1. Focus first primarily on the process and the discipline-- don't try to gain expertise or complete understanding in everything you read. Just dedicate yourself to the task of engaging in the readings each day.
2. If you miss a day, double up if you want the next day, but if you miss more than one, just pick up on the scheduled day. You may start strong, then lose a whole string of days... don't worry about making them up, just get back into the routine and read the assigned readings for the day.
3. Read with others. Check in with each other. Encourage each other. Use this blog to post comments/questions that you might have. The point is, don't do it in isolation. Your chances of being successful increase enormously if you've committed with others to read through together over the course of the year. Invite others along the way, too-- you don't have to start on day one, page one. The discipline can be started anytime!
I'm thrilled to be doing this with you. As we move through the entirety of Scripture this year, my prayer is that it changes your life as it has mine.
In the beginning, God created... and the possibilities were (and are) endless...
Happy reading, and Happy New Year!
Readings: Genesis 1:1-2:25; Matthew 1:1-2:12; Psalm 1:1-6; Proverbs 1:1-6.
I agree not to attempt this in isolation. My connection with this group helped discipline me to completely read the bible in one year during 2011 and today......I started again...Happy New Year everyone!
ReplyDeleteQuestion: In Matthew 2, verse 3, it says, "when King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him." I understand that a king would feel threatened and suspicious of an announcement about a new king, and would feel disturbed by that possible competition. But why would "all Jerusalem" feel that way? They had their prophecies, right? They were expecting their king. Why are the people of Jerusalem disturbed by this news? Paula
ReplyDeleteAnother note...just cool detail things...in the Beth Moore study, "Jesus, the One and Only," she points out that when the Magi follow the star, they end up at a "house." By the time the Magi track Jesus down, he is no longer in the manger in the stable; he is in a house. (Matthew 2:11) So, our mental picture, from the movie shown on TV with the Little Drummer Boy, where the three wise men (although it never specifies three; it just says "magi") are showing up at the manger with a freshly delivered and cleanly swaddled infant Jesus, is probably not quite accurate. They haven't yet returned to Nazareth, but they're not wiping up the mess from the delivery either. I love those details. Does that make me a Bible nerd? :) Paula
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't read too much into the "all of Jerusalem with him"... whenever a king is experiencing something, the king speaks for the kingdom and its subjects. When Constantine became Christian, all of Rome did with him... does that mean every person was suddenly an authentic and devout follower of Jesus? As for the magi, that's correct. Thanks for sharing that point. I used to find myself sometimes irritated with these nativity scenes at Christmas. I've mellowed a bit, and they don't bother me so much anymore, as they're trying to tell a story more than a journalistic account. And yes, you're probably a Bible nerd. That's a compliment.
ReplyDeletePsalm 1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
ReplyDeleteO, how blessed we are to be able to stand in judgment...otherwise, we would be wicked. To have accountability to the Father in heaven. I shall not fear my judgment but pray that my will aligns with His and one day He says, "Well done my good and faithful servant."