“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. Peoples will stream to it, and many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us about his ways so we may walk in his paths.’ For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

Micah 4:1-2 CSB

Turning from all that trips us up,

Falling short of the uprights of righteousness

(Or aiming at the wrong goal altogether);

Weak, misdirected, and disordered love—

Loving the wrong things

Or the right things the wrong way;

Prayerlessness, thanklessness, faithlessness;

Legalism and license;

Pride, greed, idolatry;

Resentment and ingratitude,

Words which set worlds ablaze—

Let us embark for the mountain of the Lord,

The mountain of the Lord,

The mountain of the Lord.

Casting off all that weighs us down,

Bruised heart, stiff neck,

Feeble knees, dull ears,

Drooping hands, lame feet, stammering tongues,

Backs bent double ’neath the weight of burdens never meant for us,

Misshapen yokes we crafted for ourselves—

Let us run to the mountain of the Lord,

The mountain of the Lord,

The mountain of the Lord.

Flinging aside all that holds us back,

The body of this death,

This threadbare, moth-eaten tent,

Worn with weakness,

Fading with frailty,

Withering with age,

Trembling digits, gnarled joints, clouded eyes,

Shriveled limbs, addled minds, failing hearts—

Let us fly to the mountain of the Lord,

The mountain of the Lord,

The mountain of the Lord.

Laying aside every hindrance,

every sin that dogs our steps,

Every dying cell of dust-bound frames—

Let us embark, let us run, let us fly

To the mountain of the Lord,

The mountain of the Lord,

The mountain of the Lord.

~December 2025, crlm

“On this mountain, the Lord of Armies will prepare for all the peoples a feast of choice meat, a feast with aged wine, prime cuts of choice meat, fine vintage wine. On this mountain he will swallow up the burial shroud, the shroud over all the peoples, the sheet covering all the nations. When he has swallowed up death once and for all, the Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face and remove his people’s disgrace from the whole earth, for the Lord has spoken. On that day it will be said, ‘Look, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he has saved us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him. Let’s rejoice and be glad in his salvation.’ ”

Isaiah 25:6-9 CSB

New Year, New Bible Reading Plan

Whereas the poem above considers things we must put off and lay down in our pilgrimages to the Celestial City, there are also a few essentials—the Bible, prayer, and worship (with a faithful church community where possible)—we must take up and carry throughout our lives. These are the things that sustain faith through the many, many, deep trials which we must face as we follow Christ. If my life outlasts my ability to do them for myself, I pray the Lord would bring someone to read Scripture, pray, and worship with me the way we did with my mother in her final years.

In that light, have you planned your 2026 Bible reading yet? One of my favorite December activities is choosing my reading strategy for the coming year. This year’s plan took a chronological approach, placing the prophets where they fit in the timeline of the historical books, some of the Psalms where they fit in David’s biography, and the New Testament letters in chronological rather than published order, interwoven with the book of Acts. Some plans read from one book at a time and go straight through, book by book. Others assign small portions from 2-4 places each day. Plans also vary in whether they build in breathing room.

For 2026, I’m delighted to share two different options for following a Bible reading plan in community

The first, which I plan to do, comes from The Village Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee. That church is undertaking a churchwide initiative to read (or listen to) The M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan in 2026 and memorize an assigned Bible verse each week. The audio chapters, read by Kristyn Getty or Conrad Mbewe, are available for free in podcast form for the ESV translation. TVC has compiled a rich document of Treasuring God’s Word resources, reading guides, printables, tips, and FAQs for those who are interested. The M’Cheyne plan has a rich history and has supported the growth in Christ of many, many believers around the world, including yours truly. It is one of my favorite reading plans, which I have returned to several times in the last 38 years.

In addition, the Revive Our Hearts community will also read through the whole Bible in 2026, but with a different plan. They are offering email reminders for those who sign up, and both reading plans and resources are available in many languages at the dedicated page of their website.

I have established relationships with both TVC and ROH and recommend these communities without hesitation.

Do you have a Bible-reading routine? If not, I pray the Lord would guide you to one that He knows will keep you seeking Him day by day. Following some kind of plan has been essential to my Christian life so that I don’t only return to the favorite and familiar passages to the exclusion of the whole counsel of Scripture. If you do have a reading strategy, I’d love to hear in the comments what your approach will be this year.

“For it is no empty word for you, but your very life” (Deuteronomy 32:47, ESV).

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