Monday: Exodus 15
tuesday: 2 Samuel 5
Wednesday: Psalm 90Thursday: Jeremiah 28
Friday: Ezekiel 22
Saturday: Mark 2
Sunday: Revelation 5
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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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10 comments:
2 Sam 5. "The Lord told...." and later "the Lord replied..."
Reading this book on listening for the voice of the Lord just has me seeing all these texts with fresh eyes. I know I was always taught that God speaks through the bible today, and I believe He does of course, He has always spoken to me through the Bible. But I am seeing how expectation plays alot into it. I EXPECT Him to speak to me through the Bible. So that is where I come with open, listening ears. Now I am learning to EXPECT God to speak to me in other ways, and He does and it is beautiful. There are so many verses in the bible about hearing His voice, about the prompting of the HS and tangible instruction for every day choices. Yes He lives within us, yes He wants to live in COMMUNION with us, communicating, walking, talking. This is marvelous in my eyes.
psalm 90 "teach us to realize the brevity of life."
to live in the moment and not wishing we were in a different stage, to give our energies and be fully aware of the chance to glorify God in the moment we are in. this is what it means to truly live. Awake, alive and purposeful.
feeling led to a different approach to the scriptures. I have been reading this plan for over 10 years now and while I love the overview it gives I want to dig in and chew on the more meaty portions of scripture that I know have something really essential to my personal growth. I am looking into the John Piper approach to "arcing" a verse as well as Kay Arthur's inductive approach. Looking at this today:
http://cdn.desiringgod.org/pdf/booklets/BTBX.pdf
” Thirdly, we need to learn how to
read with the kind of care that corresponds to the preciousness of the Book.
In this pamphlet, John Piper passes on to us a way of reading the text that he learned from
Daniel Fuller, Professor-Emeritus at Fuller Theological Seminary. There is nothing
magical about this method. It is simply designed to help us slow down, let the author
invite us into his world, and follow his train of thought. It teaches us how to discover the
author’s main point and to see how the other points illustrate or support the main point."
yes, this is what I am desiring. I want this.
"Daniel Fuller trembled under the privilege and responsibility of studying and
teaching the Word of God like few people I have ever met. Each word of God was
precious; each proposition of Scripture was not merely a pearl on a string, but a link in
the chain. And the study of this Book mattered."
>>I believe that the Bible is God’s Word. Therefore I must define the ultimate goal of
exegesis so as to embrace the heart as well as the head. The Scriptures aim to affect our
hearts and change the way we feel about God and his will. The exegete, who believes that
this aim is the aim of the living God for our day, cannot be content with merely
uncovering what the Scriptures originally meant. He must aim, in his exegesis, to help
achieve the ultimate goal of Scripture: its contemporary significance for faith.
Exegesis that does not sooner or later touch our emotions, and through us, the emotions
of others, is ultimately a failure because it does not mediate the effect which the Scripture
ought to have.
Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that
by the steadfastness and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have
hope. (Romans. 15:4)
We both want to understand and state accurately what the original Biblical authors
willed to communicate.<< John Piper
Reading this is doing what I desired, whetting my appetite and sparking my passion re-immerse myself in the word with new vigor, to dig deeper, meditate longer, and reach higher during my time in the word.
Ez 22:8 "You despise (literally dis-esteem) my holy things and violate my sabbath days of rest." v12b "they never even think of me and my commands."
I don't want to be guilty of any of these things, and it is very easy to become so. I don't want to take personal days on Sunday any more, I have 6 other days of the week I can do things and don't have to miss corporate worship in order to "take a day off" or "enjoy a day with the family". Especially when we have the REST of the day to enjoy. I want the firstfruits of my day and my week to be sacred to the Sovreign Lord, no exceptions. I want to send this message to my kids, that these times are sacred and set apart and not to be "dis-esteemed" by replaceming it with any other pursuit.
Revelation 5. I love this chapter. I have loved it since about 10 years ago I listened to a sermon revealing its meaning to me in a way I had never grasped. This "scroll" with the seals, if you understand the culture to which it was written, it was very clear to them what this scroll was. It is the last will and testament of God for the planet and his "family" of people. The only person who could break the seal, was the executor. Jesus was and is the executor of God's last will and testament. The worship of Christ and his position of glory and power and his right to execute God's judgement and blessing are the theme of this chapter. What a fit message for easter. Worthy is the lamb who was slain, to receive blessing and glory and honor and power for ever. Amen.
I am so frustrated with Blogger this is the third week in a row it doesn't let me post new reading schedules, or even save the draft. Not sure why? I tried for three days last week and it finally just "went through" but now back to no go. :(
Exodus 16 "“I’m going to send you food from heaven like rain. Each day the people should go out and gather only what they need for that day. In this way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions."
this morning I just felt so strongly that this was a picture of our daily bread! It is so clear to me, but I never saw the correlation before. I think it is thanks to the John McArthur stuff I have been reading on being a dilligent exegete of the word. Last night Pietro and I read together;
"Therefore I must define the ultimate goal of
exegesis so as to embrace the heart as well as the head. The Scriptures aim to affect our
hearts and change the way we feel about God and his will. The exegete, who believes that
this aim is the aim of the living God for our day, cannot be content with merely
uncovering what the Scriptures originally meant. He must aim, in his exegesis, to help
achieve the ultimate goal of Scripture: its contemporary significance for faith. It is the
will of God that his Word crush feelings of arrogance and self-reliance and that it give
hope to the poor in spirit."
I am so excited to be in a place of passionate revival once again about my time in the LIVING Word!
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