Monday: Joshua 1
Tuesday: 2 Chronicles 8
Wednesday: Psalm 2
Thursday: Isaiah 6
Friday: Hosea 6
Saturday: Luke 14
Sunday: 2 Corinthians 5
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In pastures green He leadeth me. Join me on the journey.
What's Going on Here?
We are reading our way through the bible one chapter per day. The idea behind my personal reading plan is to read through books chronologically, but not solely one book at a time. Thus on Monday we read from the books of the law, Tuesday the books of kings and judges, Wednesday the books of Jewish History, Thursday Books of Wisdom, Friday the Prophets, Saturday the Gospels and Sunday the Epistles. The next Monday we pick up at the chapter we left off in ancient history. You may think that this would be disjointed and would cause you to "lose your groove" but I have found the contrary to be true, the threads of promise, redemption and grace show up more clearly as I make my way slowly through these books in a parrallel fashion and when I pick up where I left off a week before I am reminded of things that stood out to me from last week's reading. Journaling is a big part of my processing scripture and fixing particular tidbits in my mind for the purpose of life application. I would love to have you join me!
Basic Reading Plan
Mon (Law): Genesis-Joshua
Tues (Rulers): Judges-Chronicles
Wed (History): Ezra-Psalms
Thurs (Wisdom): Prov-Jer
Fri (Prophets): Lam-Malachi
Sat (Gospels): Matthew-Acts
Sun (Epistles) Romans-Revelation.
The theme I have given each section is general. Joshua is not a book of the law and Psalms is not a book of history. The main chunk of reading in each section is, however, suitably classified as the theme it is under. In order to make the sections even out to have the same general number of books/chapters, this was the closest I could come. Otherwise one would be reading through certain sections (like the Law) for instance, much more often than the wisdom books, etc.
Posts
A Place of Fellowship....
(Fellowship is) an expression of both love and humility. [It] springs from a desire to bring benefit to others, coupled with a sense of personal weakness and need. It has a double motive – the wish to help, and to be helped; to edify, and to be edified. It has a double aim – to do, and to receive, good. It is a seeking by Christian people to know God better through sharing with each other what, individually, they have learned of Him already. J.I. Packer.
A few introductory words of encouragement....
Think of your time feeding on God's Word as a vital aspect of your health and wellness. You wouldn't go a week without brushing your teeth, or eating physical food, don't treat the nourishing of your soul by the Word of God with any less care.
Don't cram multiple chapters if you fall behind of plan, but *do* "back-read" if you have the passion and earnest desire to do so. My habit if I miss a chapter is usually to leave it until that book comes up again the next week (based on my own reading plan) and then read two consecutive chapters rather than the one I am scheduled to read.
Don't be legalistic about the when and how. If you don't get a quiet time in the morning, THAT'S OKAY. Find a moment in the afternoon to grab a drink, sit down and put your feet up, and soak up a chapter. And if that doesn't happen, THAT'S OKAY. Take 15-20 minutes at the end of the day to plump some pillows up in your bed and soak it up before you go to sleep. And if that doesn't happen, IT'S OKAY. Tomorrow is a new day. Don't let the enemy discourage you from spending time in the word TODAY because you didn't YESTERDAY. That's just dumb. Did you get that? DUMB.
If you don't have time to read, meditate. Allow God to bring a passage of scripture to mind and allow yourself to listen. Take time to be quiet in your spirit. While you are washing dishes, folding laundry, vacuuming... cleaning bathrooms.
Spruce things up. Get yourself a PRETTY journal and jot down little things that stand out to you. Use your favourite mug or a pretty glass to pour your favourite drink. Sit in your favourite spot (this could change from day to day and depending on the time of day you read. A sunny spot on the porch in the morning, a wing back chair and a blanket if it's chilly, a garden swing in the shade on a hot afternoon, or plumped up in bed with soft lamplight in the evening. Again, don't be legalistic about the location, pick a happy spot that fits the moment/opportunity.) Oh, and DON'T wait for the pretty journal. Plain lined notepaper or even a crumpled scrap paper will work just FINE until you get one....
Remember while you read, God's word is FOR YOU. yes, it was written to a particular audience in a particular time in history and for a particular reason. But it was also written with YOU in mind, TODAY in mind, and is designed to give you strength and wisdom for the journey.
Claim ONE part of the passage and take it to heart. Read through the chapter without too much introspection at first and see what part most stands out to you. Go back and look at that part more specifically and ask yourself what is in there for YOU?
Ask relevant questions. I usually look at a passage with 2 questions in mind. 1. What does this passage tell me about God's character? 2. What does this passage tell me about humanity (ie, ME, in relation to God? a final and very important question to ask is "What does this passage require of me on a practical level?" Write down one attitude, practice or truth you want you live out TODAY in light of what God has just revealed to you. This is how we take ownership of the Word of God and allow it to relate to us and shape us on a personal level.
Build yourself a monument. As I ponder a passages relevance to me I journal the thoughts that arise. Jotting them down somehow cements my convictions in my mind, almost like laying out stones in a monument so I can go back to that place later and be reminded. I also use those notes to come here and share my thoughts later with others.
Keep your actual quiet time concise. This will help make it more likely the habit will continue to happen on a regular basis. Better to spend 15 minutes in the word daily, than 1 hour once a week.
Don't require absolute "alone" and uninterrupted time (without kids around). If they are around, they can learn to not interrupt you for 15 minutes, just like you spend time with other people when they are around, you can spend time with the Lord with them around too.
Think of God’s Word as a love letter to you. When you read stories of God’s wrath in the Old Testament, think about WHAT love paid the price for all that wrath and how a hand that once smote anyone who dared touch the ark of His covenant now beckons YOU to draw near to the throne of grace. Read everything in light of who God is and how much He loves mankind that in spite of our being so deprived, His love story reaches out, encompasses us, washes us clean, and seeks to draw us near.
May you seek Him, may He be found by you, and may you be blessed on the journey.
Don't cram multiple chapters if you fall behind of plan, but *do* "back-read" if you have the passion and earnest desire to do so. My habit if I miss a chapter is usually to leave it until that book comes up again the next week (based on my own reading plan) and then read two consecutive chapters rather than the one I am scheduled to read.
Don't be legalistic about the when and how. If you don't get a quiet time in the morning, THAT'S OKAY. Find a moment in the afternoon to grab a drink, sit down and put your feet up, and soak up a chapter. And if that doesn't happen, THAT'S OKAY. Take 15-20 minutes at the end of the day to plump some pillows up in your bed and soak it up before you go to sleep. And if that doesn't happen, IT'S OKAY. Tomorrow is a new day. Don't let the enemy discourage you from spending time in the word TODAY because you didn't YESTERDAY. That's just dumb. Did you get that? DUMB.
If you don't have time to read, meditate. Allow God to bring a passage of scripture to mind and allow yourself to listen. Take time to be quiet in your spirit. While you are washing dishes, folding laundry, vacuuming... cleaning bathrooms.
Spruce things up. Get yourself a PRETTY journal and jot down little things that stand out to you. Use your favourite mug or a pretty glass to pour your favourite drink. Sit in your favourite spot (this could change from day to day and depending on the time of day you read. A sunny spot on the porch in the morning, a wing back chair and a blanket if it's chilly, a garden swing in the shade on a hot afternoon, or plumped up in bed with soft lamplight in the evening. Again, don't be legalistic about the location, pick a happy spot that fits the moment/opportunity.) Oh, and DON'T wait for the pretty journal. Plain lined notepaper or even a crumpled scrap paper will work just FINE until you get one....
Remember while you read, God's word is FOR YOU. yes, it was written to a particular audience in a particular time in history and for a particular reason. But it was also written with YOU in mind, TODAY in mind, and is designed to give you strength and wisdom for the journey.
Claim ONE part of the passage and take it to heart. Read through the chapter without too much introspection at first and see what part most stands out to you. Go back and look at that part more specifically and ask yourself what is in there for YOU?
Ask relevant questions. I usually look at a passage with 2 questions in mind. 1. What does this passage tell me about God's character? 2. What does this passage tell me about humanity (ie, ME, in relation to God? a final and very important question to ask is "What does this passage require of me on a practical level?" Write down one attitude, practice or truth you want you live out TODAY in light of what God has just revealed to you. This is how we take ownership of the Word of God and allow it to relate to us and shape us on a personal level.
Build yourself a monument. As I ponder a passages relevance to me I journal the thoughts that arise. Jotting them down somehow cements my convictions in my mind, almost like laying out stones in a monument so I can go back to that place later and be reminded. I also use those notes to come here and share my thoughts later with others.
Keep your actual quiet time concise. This will help make it more likely the habit will continue to happen on a regular basis. Better to spend 15 minutes in the word daily, than 1 hour once a week.
Don't require absolute "alone" and uninterrupted time (without kids around). If they are around, they can learn to not interrupt you for 15 minutes, just like you spend time with other people when they are around, you can spend time with the Lord with them around too.
Think of God’s Word as a love letter to you. When you read stories of God’s wrath in the Old Testament, think about WHAT love paid the price for all that wrath and how a hand that once smote anyone who dared touch the ark of His covenant now beckons YOU to draw near to the throne of grace. Read everything in light of who God is and how much He loves mankind that in spite of our being so deprived, His love story reaches out, encompasses us, washes us clean, and seeks to draw us near.
May you seek Him, may He be found by you, and may you be blessed on the journey.
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11 comments:
"The Book of Joshua is a book of battles. A book for soldiers. A book for people who would dare to win God's way. What applied then, applies today. It is the faithful who conquer. Those who follow God's strategy win, those who don't... don't."
Max Lucado, Intro to Joshua
"Always remember what is written in the book of the Teachings. Study it day and night to be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything." Joshua 1:8
The bible study I am working through right now has me understanding God's view of success. It's not a peachy keen life with no conflict and roses and blue skies. It's a life that when pressed by conflict, produces good juices. Juice imbibed with the fruit of the Spirit. That is God's definition of success. And we can only be that kind of person, filled with Him, oozing Him, when we are tapped into Him. Feeding on Him. Filled with His Word and empowered by His Spirit. Huzzah!
"Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he had built for the Lord in front of the Temple porch. He offered sacrifices every day as Moses had commanded. They were offered on the Sabbath days, New Moons, and the three yearly feasts- the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Shelters." 2 Chronicles 8:12-13
"Solomon kept up the holy sacrifices, according to the law of Moses. In vain had the altar been built, in vain had fire come down from heaven, if sacrifices had not been constantly brought. Spiritual sacrifices are required of us, which we are to bring daily and weekly; it is good to be in a settled method of devotion." Matthew Henry
It's interesting, I've been thinking about sacrifice lately, but not in a negative sense. Not in the sense of "what am I willing to sacrifice to prove my devotion" but "what GOOD thing am I willing to sacrifice for God's BETTER or BEST? Whenever I am faced with a choice now I try to ask myself, good, better, or best? and then sacrifice of something "good" becomes a gift of something best in my life, rather than a loss of the good.
it is good to be in a settled method of devotion. it is even better when that settled method of devotion gets cranked up a notch and we find that flame of desire rekindled and thirsting for more heavenly oxygen.
"they say, let's break the chains that hold us back and throw off the ropes that tie us down." Psalm 2:3
the Lord's boundaries are for our protection and nurture, not boundaries of captivity and legalism.
"Be happy, but tremble." v 11
This caught my attention. So many times people are all about the "be happy" part, and leave out the "but tremble" part.
Isaiah 6 13.
"Even if only a tenth-a remnant-survive, it will be invaded again and burned. Israel will remain a stump, like a tree that is cut down, but the stump will be a holy seed that will grow again."
These people must have done a lot of wrong, God wanted to disstroy them all he didn't want 1 surviver. God wanted to make the city holy again so he had to ruin everything and start over again.
Isaiah 6b
But when the oak trees and terebinth trees are cut down, stumps are left. and my holy people will be like stumps that begin to grow again."
This reminds me of our old tree that we cut down, and about a year later the tree stump started sprouting again. It must be sad for God to look at part of his creation and have to destroy it because the people there are evil.
Elisa
Isaiah 6:8 "Then I heard the voice of the Lord, He said, "Who will I send? Who will go for us?"
Classic missionary verse. Such a joy and inspiration to rub shoulders with so many people who have heard the call and surrendered home and stability to step out in faith and be His voice to the nations.
Hosea 6:2 "on the third day he will raise us up so that we may live in His presence and know Him."
goosebumps.
"Your faithfulness is like a morning mist, like the dew that goes away early in the day." v4
"I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices. I want people to know me more than I want burnt offerings." v6
Such a beautiful picture of the faithful father, longing for intimacy with His child.
Hosea vs-6
I want mercy and not sacrifice.I want you to recognize me as God instead of giving me burnt offerings.
This is interesting, God wants us to love him and understand him more than he wants us to give offerings to him. He wants us to recognize that he is God. But that doesn't mean that we can't read the bible, sing songs to him and worship him in any other way. God loves it when we worship him and read the bible, but if we do all those things without recognizing that he is the only God God will be sad because he would rater have us understand that he is god and that we love him.
Hosea 6: 4-6
"O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?" asks the LORD."For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight. I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces. I have slaughtered you with my words, threatening you with death. My judgement will strike you as sure as day follows night. I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices. I want you to know God, that is more important than burnt offerings."
God doesn't want us to plead for mercy and then as soon as he gives it to us we turn away from him, he wants us to love him. God doesn't want our offerings if we just give them to him to keep ourselves safe, he wants us to love him, to be his workers to teach others how to love him.
Luke 14:18 "But all the guests made excuses."
What excuses do I make in my life for not feasting on all that the Master has prepared for and offers me? It is so easy to look at scripture and see where people don't measure up or where they missed the point. But what about me? Not so easy to see and admit where I am missing the point or missing the boat!
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