Monday: Genesis 21
Tuesday: Judges 17
Wednesday: Psalm 46
Thursday: Isaiah 50
Friday: Zechariah 1
Saturday: Acts 14
Sunday 2 Timothy 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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12 comments:
Reminds me of Mr. Ratzlaff's words about losing faith in a few generations-- here it says "In these days Israel had no king and everyone did as they saw fit". If there were no godly parents instilling and demonstrating a right relationship with God, it is easy to see how this family (Micah and his mother) could be so off-track in their desires to be holy. My goal for this summer is to practice quiet time WITH my boys-- so that they expect it, look forward to it and get to know Jesus more, not just more about Him.
You just took my breath away. This is EXACTLY what my topic for Momm's group is tomorrow. I was supposed to speak on "anchoring our kids in God's word" but it turned into "it's all about relationship, and the book is only the means to knowing, loving, and understanding God's will for our lives. For being able to have a right view of life, of truth, of What Really Matters. We can not guide our children into something that we don't possess. If we want our kids to have a vibrant thriving, personal relationship with Jesus, we must MODEL a vibrant, thriving personal relationship with Jesus. You just nailed EXACTLY what I have been praying for these women and what I want to inspire them to. So excited to see God moving in your life in this area, it encourages me and makes me want to whoot, whoot. We can raise kids whose love for Jesus is rooted so deep that nothing can separate them from it, or rob them of their inner peace and joy, what more could we hope for them? People will fail them, circumstances will fail will them, hurts are bound to come, but He who finds His strength and peace and purpose in Christ will never be moved, and never be shaken.
"whoot whoot" - that made me smile out loud. :)
psalm 46, from the amplified, selah is expanded to read (pause and calmly think of that). I love that! Also, the "Be still and know verse" caught me in a fresh way from the amplified;
"Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God."
Let be. Major food for thought for me this morning.
Let be. I like that.
Isaiah 50- seems like vs 4 is made for mornings like these- "He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taugh. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back." Sitting in the sun each morning before school, Jesus draws me to His word.
I like the foreshadowing in this chapter. But what of vs5? Is God speaking about Himself?
Isaiah 50 - My notes relate v. 10 & 11 to self-sufficiency. How often don't we try to do "it" ourselves when we should be relying on Him. What a good reminder.
Isaiah 50:2 "I came home and found no one there; I called, but no one answered."
this stood out to me. Just like God came to the garden to spend time with Adam and Eve, so He "comes home" to us. But how many of us are too busy, off running doing everything but to have time to greet Him and sit down with Him and spend time with Him.
Chris, I often wonder what the "humanity" of Jesus really looked like. He had to learn to walk, and talk, and do everything else like the rest of us. I have absolutely no idea what it looked like to be fully man and fully God, but we know that He was tempted in every way like us, so that element of His humanity would have been totally different for Him and would have demanded "learning", right? It's a mind boggling concept. That He knew all things, and yet left all things, to learn to be like one of us and set the example for us to follow. Thinking about it kind of took my breath away in a new way this morning. He has done great things for us!
thanks for sharing that, Sheila, the New Century Version says; "so many of you want to light your own fires..." wow. what an eye opener. we need to want to be ignited and fueled and filled with and by God.
Zech 1: "Return to me and I will return to you, " says the Lord
and v 14 "I have a strong love for Jerusalem.... the Lord will comfort Jerusalem again, and I will again choose Jerusalem."
just builds so beautifully on what I saw in yesterday's passage. Israel was so wayward, so often, so distracted by everything but God... so can I be. But when I shake it all off and turn to Him, He is always there, with His strong love, and His faithful commitment to our relationship. He can not deny His promises, and He will never deny His children.
acts 14:22 "making the followers of Jesus stronger and helping them grow in their faith".
those words fan a flame in me. This is what I have a heart and a passion for. strengthening people and cheering for them to grow stronger, closer, more empowered by their faith to lives that shine like stars in the darkness. always grow, grow all ways. Woo Hoo!!!!
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