Monday: Genesis 50
Tuesday: 1 Samuel 21Wednesday: Psalm 75
Thursday: Jeremiah 13
Friday: Ezekiel 7
Saturday: Matthew 15Sunday: 2 Peter 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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7 comments:
Genesis 50. "Joseph's brothers became fearful."
Ah... this is so typical of us. To second guess, doubt, worry, fear. I had a moment of this the other day when I felt led to speak really directly to a situation where someone needed encouragement but also some insight. After I did it, (it felt so natural in the moment) feelings of fear and mortification started to creep in. All the things the other people may or may not have perceived or been thinking about me. Seriously I was plagued by a million fears. But I know that fear is not from God, and I know where it is from, so I stopped myself and prayed right then and there that God would show me if my fears were ungrounded, if I had indeed been on the right path or walking where angels fear to tread. This was on my personal day when I was holed up in the church youth room with my books and music and scrapbooking. I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee and sat down with my book on "authentic relationships" and this is the paragraph where I picked up reading:
>>"Paul exhorted the early believers to build each other up, or as he also termed it, to edify one another. This act of love isn't designed to fix a specific problem but to nourish others in the life of Jesus. If helps us grow closer to him and look beyond any current crisis to give attention to spiritual growth that will yield great rewards in days ahead. A few years ago I met an Australian man whose ability to trust Jesus has impacted me deeply. Whenever I have been able to spend some time with him, I always come away lighter in spirit, freer to trust Jesus myself. Just listening to him talk about Jesus or praying with him lifts me out of my own efforts and frees me to trust God more. I find myself less anxious for weeks afterward, less inclined to try to control everything around me, and far more confident in God's ability to work in me. I find myself quite naturally looking forward to every contact with this man. No wonder Paul said building up one another is at the heart of our church life.
Nourishing one another's spiritual life is simply serving spiritual food and drink to those who cross our paths. How can we do that? Whenever you get some time with another believer, look for ways to share what God is teaching you and doing in you. Share what you are learning about his nature that leaves you in awe of Him. What have you been reading in Scripture that has spoken to your heart? How has he made his love known to you or known through you to someone else?
You often will find that as you share freely from your life, others will do the same. Hearing how others are learning to follow God and mining the wisdom they are uncovering from God's Word not only will enrich your own journey but will enhance the depth of fellowship you experience with others. This kind of sharing is the bread and butter of body life. By serving them up to others, you will help those people in ways you may not always notice at first but in ways that will bear fruit in them for years to come." Wayne Jacobsen<<
It was very cool how when I asked God to relieve my fears he did, both 1. by the words from this book, which confirmed what I know to be true, and then 2. by later responses of the people in question who confirmed as well that my words were meant to be shared and did what I hoped they would do. Encourage, inspire and uplift.
Satan is the father of lies and fear. True love casts out all fear and I am remembering the lyrids "cast out our fears and enter in, be born in us today".
1 Samuel 22
"David heard these comments and was afraid...."
fear seems to be my theme lately.
Psalm 75 "I increase the power of the Godly." v10
this is a wonderful promise!
Jeremiah 13. I was struck by the strong parallels between yesterdays Psalm, and this chapter. The cup of wine (judgement), the pride and the end of pride.
I loved this; "as a loincloth clings to a man's waist so I created Judah and Israel to cling to me." v11
Okay, I have to admit, I got a wee bit of a jolt when I opened this chapter up this morning and read "The end is here... The end has come. It has finally arrived. Your final doom is waiting!" In light of the Mayans I had to nervously LOL at the timing of reading this chapter :)!
But on a serious note, what stood out to me was "Buyers should not rejoice over bargains, nor sellers grieve over losses, for all of them will fall." v12
Gain or loss on a material, earthly level, accounts to nothing in the end. What will endure is what we have invested in our relationship with God, the encouragement and strength we have poured into others to build up their relationship with God, the things we have invested in the eternal economy.
Matthew 17:9 "they teach man made ideas as commands from God."
We are all guilty of this. Of thinking that we know what "holiness" looks like. It doesn't smoke, doesn't swear, it doesn't drink, and heaven forbid it should dance :) And yet holiness has nothing to do with any of those things. C.S. Lewis was a heavy smoker, Noah got drunk, Bono uses pretty rough language and Miriam led the Israelite women in dancing. We look to the exterior and set up standards of "holiness" that are completely messed up. Our holiness doesn't come from following a list of do's and don'ts. It really doesn't. Our holiness comes through our relationship with a person. Jesus Christ. And when we understand holiness, we stop judging externals. When we are passionate about Jesus on a level that all else pales in comparison, the externals become irrelevant. What I mean is that if C.S. Lewis smoked because it was an act of relaxation and promoted reflection for him, there is nothing worse in that than me drinking my coffee. If Bono uses harsh words to communicate shocking truths for the cause of social justice... would Jesus condemn that? I think Jesus used some pretty choice words against the pharisees as well. Man looks at the exterior and judges, the Lord looks upon the heart and the motives.
2 Peter 1 Wow... my bible notes on this chapter were heavy duty. "Many believers want an abundance of God's grace and peace, but they are unwilling to put forth the ffort to get to know him better through Bible study and prayer. To enjoy the privileges God offers us freely we must grow in our knowledge of God and Jesus. Faith must be more than belief in certain facts. It must result in action, growth in Christian character and practice of moral discipline or it will die away (this is the part that hit me, not sure what I think of that, we are taught that "faith is a gift from God" so if it is a gift how can it die... but then interestingly, a few weeks ago in Sunday school Bob Ratzliff explained a little bit about Ephesians 2:8 (the verse commonly used to say that FAITH is a gift) and how the *it* (gift from God) actually points back to the salvation, not the faith. So I am pondering faith, how we have it, how we increase it, how and if it can grow stagnant and die. This is a new contemplation for me.
my notes go on to say "Peter lists several of faith's actions: learning to know God better, developing perseverance, doing God's will, loving others. These actions do not come automatically, they require hard work. They are not optional, all of them must be a continual part of the Christian life. We don't finish one and start on the next, but we work on them all together. God empowers and enables us but he also gives the responsibility to learn and to grow."
Wow. hefty stuff.
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