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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:
Wow, so you're prairie chick? I see your comments on Jen's and Chris's blogs. This blog you have here is a great idea! I hope you don't mind I follow along. I just finished Luke 16 and it's amazing how God SPEAKS if I would only LISTEN! All it took me was a couple of minutes, the same time it takes for me to check emails! Thanks for doing this! Are you following a plan of some sort, or are you dishing out the chapters on your own?
Hey Suzy, welcome! The more the merrier.
The plan works as follows; I split the bible up into 7 (one for each day of the week) rough sections... Monday: Books of the law
Tuesday: Kings and Judges, Wednesday: History
Thursday: Psalms and Proverbs, Friday: Prophets
Saturday: Gospels
Sunday: Epistles.
So today our reading was from the Gospels, Luke 16 and tomorrow, we will be reading from the epistles; Galatians 5. Next Saturday we will read Luke 17 and Galatians 6 on Sunday. So we are reading through the bible in consecutive order, but consecutively working through 7 different portions. Make sense?
I love reading this way because it is such a holistic approach to being immersed in the scriptures. One day you will read a prophesy about the Messiah in Isaiah, and then the next day you will be reading about that prophecy being fulfilled in the gospels... or you read about the law on monday and then see Christ being the fulfillment of the law in the epistles passage.
Anyhoo.... glad to have you on board, B-Girl is a regular here too and I look forward to fellowshipping with you both.
I had to laugh at Suzy's "all it took me is a couple of minutes..." this morning. I don't know what was wrong with me but this chapter was like trying to digest bricks this morning. Prairie Guy had a hard time with it too... we've already discussed it quite a bit. Let's see if I can process a bit better through the keyboard.
The first whole section... my bible dubs it "True Wealth". It's a passage that's always made me scratch my head. I get that it's not really talking about financical savvyness... it's basically saying... if you were really savvy you would invest it what lasts forever... and the only thing that lasts forever is relationships. Is that what you get out of it? Kind of like it goes hand in hand with the "store up for yourself treasures in heaven" passage, because everything else is gonna burn... My verse 9 reads; "I tell you, make freinds for yourselves using worldly riches so that when those riches are gone, you will be welcomed in those homes that continue forever." Still scratching my head over that one.
I find the second portion "God's Law Cannot Be Changed (verses 14-17) pretty much just as confusing. The law was preached until John, check. Now the good news of righteousness in Christ is being preached, check. People are still trying to get in by the old way of works and the law, check. But then "It would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter in the law to be changed." (v17)Totally lost me there. I don't get how that fits with the two sentences before.
And the next verse leaves me scratching my head again. It's almost like it's thrown in there and I can't figure out what it has to do with anything. This calling out divorcees and remarried divorcees as adulters.
It must have something to do with the verses just preceding it... so I am left to wonder, is Jesus basically saying, "you idiots. you think that by following the law, and making up laws of your own you will be made righteous, but even the law is not a high enough standard to receive holiness with God. Because the law permits you to write a certificate of divorce, but I tell you that if you are divorced, and remarried, you are an adulterer, no matter what the law made allowance for.
In essence saying... all have sinned and fall short...
I dunno... those are my musings.
Oh and the last part, about Lazarus... I just thought how apathetic I am to the fact that there are souls perishing all around me... I hold them accountable for their own choices, I mean, everyone in our culture today has such easy access to The Word, online sermons, books, etc... I mean... it's not my problem how people choose to live right? Yet those people could wake up in hell tonight and spend eternity wondering why people like me didn't show more concern for their eternal security.
Thoughts like these always bring Schindler to mind... in the movie, where he was escaping at the end and breaks down over the things he hang onto that could have saved "one more life" if he would have sold them. His ring, his car... they all became objects of sorrow to him, that he hadn't truly done ALL he could, even though he had done so much.
I probably won't have time to comment very much once school starts but for today:
Yes, I agree it coincides with treasures in heaven. My verse 9 goes like this and is quite clear: "...use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."-so use money to bless others, don't hoard it.
And regarding verse 17, I think He's saying that people are way too caught up in the law (Pharisees, Sadducees). It's the same writing style as the verse about the rich squeezing through the eye of a needle.
I use a TNIV study Bible that I love. Thanks for welcoming me!
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