Monday: Joshua 16
Tuesday: 2 Chronicles 24
Wednesday: Psalm 17
Thursday: Isaiah 21
Friday: Amos 4
Saturday: John 5
Sunday: Ephesians 1
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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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13 comments:
I'm guessing that dislodging the Canaanites may have been smarter than forcing them to work... but I could be wrong.
Still jazzed up from a couple of sermons this weekend. Pastor Darrel's continued to build on the one I heard by Andy Stanley, and both mentioned living under the hand of God's grace... how if God were to eradicate sin and suffering (like so many people beg him for), many people who might come to know him would not get that opportunity. How we as a people of God are the 'salt' that is preserving the lives of those not yet saved... in the same way Abraham pleaded for the lives of the righteous in Sodom and tried to turn away God's wrath, we are to be the salt of the earth, in effect, persuading God to slow His hand because of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit working in us where God has placed us. Hoo-boy- hopefully my meaning has not been lost in my morning thought-patterns. Happy November, everyone.
great thoughts, Chris.
I got caught up in ruminations about "borders". Not sure where to start or stop talking about that, but basically thinking how God gives us a territory (like the talents in the parable) and if we don't recognize and apply "borders" to that, we can be spread all over to kingdom come and not watchful or dilligent within our own territory. Borders are important. It's hard to stay within the borders, it's easy to get distracted, chasing after new horizons. I want to take hold and rule my territory well and that takes determination and discipline to stay put and keep my hand to the plow.
Joash was quite the guy! Imagine growing up knowing you were being hidden in order to bring restoration to a nation... to start out with. As soon as Jehoida died, it was as if Joash felt he was granted permission to do whatever he wanted... no one to tsk-tsk over his shoulder as he made decisions.
What kind of decisions do I make when no one else is around... do I serve myself and feel entitled to it? Eeps. Sometimes. The Holy Spirit doesn't nap, I don't escape His presence... God has left a part of Himself with us to encourage, teach and chastise, and I will do well to remember that.
I felt ill reading what Joash did to Zechariah, the son of Jehoida... after doing so much good rebuilding the temple, Joash goes on a rampage, ending in his own death.
2 Chronicles 24:2 Joash did what the Lord said was right as long as Jehoiada the priest was alive.
this part about "as long as Jehoiada was alive" struck me. Jehoiada mentored/counseled/discipled Joash while he lived, and influenced him to live rightly. But it appears Joash never took ownership for right living because his right living lasted only as long as Jehoiada's influence in his life.
I've been thinking about my kids lately. I don't want them to do what's right just because I am watching/instructing them to do so. I want their choices to be personal and I want their experience to breed desire to walk in righteousness because it results in Holy Spirit blessed peace and joy. I don't want to enable them, I want to empower them to taste and see that the Lord is good, so that when I am gone, they will keep going strong, because they desire Him and His ways more than they desire selfish gratification.
>>do I serve myself and feel entitled to it? <<
I've been thinking about this lately, too. Not so much personally but looking at my kids. I think I have unconsciously bred a spirit of entitlement in them. Wanting them to be happier than I was a child I have bred an attitude of "I deserve to be happy" and if they are NOT happy, someone is to blame and they don't like it. I never realized until yesterday (reading your book, have a new kid by Friday) that this is a worldly philosophy, this idea of "I deserve to be happy". I mean, I would have seen it looking at adults, but I didn't see that I was raising my kids to feel that way just because I so desperately want them to be happy. But happiness does not come from fostering an attitude of entitlement, on the contrary, that kind of attitude will inevitably lead to continual feelings of unfulfillment and disappointment, because hey, let's face it, life isn't fair.
Psalm 17 This is continuing to build on the theme that God has been revealing to me this week through my ladies bible study and my club lesson. Crying out to God in prayer and then seeing HOW he responds. God always responds, so we should never waiver in faith that God hears and moves. It's how He may choose to move that sometimes throws us for a loop. David here is asking for deliverance from his enemies. The lesson that I have been learning is that God always delivers. Sometimes OUT of the fire, sometimes THROUGH the fire, and sometimes BY the fire. This means He might remove our circumstances and thus strengthen our faith, accompany us THROUGH our circumstances like the fourth man in the fiery furnace, this refines or purifies our faith. Or deliver us BY our circumstances into His arms. Like Jesus in Gethsemane whose request to have the cup taken was denied. This kind of answer perfects our faith.
Psalms 17
The last verse has me thinking. It moved me and not totally sure why. I am assuming it has to do with great thankfulness in being in the Lord each new day.
Such a passionate cry out to the Lord!
And he [the watchman] tells [what it foretells]: Babylon has fallen, has fallen! And all the graven images of her gods lie shattered on the ground [in my vision]! v9 amplified
Babylon is the theme for me this month. The 50 foot statues that we ressurect to make ourselves feel successful and important in life. The attitude of "I am and beside me there is no other", the spirit of surrounding ourselves with idols and indulgences that take the place of God in our life. It's so hard for us to see them as gods with little g's, but my oh my, that is what they are. What we give our time to, our money to, our energy to. One day all those things will lay shattered in front of us, or burned in the fire when we pass through it to stand before our maker. What I want is more of Him, what I want is to let go of all pretense that other people, other things can bring me joy or deserve my worship. I want eyes to see the idols in my life and the determination to smash them and leave them behind long before that moment so that when I stand before him my life won't be a pile of straw that goes up in flames before His refining fire.
Isaiah 21:11,12 A voice calls to me from the Seir mountains in Edom,"Night watchman! How long till daybreak? How long will this night last? "The night watchman calls back, "Morning's coming, But for now it's still night.
Sometimes when going through a difficult situation I wonder how long until daybreak? Today this spoke to me. Morning IS coming, BUT FOR NOW it is still night. Thank you for the hope of morning!
i'm so glad you shared that, Annette! It gave me goosebumps. "Morning is coming!"
"but still you did not come back to me." this phrase continued to leap out at me every time it was repeated. It resonated with me because I have been considering how God allows us to suffer and be stripped bare of the things we value in order that we might recognize His desire to be first and only in our lives. To throw ourselves upon Him and realize that "yes, Lord, I want/need you, first and only. empty cisterns do not satisfy, fill me Lord.
I don't try to please myself, but I try to please the One who sent me. John 5:30b
v 44 You try to get praise from each other, but you do not try to get the praise that comes from the only God.
the first one is what SHOULD motivate us, the second is so often what does. What a mess we make of things.
Ephesians 1:19 And you will know that God's power is very great for us who believe. That power is the same as the great strength20 God used to raise Christ from the dead...
I needed this word this morning. I feel webs of depression pressing in on me and am on edge constantly worrying if they will envelope me and debilitate me. The God who raised Christ from the grave can raise me from the darkness in my head and heart.
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