Monday - Genesis 12
Tuesday - Judges 8
Wednesday- Psalm 37
Thursday- Isaiah 41
Friday- Nahum 3
Saturday- Acts 5
Sunday- 2 Thess 3
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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:
Genesis 12 "God appeared to Abram and said, 'I will give this land to your children.' Abram built an altar at the place God had appeared to him."
"He moved on from there..."
"Abram kept moving, steadily making his way south to the Negev."
It's my birthday! I am blessed among women. I thank God and praise Him for adopting me, an unloved, bedraggled waif and calling me to walk away from Sodom and never look back. Move forward into the promises and plans He had and continues to have for me. He is the most loving, wonderful Father and Jesus is the gentlest, most caring shepherd, and like the header on this blog says, "in pastures green He leadeth me".
A few weeks ago God spoke to me in a mighty way, and gave me a promise. Since then I have seen that promise come to pass, He has broken chains that had continued to tie me down throughout my life. Chains of oppression that the enemy had double padlocked to keep me in bondage to lies. My chains are gone, I've been set free, my God, my Savior has ransomed me, not just my soul, which has been a reality for 30 some years now, but this earthly body as well, and my mind.
Like Abram, I received a promise, like him, I continue to press forward, to claim it, to live it out, to receive all that God has for me. And I rejoice because each day I can open my eyes, and continue to step heavenward.
I have never before been standing right where I am today, The past is past, the future is future but today is an opportunity to live to the fullest in close communion with my Lord, and I embrace it fully!
He has been faithful, every step of the way. I have not, but this I promise. To always grow, and to grow all ways. To never stop "moving steadily on".
I'm still playing catch up. Judges 8. Gideon. I'm left quite speechless. In the beginning of Gideon's story he seems a meek and quiet type, threshing grain by night, but what comes out in this chapter is just... well... it's violent and he ends up being something of a paradox. Smashing baals and thrashing hostile forces, but then exercising horrific violence/revenge and falling into his own area of idolatry with the ephod and creating a stumbling block for others in that area as well. And why did he have so many wives? What can I learn from this? I can be obedient and triumphant in some ways and still be utterly blind and miss the mark in others. What are the things that even in the name of religion (the ephod) can distract me from my true centre of worship? To be perfectly honest, and this might sound ridiculous, but church can become that for me. I can get so focused on the details, the structure, people, the ins and outs of this "institution" that I lose sight of the one I am there to worship. Even the church can become an idol, if it is not the conduit to turn our eyes and prostrate our hearts before our God.
I'm reading Eugene Peterson's book "Working the Angles" and it talks a lot about how the Psalms are an essential prayer guide. I love this way of looking at them. He says "...the Hebrew prayers (Psalms) are essential. Prayer means that we deal with God first and then the world. Or, that we experience the world first, not as a problem to be solved but as a reality in which God is acting." Love that.
Psalm 37.
"Keep company with God, get in on the best." v4
"Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue. His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins; his feet are sure as a cat's." v30-31
"Keep your eye on the healthy soul, scrutinize the straight life; there's a future in strenuous wholeness." v37
Pastor Darrell preached on healthy spirituality last Sunday. Practicing the spiritual disciplines. A healthy soul is one that has been steeped in healthy habits. One that has been and continues to be washed in the word. His heart pumps God's word like blood through his veins. Wow. I think that understanding and implementation of spiritual disciplines is one of the most glaring missing links in our christian culture. I see God working to reveal acknowledgment, conviction and desire in the lives of many, this is exciting to me. We need to learn how to equip and inspire the church to drink deeply, daily and be empowered by the Word, to understand and live out the word.
More thoughts came up in our family devotions after my last comment as well.
"Did you know you can take a bucket full of dirt from your yard to a lab and have it tested to see what it needs to grow plants better? More important, did you know we are supposed to have the soil of our hearts tested?
Jesus described hearts as having different kinds of soil. And he said we need to examine or test teh soil of our hearts if we want his word to take root there and grow into a crop of right living.
For some people the soil of their lives has been hardened by disappointment and doubt. Their hearts become calloused when they are pricked over and over by the truth but they fail to respond.
For others the seed of the God's Word falls on hearts with shallow stony soil. These are people who never allow God's word to run deep and take root in their lives.
All of us find the soil of our hearts infected at times with thorns and weeds. Our lives become so easily cluttered with time-wasting and soul absorbing things. We find ourselves sitting in church thinking about other things or rushing through our devotions so we can "get on with our day". This type of heart soil is dangerous and deceiving, as we may hardly notice the weeds of empty pleasure and activity growing around us. The weeds choke out the true seed of God's Word before it can grow into something beautiful and fruitful in our lives."
Isaiah 41
"my good friend Abraham". It amazes me. I was just thinking this exact thing, this morning, as I prepared my latte, right before I went to sit down in my quiet spot with my Bible that THIS is what I want. I was thinking of people, praying for people, thinking of myself and my role in their lives and what is it that I want? What do I want to be known for, what mark do I want to leave? I want to be known for being a friend of God. I was thinking that if I had to pick a legacy I would aspire to live out that would be worthy of my tombstone I would want it to read "she walked with God and inspired others to do the same."
What more faithful friend and companion? I highlighted words to pass on to a friend who is "in the valley",
"you're my servant, serving on my side. I've picked you. I haven't dropped you. Don't panic. I'm with you. There's no need to fear...I'll hold you steady, I'll keep a firm grip on you...
I have a firm grip on you and I'm not letting go. I'm telling you, Don't panic. I'm right here to help you." ...
Do you feel like a lowly worm? don't be afraid. Do you feel like a fragile insect? I'll help you. I, God, want to reassure you....
I'm transforming you from worm to harrow, from insect to iron....
but you will be confident and exuberant....
The poor and homeless are desperate for water, their tongues parched and no water to be found. *I'm* there to be found, I'm there for them, and I, God, will not leave them thirsty. I'll open up rivers for them on the barren hills, spout fountains in the valleys. I'll turn the baked-clay badlands into a cool pond, the water-less waste into splashing creeks."
What words for the lowly. What hope for the hopeless. What a friend in time of need. Praying that my friend will hear and know that He is carrying them to brighter, greener, higher heights today.
>>What more faithful friend and companion?<< than God. I wasn't clear :)
Acts 5
"by this time the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with."
those words "trifled with" really grabbed my attention this morning. How many times do we "trifle" with God. Treating Him like the cherry on the cake rather than the be all and end all of our sustenance, purpose and direction? Everything ELSE is trifling, and yet mankind has this horrible blindness to how we put the cart before the horse. Fit God (or try to, or fail miserably at trying to) into our lives instead of shape our lives around God. I don't want to "trifle" with God. I want to start my day, eyes wide open as to who He is, heart ready to see where He is at work, body and soul ready and willing to live with purpose beyond the menial.
I hope Gamaliel's wisdom lasted until he was able to see the truth of the apostles' words for himself- what a wise and courageous thing to say! vs39 made me want to stand and applaud him! What I noticed was, after he spoke persuasively, the apostles were STILL flogged and STILL told to cut it out. And they rejoiced! Talk about conviction.
Persuades me to think about motives. In this passage, I see men /women acting out of pride (greed, jealousy), fear, and also out of love and devotion. Love must be our driving force and our goal.
2 Thess 3
"We hear that some of you are not busy, but busybodies..."
This verse has long convicted me. In the sense that one of my insecurities has always been in my relationships (lack of such as a child) and therefore I have spent my life neglecting duty in order to seek to forge meaningful relationship. I am older and wiser now and realize that I must embrace the relationships that God has gifted me with and recognize as them as icing on the cake, but not neglect the cake at the expense of the coating. A few weeks ago I sat down to write myself a "mandate" for living. My commitment to the things that I recognize and claim as my duties. I will post it here as one of those "monuments" that will stand over time. I have it posted on my fridge and a copy in my bible.
My Mandate
1. I will delight in God my Savior. I will live this out by devoting the first-fruits of my day and week to private and corporate worship and communion with Him. If there is an epitaph that I will aspire to it is; “She walked with God and inspired others to do the same.” ~Luke 1:47 "...and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”~
2. I will bless my husband by doing him "good"; investing in his needs, relationally, physically, practically . ~Proverbs 31:12 ...”She does him good and not harm all the days of her life.”~
3. I will devote my days to training my children in righteousness and wisdom and the stumbling blocks of the evil one. ~Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. “~
4. I will look to the ways of my household, managing it with diligence in order to create a beautiful and orderly environment for us to live out the preceding three values in a spirit of peace and joy. ~Proverbs 31:27 “She watches over her family and never wastes her time.”~
These will be the four pillars of values I will build my household on. On these pillars, ON and not at the expense of, I will build a floor of service to and relationship with the rest of the world. I will open my doors, open my heart, and welcome others into our lives; letting my service be the natural outpouring of my love for Him. ~Luke 6:45, “A good man from the good stored up in his heart brings forth what is good.”~
~Proverbs 14:1 “Every wise woman builds her house and strengthens her family, but the foolish woman destroys hers with her own hands, by what she does.”~
Wow, that's great.
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