Monday: Genesis 23
Tuesday: Judges 19Wednesday: Psalm 48
Thursday: Isaiah 52
Friday: Zechariah 3
Saturday: Acts 16
Sunday Titus 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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14 comments:
Gen 23:5 "Then the Hittites replied, 'Why, you're no mere outsider here with us, you're a prince of God!'"
We should live such lives that the people around us respect, revere, and embrace us as a people set apart, a higher integrity, a deeper love, a more empathetic and generous heart and life than the world can offer. |Characteristics that will set us apart as people of royal character and pure heart in a wicked and depraved generation.
"That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world," Phil 2:15
this has to be one of the most atrocious retellings found in scripture. the depravity and the horror of it are mind boggling. my lip curls in disgust over the type of people this man and his host were. so far from the champion of the weak that God calls us to be, they actually exposed the weak and used them as shields. more and more in my life I am feeling called to champion the weak. To show them love and acceptance and compassion and friendship, to build them up and encourage them to thrive.
I fully agree with how you interpret this one! I find it very difficult to read many of the passages in Judges. Very hard to understand what God is trying to teach through the atrocities. I love your take on caring for the weak and not using them as a shield! Thank you for the great insight!
sometimes I think God just wants us to see how depraved we really are, as a fallen humanity. the atrocities of secular humanism, where each person is free to decide for himself what is right or best for him. not a pretty picture.
I have also had trouble trying to figure out what to learn from these difficult passages -- it seems so far removed from us. I found the LAB notes to be very helpful. -- and it goes with what you were saying, PC. For whoever doesn't have a Life Application Bible, these notes apply to Chps 18 & 19: "The true worship of God should have been maintained....[the story of Micah and the idol] shows how pagan influences and moral depravity had crept into every corners of Israelite culture.... There may be a tendency in your life to allow "harmless" habits to have their own small corners, but they can become dominating forces."
Chp. 19 "What is the significance of this tragic story? When the Israelite's faith in God disintegrated, their unity as a nation also disintegrated. They could have taken complete possession of the land if they had obeyed God and trusted him to keep his promises. But when they forgot him, they lost their purpose, and soon "The people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes". When they stopped letting God lead them, they became no better than the evil people around them. When they made laws for their own benefit, they set standards far below God's. When you leave God out of your life, you may be shocked at what you are capable. of doing."
Chp 19:24 "Nowhere is the unwritten law of hospitality stronger than in the Middle East. Protecting a guest at any cost ranked at the top of a man's code of honor. But here the hospitality code turned to fanaticism. The rape and abuse of a daughter and companion were preferable to the possibility of a conflict between a guest and a neighbor. The two men were selfish (they didn't want to get hurt themselves) they lacked courage (they didn't want to face a conflict even when lives were at stake) and they disobeyed God's law (they allowed deliberate abuse and murder) What drastic consequences can result when social protocol carries more authority than moral convictions!"
Isaiah 52 "How beautiful on the hills are the feet of those who bring good news."
I want to be beautiful. I want to shout good news from the hilltops each day. That God loves, God forgives, God restores, God empowers.
What message could be more beautiful than that, and how blessed the one who gets to lead another to the understanding of the depths of those truths.
Isaiah 52
"Let those weary and heavy laden under the burden of sin, find relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts and fears, and loose themselves from those bands."
PC, I hear you shouting the good news from the hilltops! And you and the message are beautiful!
"shake themselves from the dust and loose themselves from the bands" LOVE that!!!!!
zech 3. I happened to be in Parables the other day and they had the life application bibles on final sale, so I snatched myself one... always love your comments from there so much when some of you share them. Very helpful on days like today when the passage seems so... non applicable. Something in here did really speak to me though.
"Satan accused Jeshua... the accusations were accurate-Jeshua stood in filthy clothes (sins). yet God revealed His mercy, stating that He chose to save His people in spite of their sin. Satan is always accusing people of their sin before God. But he greatly misunderstands the breadth of God's mercy and forgiveness towards those who believe in Him."
This sounds ugly, but I have had some accusations in my heart toward someone, and they are hindering me from being able to love this person the way God does. My accusations are accurate, but I know that is not where it is at. God wants me to desire great things for this person, believe great things for this person, pray great things for this person. The passage God gave me last night to look up (when I was asking Him to speak into my life in this area) was Rom 14 and 1 Cor 14. The first one says; "who are you to judge another man's servant, to His own master he stands or falls, and I am able to make him stand..." and the second one was that "love is not irritable". The note on that in the LAB was so bang on for me. Sometimes I let my idealism and perfectionism get my knickers all in a wad when things aren't the way I wish they were, or I think God desires them to be.
But this is not about other people, or circumstances, this is about how I relate and respond to other people and circumstances and I realize that I am lacking. I am lacking in love, patience, grace and goodwill. I recognize this and am grieved by this and desire to embrace more of those traits in my life by the grace of God.
I love the Life application Bible too. Would recommend everyone get one if possible.
Zech 3
This passage also struck me as well:
"Yet God revealed His mercy, stating that He chose to save His people in spite of their sin. Satan is always accusing people of their sin before God. But he greatly misunderstands the breadth of God's mercy and forgiveness towards those who believe in Him." The breadth of God's mercy and forgiveness is truly a wonderful thing. Sometimes it feels like it just can't be true - there is so much sin and so much straying how could a person possibly keep coming back again and again and be forgiven and loved every time? But His love is a tangible thing! As soon as you turn your face towards Him you can feel it! Amazing!
PC, I see your "love, patience, grace and goodwill" in SO many ways!!
acts 16... so the churches were strengthened in the faith.
we get strengthened in our faith by hearing from those further along the journey than us, being encouraged and challenged and inspired by their wisdom, experience and fellowship. \let it be a lesson to us all. We are all in a place to strengthen another.
"Such people claim they know God, but deny Him by the way they live." Titus 1:16
Lately God has been challenging me with this concept of "absolute surrender". That really knowing God results in really surrendering every aspect of my life to Him and to His glory. That means that even when I am cooking a meal, or changing a diaper, or listening to the needs of a friend.... I am serving God through having a surrendered heart to understanding that doing everything with the right attitude and with a mindset to be conformed to Christ, is what it's all about. It's that simple. God should be the source of all, the point of all, the breath and life and glory of ALL I am and ALL I do. Absolute surrender. Knowing Him, embracing Him, living, breathing, becoming more like Him.
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