Morning is my best time for Bible readings before the noise of the day begins.

My daily reading choices for 2026 are pictured in the collage above. I’m using a 4 part Bible Reading Plan that has the Bible broken up with daily sections in the Psalms/Wisdom Literature, Pentateuch/History of Israel, Chronicles/Prophets, and Gospels/Epistles. Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening is my second daily reading, a section in the morning and a section in the evening before bed. My third choice is going to stretch my brain, Daily Doctrine ~A One Year Guide to Systematic Theology, by Kevin DeYoung.

Here’s an excerpt from day seven: “Ad Fontes is a Latin phrase meaning “to the sources,” or literally “to the fountains.” It comes from the Vulgate version of Psalm 42:1. The Vulgate was the Latin Bible used almost exclusively in the church for a thousand years, until men like William Tyndale and Martin Luther began to translate the Bible in the common language of the people. During the Reformation this little phrase, ad fontes, became a rallying cry for those who wanted Christian learning to go back to the sources, back to the original fountains, which meant back to the Greeks and the ancient writers and ultimately back to the Scriptures themselves.”

Thankfully each day’s reading in this book is short and hopefully I can retain what is important.

In all these daily readings, “The beholding must make us more like Christ.” I was inspired to write that down in my journal but don’t know if I read that thought from Spurgeon or another source. It’s a good reminder of why we read the Bible and other works filled with Truth from the Bible. Not just an exercise but a way to learn more about our Triune God and to love Him more. We love because He first loved us.

This past Sunday in our Adult Sunday School time our pastor talked about Progressive Sanctification and referenced 2 Corinthians 3:18; “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” Earlier in this chapter we learn that only through Christ is the veil removed. “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” When that veil is removed God begins His sanctifying work in our lives from one degree of glory to another. He gives us the desire and the way to become more like Christ and to glorify Him forever. It happens by steps, by degrees, until we see Him face to face.

This is the first book I’ve finished reading in 2026. It is an older published book and was an easy read with some side stories about Begg and his experiences in Scotland and how he ended up in Cincinnati. I’ll add one quote from the book; “We must ask ourselves, Who am I trying to please? The worker endeavors to please his boss. The child, his parents. The pupil, his teacher. But for the believer, underpinning all that must be a heartfelt commitment to be able to say with Paul, “We make it our goal to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9).

These, above and below, are all books we ordered in December that are waiting for us to read. We need another bookcase!

With a whole year ahead it shouldn’t be too difficult to read through these books.

What is on your bookshelf that you want to read this year?