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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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4 comments:
I really like this chapter, I was reading it this morning(monday) and just wanted to say, I love the way it talks about our life in Christ now as we are living and after we are gone. Death don't seem as scary when you think about it from this perspective "v.8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." I also like the verse that says "that if one died for all, then were all dead:" Its great to know that as a believer, I am dead to sin in Christ, and that in Him I am a new creature, God placed my sin on Him ,who new no sin and counts Jesus's righteouness as my righteousness. That its not because of anything I have done, because I couldn't do anything that would account as righteouness or good, but it is all because of what Christ done for me. well that is how I read this chapter, I know that is also more than this, its about our works and how they will be judged and about our rewards, but to me its about life in Christ, and how that my works are because of Him and the work completed in me by Him. Its all about Him!!!
Sorry I haven't left many comments lately over here in the prayer closet, Its not because I haven't been reading the chapters, I have, I just sometimes feel so inadequate at putting how I read something into words that make since but i do so enjoy this and love all ya'lls comments They make great food for thought during my day.
Brandie
Loved your sharing Brandie. I wanted to "sit" on this chapter for a day. It evoked alot of emotions in me, and I am really trying to wait to share anything both in real life and the blogosphere until the emotions are subdued.
I have been struggling to understand people who are riding the "freedom" train and whose every word seems to be about the "freedom" and grace we have in Christ. I acknowledge wholeheartedly that He is our salvation, our saving grace, our justification, and praise His holy name for it. But that's not all there is to this wonderful and complex relationship of Lord and bondservant. I see it confirmed very clearly here for me and it affirms me in my convictions and passions (which I direly needed, I was beginning to wonder if I really am slightly off my rocker).
I am not going to focus on the justification aspect, because that is a given. I want to go PAST that... the next step if you will. *Because* I have been justified, freely by His grace, not because of any good in me.....
v9 "Our only goal is to please God... because we must all stand before Christ to be judged. Each of us will receive what he should get-good or bad-for the things we did in the earthly body."
I had already been contemplating crowns and reward the other day, so this was interesting that it came up today (I wasn't looking ahead, I promise!). Just because we are justified (make it into the Olympic venue) does not mean we will stand on the podium and receive gold, silver or bronze medals for works done in the flesh. That *does* appear to depend on our performance and wether or not our "only goal is to please God."
v12 "Proud about things that are seen rather than what is in the heart. If we are out of our minds it is for God."
I needed to hear this. I was quite nearly set apart as being "out of my mind" by someone in my life a week or so ago. Basically told that I live in my own little bubble of ideals and don't have a clue about real life." I didn't quite know how to take that. Granted it was coming from someone living in their own little bubble of human pain and consequences, and really, our perceptions are so bent and blurred by our own circumstances and experiences that what are they worth really? We see dimly.
But all that said, I had to wonder if that should be something to be ashamed of? The fact that I seek to consciously view things from an eternal and spiritual paradigm rather than momentary and physical. Does that make me "out of my mind" in some people's eyes? Probably. I guess that what it looks like to be a "stranger, foreigner, who does not consider this earth to be their home, but just a momentary sojourning to the final destination". To people who are living in the moment, consumed by "things that are seen"... the one focusing on things unseen would seem "odd" at best.
v15 Free to serve a wonderful master.
Oh! Does this ever tie up perfectly what I have been thinking the past week. FREE to SERVE. FREE from the slavery of sin, to become bondservants to the King of Righteousness. It goes on to say;
"Christ died for all so that those who live would NOT CONTINUE TO LIVE FOR THEMSELVES. He died for them and was raised from the dead so that they would LIVE FOR HIM.
When I hear people who are completely focused on FREEDOM and GRACE and LOVE, I hear them, but there is a niggling concern within me that something is missing. Yes we are saved by all those things, but the result of the freedom and grace that we have been lavished with, result in hearts fully surrendered and indentured to the one who bought us. It's not ALL about freedom. It doesn't END there. That is the BEGINNING. *Because* we have been given freedom and grace, and love beyond measure we serve our new and perfect master with great joy and fulness of heart. Our only goal becomes to please God as this chapter started out with. Because He has purchased our pardon and secured our futures. We are blessed bondservants indeed to have been purchased out of the kingdom of darkness and delivered into the kingdom of light and righteousness. May I act accordingly to one in His charge and family. May I honor my family name may my only goal be to please Him... because of HIs great love for me. May I not be so solely focused on His great love for me, that I forget to concentrate on what it means for ME to love Him.
I heard a statement made by a wonderful preacher down here in our neck of the woods the other day, He mentioned someone saying He was nuts(in regards to his way of worship and beliefs)and he responded "I may be, but I'm screwed on the right bolt and having the time of my life" and I agree wholeheartedly with him and you, We aren't redeemed so that we can continue on in the way in which we were, We are redeemed so that may serve our Redeemer, not out of selfish ambitions but out of love and joy, For our blessed and wonderful saviour, So that one day our Heavenly father will be able to look at us and say Well done my good and faithful servant. I believe the bible teaches us to serve not as men pleasers, seeking the attention of and glory from men, but to serve with our whole self, body, mind and spirit, out of love for Christ and a desire to bring glory and honor to Him, To decrease so that He might increase. After all, weren't we created so that He might have someone to love Him and give him praise and glory, someone with whom He might have a relationship and share His love with. I think that all to often we focus on what He can do, or has done for us and we forget about what He wants from us, and what we should be doing for Him, about what it means to Him for someone to love and worship Him.
I love this passage too. The last section particularly (v12-21). I needed the reminder that if we are in Christ we are a new creation - the past no longer holds us in bondage, we have become new.
"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him"
Beautiful.
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