Out with the New, In With the Gospels
A few weeks ago I finished reading through the entire Bible through Watermark Community Church’s guided Bible reading plan called Join the Journey. Some weeks we sprinted through the Bible, reading large chunks of scripture each day. But, I am so glad my wife and I took on this challenge and that we finished reading the entire bible, cover to cover, in one year.
Today, I share some thoughts on what I learned and was challenged or encouraged by while reading through the New Testament.
First, I want to share a few resources I recently came across that I think will encourage you in your Bible reading.
7 Ways to Approach Your Bible in 2016, from The Gospel Coalition. Great read on seven ways to approach God’s Word.
This five-minute video from Desiring God, called God Wrote a Book. I love Dr. John Piper’s passion for the Word. He says, “Will I read my Bible tomorrow? Where else would I go? How else will I know him? How else will I prepare myself to enjoy him forever? YES!”
In his book The Songs of Jesus: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms, Dr. Tim Keller writes, "To delight in God’s Word means not merely to comply but to love what God commands. To know how to meditate on and delight in the Bible is the secret to a relationship with God and to life itself. God’s Word gives us the resilience of a tree with a source of living water that will never dry up" (referring to Psalm 1).
I confess I don’t always like to or want to read the Bible.
I love to read and I often find myself drifting towards reading other books, Christian or non-Christian. Yet, the older I get and hopefully the more wise I become, I find myself wanting to know my Bible more and more and pass on a love of God’s Word to my children and others.
Here are a few highlights of what I learned from the New Testament in 2015:
The beauty of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). In this sermon, Jesus addresses such topics as marriage, anger, enemies, divorce, our hearts, and so much more. He wraps it up in one of my favorite passages, Matthew 7:24-27, by reminding us to build our homes on the solid rock foundation of Jesus, not on shifting sand.
When I hit the bottom, I want to turn to my own source of comfort. I often choose to dine from the pig trough instead of going to the true source of life. (Luke 15:16 in the Parable of the Lost Son). Someday I will learn my lesson.
I desire to be a thankful person. The example of the one leper challenges me every time I read it. Would I be like the one or the nine? (Luke 17:11-19)
The book of John. Wow. People often say new believers should start their bible reading with the book of John. At times I disagree since there are so many deep concepts in this gospel. Yet, when I read it all the way through, I remember that John was written so that the reader would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31).
I love Paul’s words and challenge in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: our weaknesses and struggles keep us from being conceited and keep us dependent on the Lord. If dependence is the goal, then weakness is the advantage. If this is the case, then I have a huge advantage.
When I read the book of Philippians, I was reminded about how many passages of scripture I have memorized over the years and how beneficial hiding God’s Word in my heart has been for me. When I was a new Christian, I memorized two or three verses every week. The hunger was insatiable. Looking back now, I have never regretted the time and effort I spent memorizing God’s Word. If you are looking for some good tools for Bible scripture memorization, check out the Topical Memory System or the apps Verses and Scripture Typer.
As I read through Revelation (especially chapters 14-21), I am reminded that the battle is over, God has won and He is coming soon. What would my life look like if I really believed these truths?
Last, I would be remiss if I didn’t challenge or encourage you to Join the Journey. This year we are taking a slow walk through the four gospels. I can’t wait to walk through God’s Word with thousands of others across the world. If you jump in on the day of this post (January 4th, 2016), you are only 1 day (and 17 verses) behind. I can’t think of a better time to Join the Journey than right now.
For you parents out there:
I mentioned this in the Old Testament post, but last year as I read through the Bible, I journaled and wrote prayers and encouragements out to my son Drew in my ESV Journaling Bible. In 2016 I am doing the same thing for one of my other sons, Duncan. I watched God answer some incredible prayers for my son Drew in 2015 and can’t wait to see more of the same for Duncan in 2016. Someday I will pass these bibles on to them and let them know and see how I specifically prayed for them.
I challenge you to read God’s Word for a year and not be changed by The Word and the Author and Subject of the Word. Come join us. It will be a great journey. The goal is not to finish, but to allow the Word of God to challenge you so that you may know God and be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).