Monday: Exodus 1
Tuesday: 1 Samuel 22Wednesday: Psalm 76
Thursday: Jeremiah 14
Friday: Ezekiel 8
Saturday: Matthew 16Sunday: 2 Peter 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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8 comments:
This chapter reminds me of how from the fall in Eden and the promise of "his heel shall bruise your head", Satan has been in full fledged battle to do everything in his power to prevent his demise. Knowing that Jesus was the promised "seed of the woman" that would be born and bring about his final destruction, his agenda has always been the destruction of the race that Jesus would hail from. When you think how many wars have been fought over that little strip of land you know that it is not about the land!
1 Samuel 22 suspicion, distrust, fear... Saul was SO convinced (insanely almost) that David was out to kill him and steal the throne, yet he couldn't have been farther from the truth. All of this misery because God had told Saul that He would take the kingdom from him and hand it over to David. If Saul had only lived a life of worship, thanksgiving and humility, his life would not have unraveled to such a point of misery and borderline insanity. Indeed, we can be eaten up by the things we allow to consume us, mentally, emotionally, physically. I want to live a life of worship, thanksgiving, humility and surrender!!!
Psalm 76:11 "Make vows to the Lord your God, and keep them." my notes say "These verses speak of more than surrender to god, they encourage us to actively move toward God, making commitments (vows) to Him and carrying them out. What was the last promise you made to God? How much progress have you made in fulfilling it?"
I truly believe that this kind of attitude (spelling out what you need to do and committing to do it) is like jet propulsion for spiritual growth. Some of my commitments to God in the past have been to look to His Word daily in order to learn, to commit verses to memory and meditate on them in order to transform my thought patterns, and to practice releasing,blessing or thanksgiving prayers when my circumstances or another person are getting me down or angry. Right now the current one I am working on is to learn to love people I really don't like. To release my own feelings and allow God's spirit to flood me with His own character qualities. This is so impossible for me, and only possible through the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit. I have not arrived, but I am moving forward!
God rejected the pleas for rescue here because they were not accompanied by a heart of repentance or surrender. How many times do we just want God to fulfill our desires and requests without humbling ourselves before Him and surrendering to His direction and will?
I was just thinking about this, how many times we pray to ask for help but are "too busy" to read his word. thanks for clarifying this passage, PC. I've been stalking your blog for a while now. ;)
welcome, anonymous :)
this morning when I was reading this chapter in Ezekiel I was thinking about how God communicated to Ezekiel through this vision. I know that it was special revelation for a special purpose but I was still struck by how God's desire is to communicate with His people. If God is not communicating with us (through scripture, through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, through our though patterns and yes, as I experienced in a new and amazing way this summer at camp, through a vision- can't believe I am saying that because I was always so put off by people interpreting "pictures" to be words from God, but when you get one, there is no denying that it is a means of communication that you can't dream up) it is not because He is silent. It is because something is hindering. Either we are not taking the time to listen, or even when we do we are so distracted and consumed by our own thoughts that we drown out His, or we don't truly believe or understand that His voice, His message are intended in a special and personal way for US today. There are many more things that can distract us from receiving God's communication for us today but the point for me is that I want to hear from Him! I want to be in tune with Him. I want to believe and receive whatever He wants to reveal, share, impart to me today and every day!
Matthew 16:26 "What does it profit a man...?" My notes say What we accumulate on earth has no value in eternity. Evaluate your lifestyle from an eternal perspective and you will find your values and decisions changing."
We live with a mind to accumulate. There is nothing wrong with owning things but everything comes with a cost. Lately God has been impressing the word "freedom" on my heart and mind over and over again. Freedom from emotional shackles on the inside, freedom from stuff that bogs us down and ties us up and holds us back on the outside. THINGS should serve me and bring me joy, not clutter my life and bring me stress. I should have less, enjoy it more, and free myself up so that I can fill myself up with what matters. Truth and eternal purpose. That is what will endure and have lasting value. Everything else just distracts if it is not viewed in light of that. It doesn't mean my life can't look the same as it does now, externally, it is a shift of internal focus and purpose that shifts the value and purpose of these things in my life.
1 Peter 2:19 "for you are a slave to whatever controls you."
just before this the word "freedom" stood out to me... this word freedom has been popping up for me often in the past few weeks. For when the truth sets you free, then will you be free indeed. I have been thinking of the things that "control" me, or keep me from being all that I want to be, keep me from being fully clothed in all of those wonderful qualities that were mentioned in our sermon today, tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. I am not who I once was, but I am not who I desire to be. I have been praying this word "freedom" for myself and for those God places on my heart. Freedom from the things that hold us back and weigh us down and keep us from fulfilling our destiny in pure joy and thanksgiving. He came to declare freedom for the captive. As Denise climbs Mt. Everest to give a voice to the captive, I am led to pray deliverance for all of us to the things that hold us captive. Whether that be negative thinking, materialism, offense, complacency... you name it. For me personally I am praying freedom from clutter. Mental, emotional and physical clutter. I want to streamline my thought patterns and lifestyle to be uncluttered, unfettered, focused with clarity on the One who has given me the gift of this freedom.
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