God are “yes”. Angels ascend and descend as messengers on my behalf because I am a member of the body of Christ, the house of God. Help me, Father, to receive all that is needed for life and godliness, through patience and faith in Your promises. You are always faithful to watch over Your word to perform it. (2Cor. 1:20; Gen. 28:12; 2Pe. 1:3,4; Jer. 1:12)
May 1 (Read: Ex. 7, 8 & 9)
The daily devotion will be added later. Until then, please ask the Lord to give you a “wonderful thought” from today’s reading.
May 2 (Read: Ex. 10, 11 & 12)
The daily devotion will be added later. Until then, please ask the Lord to give you a “wonderful thought” from today’s reading.
May 3 (Read: Ex. 13, 14 & 15)
“And the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.” (Ex. 13:21 NAS).
We know that God lives in the hearts of believers. This is what we call His “abiding presence”. There is also what we call God’s “manifested presence”. Because God is present, we can open our hearts to Him, and He will manifest Himself to us (Jn. 14:21-23). For the Israelites, God manifested His presence through angels. An angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush (Acts 7:30). The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire involved the work of an angel (Ex. 14:19). In the New Covenant, we have something far greater than angels; God manifested His presence through His Son (Heb. 1:1-4). After Jesus ascended to Heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit to live in us. As believers, we have the “abiding presence” of the Spirit, but we can also experience the “manifested presence” of the Holy Spirit. Too many Christians are satisfied with just knowing that they have been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13). There is so much more that God wants to do among us through His Spirit. In the early church, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit was not limited to the apostles. “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8). The Scriptures instruct us to “pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts” (1Cor. 14:1). As we do this, let us also remember that angels are minister of God (Heb. 1:7). As lovers of God, we should expect God to manifest His presence to us, both through the gifts of the Spirit (1Cor. 12:7) and through the ministry of angels (Rev. 22:9).
Father, You are the same God Who delivered the sons of Israel from Egypt through the ministry of angels. You also anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Thank You for sending me the same Holy Spirit. I yield my spirit, soul and body to You, Holy Spirit, that God’s grace may be manifested through my life. Thank You also, Father, that You send angels on assignments to work with me to extend Your kingdom upon this earth. (Acts 10:38)
May 4 (Read: Ex. 16, 17 & 18)
The daily devotion will be added later. Until then, please ask the Lord to give you a “wonderful thought” from today’s reading.
May 5 (Read: Ex. 19, 20 & 21)
“Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex. 19:5,6 NAS)
Jesus told His disciples that His food was to do the will of the Father (Jn. 4:34). We also are fulfilled by being about our Father’s business (Lu. 2:49). Each of us has a calling; we are to complete the works that “God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10). Some of these are specific, but most are general in nature. Every believer has a priestly ministry. We can stand in the gap for others, asking for God’s mercy because of the blood of Jesus (Ez. 22:30). We can also offer spiritual sacrifices. This includes offering praise and thanksgiving to God, and sharing our possessions with others (Heb. 13:15,16). The first sacrifice we should give is the surrender of our own life to serve Him (Rom. 12:1,2). We are set apart, sanctified for His use (2Tim. 2:20,21). By faith, we serve one another in love (Gal. 5:6,13). It is only as we obey God in a general way that we will be directed by the Spirit to serve in more specific ways.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for anointing me with Your Holy Spirit to serve as a royal priest. Your presence in me enables me to offer spiritual sacrifice to our Father. I continue to offer myself as a living sacrifice, to love God and my neighbour, which is my reasonable act of worship. Thank You for Your help, Holy Spirit, to serve with the gift of grace that God has given me. Help me to be sensitive to Your promptings, as You also lead me to minister grace to others in specific ways. (Acts 1:8; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 12:1,2; 1Pe. 4:10,11).
May 6 (Read: Ex. 22 & 23)
The daily devotion will be added later. Until then, please ask the Lord to give you a “wonderful thought” from today’s reading.
Highway in the Wilderness 