Monday - Genesis 14
Tuesday - Judges 10
Wednesday- Psalm 39
Thursday- Isaiah 43
Friday- Habakkuk 2
Saturday- Acts 7
Sunday- 1 Timothy 2
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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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10 comments:
"when Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he lined up his servants...all of them... there were 318 of them - and chased after the captors all the way to Dan. Abram and his men split into small groups and attacked by night. They chased them as as far as Hobah..."
this morning this verse spoke to me in the area of spiritual warfare. I have a friend who has been "taken captive" by the lying, thieving, shaming enemy. I will fight this kind of Abram fight for this friend, on my knees, waging battle against the forces of darkness that are doing what they do best. Stealing, killing and destroying. I won't give up until I see the enemy turn tail and flee and I see my friend free.
I need and desire my friends to realize though, that God can't be this fluffy grandfather in the sky, just waiting to send gifts and love from afar. That he wants authentic, living, breathing, committed relationship with them, and what that looks like. Taking time to listen, desire a closer walking, talking, relationship, pray from the heart, and live connected, plugged in, and charged by the source of our living, moving and being. Wake us up, Lord. Shake us up. Don't let us sleep walk through a fog of complacency. Sharpen our senses to the reality and presence of you.
Judges 10
... they just walked off and left God behind, quit worshiping him. And God exploded in hot anger at Israel...
... they cleared house of the foreign gods and worshiped only God. And God took Israel's troubles to heart.
I think sometimes we don't get what this looks like. This leaving God behind thing. We do it too. I don't think it is such a blatant rejection/disbelief, abandonment thing as we might imagine. But more a gentle creeping crowding out and filling up of everything else but God. That broken cisterns mentality. Constantly turning, running, searching, distracted by everything, anything but Him.
My heart gets offended for God sometimes when I see his professing children don't take time, make time, value time to turn to, talk to, listen to and worship and be filled by Him. Sometimes it makes me sad and sometimes it makes me mad. Sounds like it's the same for Him.
Psalm 39
1 I said, "I will be careful how I act
and will not sin by what I say.
I will be careful what I say
around wicked people."
2 So I kept very quiet.
I didn't even say anything good,
but I became even more upset.
3 I became very angry inside,
and as I thought about it, my anger burned.
So I spoke:"
I can see myself here. I'm a talker. A processor. An analyzer. An idealist. A dreamer. I've seen over the years how I need to learn to exercise restraint and not speak my mind in any and every situation.
Other times I recognize I should open my mouth and speak and I lack the courage. Proclaiming people. Extreme integrity (this word on extreme integrity I have adopted from a friend in my ladies bible study and taken to heart). Extreme integrity means being true to God, and all he has invested in/with me, being strong and courageous in who he has shaped and called me to be but walking in humility and grace and patience.
Isaiah 43:22-24"But you didn't pay a bit of attention to me, Jacob.
You so quickly tired of me, Israel.
You wouldn't even bring sheep for offerings in worship.
You couldn't be bothered with sacrifices.
It wasn't that I asked that much from you.
I didn't expect expensive presents.
But you didn't even do the minimum—
so stingy with me, so closefisted. "
So much in this chapter. This makes me so sad. and again, a little mad. we are a stubborn people, too.
Hab 2:4 But the person in right standing before God
through loyal and steady believing
is fully alive, really alive.
This verse kind of got my attention. It is not your standard "by faith alone" type translation. The NCV reads simply;
But those who are right with God will live by faith.
the amplified reads;
but the [rigidly] just and the [uncompromisingly] righteous man shall [a]live by his faith and in his faithfulness.
and the definition of the Hebrew word "faith or faithfulness" as used here is;
literally firmness; figuratively security; moral fidelity: - faith (-ful, -ly, -ness, [man]), set office, stability
Pegging "faith" has always been rather elusive to me. I just got a kind of lightbulb moment that steadfast faith will reveal itself in steadfast faithfulness.
Acts 7
I was impacted by the image of the Israelites wandering in the desert, seeking something to worship, while God was right there, right in their midst. Then David, wanting to build a house of worship and God trying to pound it into his head that that wasn't what mattered. Even us. Do we get that we are the temple of the indwelling Lord? Or do we continue, so "bullheaded! With calluses on our hearts and flaps on our ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit, just like our ancestors."
Are we any different? They "had God's Law handed to you by angels- gift-wrapped!- and squandered it."
we have more than that. We have the gospel, God's love letter to us from time beginning, outlining his plan until the end... we have the freedom and the joy of entering into His throne room and climbing right up into His lap. And how we squander it. Take it totally for granted and don't bother to make an appearance for days, weeks, sometimes months or even years. Open our eyes, Lord. Soften our hearts. May we hunger and thirst for you, and may we find that life giving daily bread and living water that is found in You alone.
I look forward to reading your insight into the scriptures PC. Thank you so much.for what you do for a lot of us everyday.
I have to be more careful about how I word things, and how they might be perceived by others. I want to find the balance of healthy honesty, that doesn't always mean full disclosure. How I say something is as important as what I say, so let's try that again...
1 Tim 2:8-10 "Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray- not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming faithful doing it."
I always feel like such a loser in the fashion/beauty department, I guess because I just don't have time or money to invest in that, or don't give it priority. But I do want to be beautiful, for me being a beautiful person takes a lot of work, figuratively looking into the mirror if you will, asking who I want to be, and what choices are going to help contribute to my own spiritual growth and that of others.
Joan, thank you for your words, I have been thinking through things a number of times this week, when I came to post my thoughts here, I wondered and worried about how others would "see it", and both times I said I was going to be true to myself and be honest and vulnerable. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to be real about it and not worry overly about other people's perceptions of where I'm at (will this be viewed as judgmental? am I being negative? is this too heavy?, etc, etc)... that's where grace can come into play. There is definitely a cost to living an open book kind of life, but I do think it is the kind of life God calls us to. A life of fellowship and mutual support and discipleship. Daryl, your Daryl hit that nail on the head this morning. We can't expect to have it all together, but we can put ourselves out there and connect our journeys with the journeys of others and spur one another one to Christ centered, Christ inspired, Christ empowered living.
was just sharing this with a friend, and thought I would share it as a milestone in my journey here, as well.
I'm reading through a number of books on friendship, one anothering and authentic relationship right now. These quotes are taken from "Authentic Relationships: discover the lost art of one anothering" by Wayne and Clay Jacobsen.
"Even with close friends many of us can't seem to steer the conversation beyond our children, jobs, weather, or sports to share the depth of our spiritual lives. And when we hurt the most it seems like everyone scatters into the busyness of their own lives."
"Healthy relationships, however, are not created by sitting together in the same building or participating in the same activities, but by capturing Jesus' heart for life-changing relationships."
"People have many acquaintances yet few real friendships. We don't know how to make them, cultivate them, or enjoy them and often end up just doing the best we can on our own." (SO TRUE. so sad.)
qualities of a quality friend:
(a number of these were, elements of 7 and 8, were "ouch" moments for me, definitely have maturing to do in those areas. I love this list and will aspire to live it out.)
1. they take an interest in you just because they care.
2. their concern is not tied to their own needs and desires in the relationship.
3. their care for you demands nothing in return and rejoices to see you blessed.
4. they open their life like a book and let you read it freely.
5. you don't ever have to guess what they are thinking, because they will come right out and tell you
6. they make you feel safe enough that you don't have to pretend with them
7. they offer their counsel freely but never demand that you follow it
8. they give you the freedom to disagree and the flexibility to do things differently from how they would do it without ever compromising their love for you.
9. almost without thinking they would give you the shirt of their back if they knew you needed it (but they won't always give you everything you want)
10. They look past your faults
11. they celebrate your promise and offer their help to get you there.
12. you may not see them for months or years at a time, but the next time your paths cross, you will feel as though you have never been apart.
13. when they say they will pray for you, you know they will.
14. when you go through your darkest moments, they will stay by your side.
15. they will let their presence comfort you even when the right words escape them.
Such friends find their origin in God's heart. No one can love so freely whom God has not first loved deeply. Discover the power of His love and you will never be lonely again."
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