Bible Challenge: Week 13

This is another installment to my weekly Bible Challenge posts. Choose the category “Bible Challenge” on the right to read more entries, and read the Introduction post for some background.

Monday:
I didn’t read.

Tuesday: 1 Timothy 4:1-16, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Galatians 5:1-15
Since the Bible study I’m using actually goes by the date, I decided to play catch-up today from not reading Sunday or Monday. I am journalling about this study on my computer and am enjoying it so far. The lessons are brief, but thought-provoking, and the extra questions on the side are interesting. The two questions that went along with 1 Corinthians actually stumped me for a while, but more reading and quiet thinking produced some answers.

I hope to maybe revisit this journalling in the future as I gain more understanding of the scripture. I am curious to see if my answers would change.

Wednesday: Romans 8:28-39
This day’s reading was about “discipline with direction.” Instead of elaborating here, I’ve posted a separate blog post about today’s reading.

Thursday: 1 Timothy 1:1-11

Friday: 2 Timothy 3:12-17
These few days I’ve spent a lot of time in 1 and 2 Timothy, which I have read before, but not studied much. These two letters are quite interesting though, and I am learning a lot.

I am enjoying the daily Bible study I’m doing. Each day’s reading and accompanying passage is short and includes two questions at the end. I’ve been journalling through this, discussing the passage and my thoughts and then answering the two questions. Some of the questions have been difficult, but I’ve managed to answer them all and have learned a lot in the process.

I’m not doing my reading in the “Shirkers and Slackers” program, just the study stuff. I didn’t want to overwhelm myself and take on too much at once. I may pick up the other again later on. I hope that Nate and I will start reading out of the S&S program each night, while I do the other study on my own.

Saturday: 1 Timothy 4:1-16
Yes, this passage is the same as a few days ago, but the focal verse was different.

Sunday:
I didn’t read or do my study today. Nate and I spent the entire day being lazy, as I like to do before starting another semester. It was an enjoyable day and before I knew it, we were in bed falling asleep and I realized I hadn’t done my study. I plan to do today’s study tomorrow along with that day in order to catch up.

Direction and Purpose

Visualize the following scenario: a parent lays a blanket on the floor and places his child on it. The parent wants the child to stay on the blanket because it’s the only safe place for her in the room. He gives the child some good toys to play with on the blanket. Each time the child strays from the blanket, the parent reprimands her in some way and returns her to the blanket.

There are a few things happening here. There is a loving parent and a typical child that tends to stray. There are boundaries that divide good things from bad. The child probably doesn’t understand why she can play with some things and not with others, and this may cause her to wander across the boundaries from time to time. The parent may or may not explain why something is off-limits–perhaps the explanation is too complicated for the child and she wouldn’t understand.

I am comforted knowing that my God is like the parent in this situation. My God lays out boundaries (do not covet, do not be a glutton, do not steal or murder, love your neighbor as yourself, etc) that give me a (mostly) clear line between what is acceptable and what is not. I do not always understand why something is off-limits, but I love my God and so I trust His judgment. God restricts me by placing some activities out-of-bounds, but blesses me with activities that are good (marriage, fellowship, joy, etc). When I wander beyond His boundaries, God, through the Spirit, rebukes me and sets me right again. I may stray 20 times in a day, but my God does not grow weary–He will always seek me and return me to His fold.

The most difficult part for me is trusting God’s judgment and having faith that God will bring me back to Him. Sometimes I focus too much on what I can do to return to God. Maybe if I read the Bible more or pray more fervently, I will be in fellowship with God. I always fail, though. I am never successful because the truth is, I cannot do anything in my power to be closer to God. I simply have to stop resisting His pull.

I read the Bible because God’s character is revealed in His word. I pray because God speaks through the Spirit if I am still and quiet enough to hear. I want to know God’s character. I want to hear God speak into my life. I desire fellowship with God and He answers this desire through His word and Spirit. What a blessing my God is!

Bible Challenge: Week 12

Alright, folks. It’s been 3 months since I started this personal challenge, so this post will be a recap of the past 12 weeks.

First, I’ll go ahead and mention that I didn’t read my Bible at all over this past week. The husband and I have been away from home for nine days straight visiting family and friends for the holidays. I didn’t pack a Bible because every time I do, we never read it, and this time would have been no different. It’s embarrassing, but it’s the truth.

Over these past 3 months, I’ve had some pretty good weeks and some not-so-good weeks. There have been weeks like this past one where I read only once or twice, if at all. And there’ve been a few weeks where I’ve read almost every day. Unfortunately, I have not had a single week of 100% success.

I received a lovely gift in the mail from a friend: a note and a January/February daily devotional. She was in a shop, spotted it, and thought of me. I’m going to read that every day to find encouragement, and I pray that it will help me form a habit of reading every day.

I’ll let you know how it goes. If you are also participating or trying to read your Bible every day (maybe it’s your new year’s resolution), please let me know how it’s going or your plans for the new year.

Bible Challenge: Week 10

This is a post summarizing my efforts in my Bible challenge.  You can read about how this began by clicking here.

Monday: Genesis 26-31
This is actually two days of reading–we were on a roll and kept going. Nate has been reading aloud to me before bed, helping me stay on track. I thank God for that!

Tuesday: Ruth 1-4
I like the story of Ruth.

Wednesday: Job 25-27
I am praying about my blood tests. I’ve gotten results and will take medication for a month, then go back for more testing to see if it has helped.

Thursday: Isaiah 22-24

Friday: Matthew 19-21

Saturday:
I’m kind of bummed–Nate and I did really good all week until today! We stayed up really late and went straight to sleep without reading. We are going to start giving ourselves a “bedtime” though, so we won’t do that anymore. We end up just wasting the entire day after.

Sunday:
We didn’t read this day either.

Bible Challenge: Week 9

This is a post summarizing my efforts in my Bible challenge.  You can read about how this began by clicking here.

I’m so sorry this post is late–I don’t know how, but I just forgot! Next thing I know, it’s Thursday, and I was supposed to post this on Monday!

Monday:
I didn’t read. But I did pray, a lot.

I’ve been watching some sermons online from a pastor in Seattle. I agree with a lot of his preaching, and his style is entertaining. Two years ago, he began preaching on the gospel of Luke, so I’ve been watching those. I watched a few episodes tonight. They are great to listen to while knitting and are better than knitting podcasts by non-Christian people!

Tonight I prayed especially for wisdom and discernment. Even though I agree with almost everything I’ve heard this pastor say since I started watching his sermons online, I have to be very careful to not get caught up in his charisma. Everything must be tested against God’s word and the Spirit. So I pray for guidance when I watch his sermons.

Tuesday: Judges 19-21
I didn’t really like this passage. I’m sure there are lessons to learn from it, as I believe the whole Bible is useful for teaching and gaining wisdom, but sometimes passages take a few reads before becoming clear or until I can see a practical application in them.

Wednesday: Job 22-24
I’m still not liking Job very much. When reading, I try to look under the overlying story and see what basic theme or idea should be coming through. In Job, I can’t seem to find anything under the top story layer. I know there are lessons and such to be learned here, but it’s not clicking for me right now. Maybe that’s why my most often missed reading day is Wednesday.

I am praying for guidance and understanding as I read.

Thursday: Isaiah 19-21
Now, Isaiah, unlike Job, seems to make more sense to me, most of the time. I will be honest, though–I read these chapters with a “get it done” attitude.

I am repenting of that attitude and asking God to help me enjoy my Bible time. I think the key to that enjoyment is (1) taking the time to really dig into the story/passage and not just take it at face-value, and (2) see my Bible reading time as time to draw closer to God and not just as another thing to read.

Friday:
I didn’t read the Bible today. I had plenty of time, but did not use it wisely. I did listen to quite a few online sermons, though.

Saturday: Luke 1

Sunday: Psalms 53-57