Theology Posts:
30-Day New Testament Reading Plan
This reading plan will take you through the New Testament in thirty days. Its purpose is to become more familiar with God’s Word through reading it a lot – basically, through repetition. Here’s the plan:
1. Matthew 1-9
2. Matthew 10-15
3. Matthew 16-22
4. Matthew 23-28
5. Mark 1-8
6. Mark 9-16
7. Luke 1-6
8. Luke 7-11
9. Luke 12-18
10. Luke 19-24
11. John 1-7
12. John 8-13
13. John 14-21
14. Acts 1-7
15. Acts 8-14
16. Acts 15-21
17. Acts 22-28
18. Romans 1-8
19. Romans 9-16
20. 1 Corinthians 1-9
21. 1 Corinthians 10-16
22. 2 Corinthians 1-13
23. Galatians – Ephesians
24. Philippians – 2 Thessalonians
25. 1 Timothy – Philemon
26. Hebrews
27. James – 2 Peter
28. 1 John – Jude
29. Revelation 1-11
30. Revelation 12-22
Thanks to Matt Henslee for the find.
The Bible in 30 Days : Sabbath
I taking a day of rest from reading so furiously.
Turns out I made a booboo in planning… Since I didn’t take into account that Matt’s plan was being modified from ehow’s plan as he went along, I had to scratch my head when I hit this:
- Day 10 1 Chronicles 1 2 Chronicles 36
- Day 11 Ezra 1 Esther 10
- Day 12 2 Chronicles 35:16 Job 7:21
So today, I’m just finishing 2 Chronicles and fleshing out the rest of the plan.
Last night Gary (a new brother in Christ!) and I were looking at the 10 Commandments to show our own sinfulness. Most of the time the examples used are stealing, murdering, and adultery, but we went through all of them.
Keeping the Sabbath holy, taking a day of rest, really stuck out to me. God rested, and he wants us to. So I will be meditating on that today as well.
As for Gary, if you get a chance say a quick prayer for him and his discipleship process. We’re picking out a bible Saturday and we’ve started going through Romans! He’s hungry for the Word, and although I didn’t get to be there when he accepted Christ, I’m honored to help him learn more about Jesus.
Justice vs. Fairness
Our God is a God of justice. (Psalms 98:9, Psalm 37:6, Psalm 9:7-8)
But sometimes we apply this standard of “fairness” to God, that I’m not sure is there.
In reading through 2 Kings, I saw much idolatry over the course of many kings. Apparently it got so bad that they didn’t even know about YHWH any longer, just that there was a temple for Him.
When Josiah was king, Hilkiah, a high priest, found the Book of the Law and it was read to the king. He tore his clothes and had the priest immediately seek council with God. His answer is “Because they have made offerings to other gods…my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.” (2 Kings 22:8, 2 Kings 22:11-13, 2 Kings 22:17)
Was that fair? They didn’t know, right?
Even though Josiah destroys the idols and alters, God’s wrath is eventually poured out. Why? Because He is God and He is just. It was their responsibility to pass God’s commandment from generation to generation and keep it close to their hearts. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
So was it fair? Did they, like older generations see Moses talking with God, or have kings who walked with the Lord. Did they walk across the dry bed of the Red sea or even the Jordan? Did they sun stand still over them, or a city wall fall without attack? No, but they had the Book of the Law, which clearly outlines disobedience and its consequences.
Now, why is this important? Because God is also a God of grace and mercy. Two things that seemingly contrast, but in God’s perfect will work together through Jesus. We are just like Israel. We turn our hearts to idols and sacrifice our time, health, energy, money etc… God would be fully justified in imparting His wrath on us, but Jesus came and took the righteous wrath on our behalf.
Jesus takes the punishment. That doesn’t sound too fair either. But it does sound like grace, and it is perfectly just, thereby fulfilling both parts of God’s nature.(Not to say that completely explains God and his nature.)
So is God fair? Yes and no. In the sense of grace saving you from punishment? No. In the sense of Justice as the standard of fairness? Yes. These two don’t really have to fight, if one defines the other, just like the law being fulfilled in conjunction with grace.
Do I make sense, or have I completely missed it? If you comment, please, be fair.
The Bible in 30 Days : Update
The program kicked my butt this weekend, and I almost fell behind. By the grace of God, I’m back on track.
I fell asleep mid-sentence reading Deuteronomy Friday night, so Saturday morning I was 20 chapters behind schedule. I squeezed in reading when I could Saturday to catch up, but by Sunday I had finished Friday’s but was behind on Saturday’s. Thankfully, my afternoon was free and there was no AWANA recreation last night, so I had some extra hours to read and meditate. It’s nice to be on schedule and know that I’m about 20% finished.
Please don’t be mistaken. I’m not doing this for any self-glory, but for several other reasons.
- To get in the grove of getting up early enough to spend at least an hour with God.
- To grow in my sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
- To read all of the Bible (Which I can’t say that I’ve done before. I think only lack some OT Books.)
- To encourage those around me who struggle with having time set aside for Jesus. (Not motivate, Jesus should be the motive.)
- To complete a challenge. I like challenges.
Note to self, get a notebook. There’s a lot of stuff I need to write down and even more I need to revisit with help. However, one thing I’m sure I don’t need to look up is “ephah”. I can confidently say that an ephah is about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters. I wonder if the people who put together the ESV got tired of putting that footnote in…
Some thoughts on the reading:
Israel can be very disappointing and very helpful in seeing your own sins of idolotry. Judges was awesome, Ruth was sweet, and 1 Samuel could be a movie and they all point to Jesus Christ.
Day 3 of the Bible in 30 Days
It was a little tougher to get up this morning, but I’m glad I did. It means I did it even when sleep was tempting. Very tempting.
Leviticus 13:40
‘If a man loses the hair on his head, this is baldness. The man is clean.’
via – The Brick Testament
Leviticus made me thankful. Reading about all of the different sacrifices and laws really made me appreciate my freedom in Christ. There is so much that must be done and in such a particular manner. I’m convinced that when it was all said and done, I wouldn’t have had any animals left.
Looking at Leviticus from today gives some insight into the reasoning and wisdom behind the law. The “unclean” things that the Hebrew people were no to touch/do/tolerate were things that posed a threat to their health. For instance – isolating those with suspicious rashes and checking them after 7 days was effectively teaching them quarantine practices.
I think many people, including myself, don’t fully grasp the hash punishments for stuff that doesn’t seem to important. However I think we forget the context in which this is taking place. God is growing a nation. It is very important that everyone strive together. One person can rally and split a small nation like the growing Israelites. I’ve heard the illustration of (back some years, of course) stealing lumber being punishable by fine, but during war-time punishable by death.
Numbers is proving to be filled with numbers, but I hear there’s some grumbling and murmuring coming up soon…
I thank God for giving me focus and teaching me from the text and from the effort to do this challenge, and I pray He continues; that I may walk by the Spirit.
Tomorrow I must finish up Numbers, chapters 9-36, and go all the way through Deuteronomy 27. I have a feeling that I won’t get through that by just the morning alone, so prayers are appreciated. (Perhaps I will get a head-start this afternoon.)
