Monday: Genesis 22
Tuesday: Judges 18Wednesday: Psalm 47
Thursday: Isaiah 51
Friday: Zechariah 2
Saturday: Acts 15
Sunday 2 Timothy 4
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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:
Gen 22 "God tested Abraham's faith."
do you trust me? sometimes I feel like I can hear God asking that. do you really, really trust me? to be lord of your days, lord of your loves, lord of your living? do you trust me to live a life of absolute surrender and know that I have GOOD in mind even when it's hard, even when it hurts, even when it doesn't make any sense at all to you." that is how Abraham's faith was tested, and that is how our faith is tested as well. In the testing of our faith, God is able to prove Himself faithful, and good, and loving and awesome, if we can stand the flame, we will see His glory. If Abraham would have caved, never made it to the altar at Mt. Moriah, he would have missed the voice of the angel and the miracle of the ram. I want to make it to my Mt. Moriah altar. I want to put my hand to the knife of absolute surrender and I want to see the glory of the Lord.
shivers. I, too, was thinking about absolute surrender and total faith. How God had just promised Abraham that his heirs would be more numerous than the stars, yet asked him to give up (murder!) his only and long-sought-for son.
Also, this is another verse in the OT that points the way to Christ's sacrifice and God giving up His only Son.
Not sure what to draw from here... keeps niggling at me that the Danites even wanted Micah as a priest, considering the idols issue... were they so far of God's path that they had forgotten the simple laws? Is this another example of losing faith in a short span of generations?
I'm not sure, either... but I think it shows us the chasm between religion and relationship. Or maybe everything is just showing me that lately. This whole need for a "holy" person... "holy" things (the ephod et al) that somehow if you have those things YOU will be holy by association? So how do we fall into similar traps? Assuming that because we go to church and believe in God we've got our bases covered? God wants a personal living, breathing, walking, talking relationship with us and just because we "do" certain things or "posess" a bible... it doesn't count. It's like Bob's sermon on Sunday, your faith will be proven by your actions. If they would have had true faith they wouldn't have needed to do any of that. They would have recognized that if this was God's will, and they were surrendered, they didn't need a priest or some "holy" items as good luck charms. They just needed to live and walk by faith.
Good points, PC. I found the notes in the Quest Bible helpful.It said: "It wasn't that these Israelites intended to reject the Lord; they just didn't think that it mattered if they included other gods in their worship.,,,,The Danites, like Micah, thought that they could gain supernatural power through the false gods." It was a slippery slope, it seems, because 'their city, Dan, became a rival worship center to the tabernacle in Shiloh and also a center of idolatry".
Doesn't it make you wonder why God seemingly blessed with with victory though, when they were doing all these bad things?
I love the message sometimes. Sometimes not so much. I loved it this morning. v10 "I'm on my way, I'm moving into your neighborhood" just gave me goosebumps as well as v 13 "Something's afoot in His holy house. He's on the move!"
That last part reminded me of Aslan being on the move and the emotions that stirred in me. I truly do believe that God is at work, on the move, awakening many in our "neighborhood" to a more surrendered, more spirit filled, more God in tune relationship. I feel privileged and excited to be in this place at this time in History and witness His work in us.
Zechariah:8
The Lord rules over all. His angel says to Israel, "The Lord has sent me to honor Him. He wants me to punish the nations that have robbed you of everything. After all, anyone who hurts you hurts those the Lord loves and guards.
Well, I thought the Israelites turned against God before, but He still loved them and guarded them.
This shows only a little of Gods love for us. I love the bible partly because it gives us so many examples of how much God loves ME.
Acts 15
v1. "It wasn't lo9ng before some Jews showedu p from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised. 'If you're not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion you can't be saved.'"
v10,11 "So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don't we believe we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us...?"
how quick we are to attach rules and regulations to the relationship. I am so guilty of this. I feel convicted about the level of judgementalism and criticism of the outer things that I fall into so often. I want to be shaken free of that mentality, this is one of those worldview things that was built into my life during tender years that takes strong pruning and re-shaping, to get myself growing in the good and godly direction.
v41 "to build up muscle and sinew in those congregations."
I love that. If only we each could see our potential and embrace the call to "coach" those coming up behind us, urging them to build up muscle and sinew in faith and spiritual growth.
Acts 15:8-9
God knows the human heart. By giving the holy spirit to non-Jews, He showed that He accepted them. He did the same for them as He had done for us. He showed that there is no difference between us and them. He made their hearts pure because of their faith.
Isn't it a wonderful thing that God has no favorites, that He loves everyone the same? The bible says so right here, '...there is no difference between us...' God doesn't think of others as some do,
He doesn't think, 'oh, I want to be popular so I will hang out with cool people and ignore the 'weirdos' ' He thinks 'Every one needs a friend and I am going to be a friend to everyone who will let me be their friend.' God is NOT exclusive, and you do NOT have to be popular to be his friend.
2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the word. Be ready to serve God in good times and bad. Correct peoples mistakes. Warn them. Cheer them up with words of hope. Be very patient as you do these things. Teach them carefully.
2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.
Those two verses stood out to me. 'correct peoples mistakes... cheer them up with words of hope. be very patient as you do these things.'One thing you have to understand here is when it says 'correct peoples mistakes' that it doesn't mean to say 'Well that's not right' or 'you've got that totally wrong' with a sneering face and then walk off, but explain to the person what they got wrong (it could be just about anything) and help them fix it.
I like the 2nd verse, 2 Timothy 4:7
'I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.' I keep on asking myself 'WILL I BE ABLE TO TELL MYSELF THAT WHEN I GR0W OLD?' I like that verse and I want to be able to tell myself that 'I have fought the good fight' and 'I have kept the faith, so I am going to try to 'fight the good fight' and 'keep the faith' in my everyday life.
what a blessing for me to see God's Word at work in the heart of my little girl!
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