Week #13 (March 25-31)

Hello Readers,

It's good to be back in the USA with more regular internet access. With this, I'm sorry that I forgot to post this week's reading earlier, but here it is:

Sunday: catch up day
Monday: Isaiah 24-27
Tuesday: Isaiah 28-30
Wednesday: Isaiah 31-34
Thursday: Isaiah 35-37
Friday: Isaiah 38-40
Saturday: Isaiah 41-43

Also, note that I will keep previous week's readings up on the side, and that next week's reading will also be posted.

I love the book of Isaiah. It is a beautiful book speaking of God's power, His sovereignty, and His desire above all things for His glory. Many of my favorite verses come from this great book, including 26:8 which states,

"In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; Your name and rememberance are the desire of our soul."

Be blessed as you continue reading!

Week #12 (March 18-24)

Hi! This is Mandie again. Here's this week's schedule:

Sunday: Psalm 32-33
Monday: Isaiah 10-12
Tuesday: Isaiah 13-15
Wednesday: Isaiah 16-20
Thursday: Isaiah 21-23
Friday: Catch up day
Saturday: Catch up day

Continue to pray for safety as Pastor Curtis and Pastor Jim return from Russia! Have a great week!!

Week #11 (March 11-17)

Hello All!

This is Mandie :) Here's the schedule for this week:

Sunday: Psalm 31
Monday: 2 Kings 20-22
Tuesday: 2 Kings 23-25
Wednesday: Proverbs 6
Thursday: Isaiah 1-2
Friday: Isaiah 3-6
Saturday: Isaiah 7-9

Have a good week!

it's coming

Hey Readers,

I just noticed the updated schedule isn't online yet. I don't have it with me in Russia, but I'll be sure to get Mandie to help me post it soon. If it's not up today, read Psalm 31 for Sunday and keep going in 2 Kings.

Blessings

Week #10 (March 4-10)

We have now reached our tenth week in the Bible reading. Here's the schedule for this week:

Sunday: Psalm 30
Monday: 2 Kings 4-5
Tuesday: 2 Kings 6-8
Wednesday: 2 Kings 9-11
Thursday: 2 Kings 12-14
Friday: 2 Kings 15-17
Saturday: 2 Kings 18-19

Even though I will be in Russia for then next couple of weeks, we will continue to put out a daily schedule. Also, we will still be meeting at 6:30 on Wednesdays for encouragement and prayer with Mr. McDonald leading the meeting. Please continue to attend during the next couple of weeks.

Keep making time for God!

Week #9 (Feb. 25-Mar. 3)

Here is this week's schedule:

Sunday: Psalm 28-29
Monday: 1 Kings 14-16
Tuesday: 1 Kings 17-19
Wednesday: 1 Kings 20-22
Thursday: Proverbs 4-5
Friday: 1 Timothy
Saturday: 2 Kings 1-3

When we complete 1 Kings, we will read a few more chapters in the Proverbs, take a quick break by reading the Apostle Paul's first letter to Pastor Timothy, then continue on in Kings.

Let me just continue to encourage everyone (whether or not you were there last Wednesday) to NOT QUIT, no matter how far behind you may fall. Remember, our ultimate goal is not to race through the Bible in one year, but to be in our Bibles this year together as much as possible. Make time for God!

Catch Up Week #8 (Feb. 18-24)

No, we're not going to have a group catch up week, or even a catch up day this week for that matter. Instead, since the High Schoolers at S.B.H.S. have the week off school, this is would be a great time to get some extra reading done if you're behind. But I promise that we will have some more catch up reading days (and some light reading days) soon.

Here is this week's reading schedule:

Sunday: Psalm 26-27
Monday: 1 Kings 1-2
Tuesday: 1 Kings 3-6
Wednesday: 1 Kings 7-8
Thursday: 1 Kings 9-10
Friday: Proverbs 2-3
Saturday: 1 Kings 11-13

I enjoyed reading Amos this week. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I read it in 3 different translations. Knowing that Amos prophesied during a time of peace and prosperity in Israel made me think of the parallels of living in modern America.

Here's a brief introduction to 1 Kings:

1 Kings begins with the death of King David (about 970 B.C.) and the magnificent reign of his son, Solomon, who wrote much of Israel’s wisdom literature. Solomon’s unfaithfulness later in life set the stage for general rebellion among the people. The harsh policies of his son Rehoboam led to the revolt of the northern tribes under King Jeroboam I, and the division of Israel. The northern tribes would subsequently carry the name Israel, while the southern tribes would be called Judah. 1 Kings describes the construction of the temple in Jerusalem, and the importance of proper worship. God’s faithfulness to his people is shown as he sent prophets, most notably Elijah, to warn them not to serve other gods. The author of this book is unknown.

Take special note on Friday when you read Proverbs 2-3 that it was king Solomon who wrote these incredible words of wisdom, then watch what happens on Saturday when even the wisest man who ever lived (other than Jesus Christ) does not follow his own teaching. Truly a sad ending to a great life.

I'm So Far Behind!

A couple people have mentioned to me that they have fallen significantly behind in the reading and were wondering what they should do. Here's a couple suggestions:

*If you're more than a full book behind, skip the book. If you're using one of our bookmarks, leave the check box blank and we can return to that book later.

*Try and do 2 days readings per day until you catch up. This may take time, but if you keep with it, you'll catch up quicker than you think. This also requires personal discipline, but remember that discipline is part of being a Disciple of Christ.

*Don't get discouraged, and whatever you do, Don't Quit!

*Find accountability, and be accountable. Also, if you're a part of our Wednesday night FUEL group, make our 6:30 meeting a priority.

As promised, here's a little more info about the book of Obadiah:

Obadiah wrote this shortest book of the Old Testament probably soon after the armies of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. During the conquest, the people of Edom (the nation bordering Israel on the east) helped capture fleeing Israelites and turned them over to the Babylonians. They even took up residence in some Judean villages. This angered the Lord, for the Edomites, as descendants of Esau, were related to the Israelites and therefore should have helped them. Obadiah prophesied that Edom would be repaid for mistreating God's people. Within a hundred years Edom was in ruins. Obadiah also asserted that God is sovereign over the nations and that the house of Jacob would be restored because of God's covenant love for His people.

Week #7 (Feb. 11-17)

We don't have a catch-up day this week, so let's be diligent to keep at this every day. In addition to our usual Psalm reading on Sunday, we're also going to read a section of Proverbs as well as read the book of Amos and Obadiah. Here's the schedule for the week:

Sunday: Psalm 24-25
Monday: Daniel 6-8
Tuesday: Daniel 9-11
Wednesday: Daniel 12 and Proverbs 1
Thursday: Amos 1-4
Friday: Amos 5-8
Saturday: Amos 9 and Obadiah

After finishing Daniel on Wednesday, we are going to read the first chapter of the book of Proverbs. The majority of this book is believed to have been written by King Solomon, and it is a collection of the wisdom given to him by God. We are told right at the beginning of the book that the beginning of wisdom and knowledge is "the Fear of the Lord".

Also this week we are reading Amos and Obadiah (which are located back to back in the Old Testament among the prophets). Here is an introduction to the book of Amos:

Amos, the first of the "writing prophets", was a shepherd and a farmer called to prophesy during the reign of King Uzziah in the kingdom of Judah. During this time, both the kingdoms of Israel and Judah enjoyed political stability and financial prosperity, but it was also a time of idolatry, extravagance and corruption. The rich and powerful were oppressing the poor and Amos denounced the people of Israel for their apostasy and social injustice and warned them that disaster would fall upon them for breaking the covenant. He urged them to leave the hypocrisy of their "solemn assemblies" (5:21) and instead to "let justice roll down like waters" (v. 24). Nevertheless, said Amos, God would remember his covenant with Israel and would restore a faithful remnant.

I'll post a bit of information about Obadiah before Saturday, so be sure to check back by then. God bless you as you keep reading.

Week #6 (Feb. 4-10) - Daniel

Here's the schedule for this week. Enjoy your catch up day, and make the best use of your time to stay caught up.

Sunday: Psalm 19-23
Monday: Joshua 16-19
Tuesday: Joshua 20-22
Wednesday: Joshua 23-24
Thursday: catch-up day!!
Friday: Daniel 1-2
Saturday: Daniel 3-5

I hope you enjoyed reading the book of Joshua. What an amazing story of God's power, the fulfillment of His promises, and His continue desire for His glory and the holiness of His people.

As we leave Joshua, we head to the book of Daniel. The story of Joshua is about the people of Israel taking possession of the promised land, and Daniel tells of how the people were taken into exile in Babylon because of their sin. Here's a little more background information on Daniel:

Exiled to Babylon in 605 B.C., Daniel was one of several young men chosen to serve in King Nebuchadnezzar’s court. When the Persians conquered Babylon in 539, Daniel was again given a position of power. He remained faithful to God in both of these hostile environments. From the interpretation of dreams, to the familiar stories of the fiery furnace, the lion’s den, and the handwriting on the wall, to the apocalyptic visions, the recurrent theme of the book is God’s sovereignty over human affairs. In the historical sections (ch. 1-6) God supernaturally rescued Daniel and his friends. The rest of the book consists of visions of future judgment and deliverance by the Messiah. Some of Daniel’s prophetic themes are echoed in the book of Revelation.

Write me if you have any questions. Happy reading and keep going strong!

Week #5 (Jan. 28-Feb. 3) - Joshua

We should now be done Deuteronomy and well into Joshua by the end of the week. Officially here's this week's schedule (even though the week is half over... I hope you've been able to get it off of the FUEL handouts or the side column on the webpage):

Sunday: Psalm 16-18
Monday: Deuteronomy 32-34
Tuesday: Joshua 1-4
Wednesday: Joshua 5-8
Thursday: Joshua 9-11
Friday: Joshua 12-15
Saturday: catch-up day!!

Enjoy your catch-up day on Saturday. If you need to do a significant amount of reading to get caught up, schedule that time to do it as early in the day as possible. If you do not need to get caught up, use Saturday to review some thing that you've already read (for instance, some of the Psalms we've already read, or Deuteronomy 6 or Galatians).

Here's a brief introduction and some background information to the book of Joshua:

The five books of Moses anticipated the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham regarding the Promised Land. Now, through a string of military victories under Joshua’s command, Israel conquered the land and apportioned it according to their twelve tribes. In these battles it became evident that God fights for His people when they are “strong and courageous” (1:6, 7, 9, 18, 10:25) and put their full trust in him. At the close of the book, Joshua charged the people to remain faithful to God and to obey his commands, and the people agreed to do so. “As for me and my house,” said Joshua, “we will serve the LORD” (24:15). Although anonymous, the book appears to contain eyewitness testimony, most of which is most likely written by Joshua himself.

As we read this book, think of what it means that we can be strong and courageous as we trust in His strength.

God's blessing as you keep seeking Him in the time you have in His Word!

Week #4 (Jan. 21-27)

OK readers, here's this week's schedule, which will take us almost all the way through the big and exciting book of Deuteronomy by the end of the week.

Sunday: Psalm 10-15
Monday: Deuteronomy 8-11
Tuesday: Deuteronomy 12-15
Wednesday: Deuteronomy 16-19
Thursday: Deuteronomy 20-24
Friday: Deuteronomy 25-28
Saturday: Deuteronomy 29-31

For those of you not in our class on Sunday, here is a very brief introduction to the book of Deuteronomy:

This book means "second law", and is a retelling by Moses of the teachings and events of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. It includes an extended review of the Ten Commandments (ch. 5) and Moses farewell address to a new generation of Israelites as they stand ready to take possession of the Promised Land. He reminds them of God's faithfulness and love, but also of God's wrath on the previous generation of Israelites because of their disobedience and lack of faith. Repeatedly he charges Israel to not only keep the Law, but to love and obey the one true God. There are blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. The book ends with the selection of Joshua as Israel's new leader and the death of Moses.

My favorite section from this book is from 6:4-9, dealing with the greatest commandment. Moses writes, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

Think of ways that we can actively remember to love the LORD our God with our hearts, souls, minds and strength this week as we are faced with temptations to sin and distractions of the world. Can you think of times to talk about Him as you "walk by the way"? What are some reminders you can put up to remember to love the LORD? The Israelites put reminders on their hands and heads and doorposts... what can we do? Feel free to leave your ideas as a comment.

God bless you all as you grow to love the LORD in reading Deuteronomy this week!

Week #3 (Jan. 14-20)

I realize that I'm posting this a few days late, but I assume most of you have had the chance to see the schedule posted on the right side of the page.

This week we should have already finished Micah, we'll complete Galatians tomorrow, and begin our adventure through the big Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. Here's the schedule:

Sunday: Psalm 6-9
Monday: Micah 5-7
Tuesday: Galatians 1-2
Wednesday: Galatians 3-4
Thursday: Galatians 5-6
Friday: Deuteronomy 1-3
Saturday: Deuteronomy 4-7

If you've been having a little trouble with Galatians, here's a few things to keep in mind:

*Galatians is very different from John, Micah and the Psalms. Unlike a narritave, poetry or prophecy, Galatians is a letter written to deal with a theological issue.

*Because Galatians was written do deal with thelogical issues within the church, the Apostle Paul wrote this letter as an argument. This means that we may need to read this letter a little slower, as well as go back and make sure we understand what is written in order to follow his argument (this is why we are only reading 2 chapters a day).

*This letter deals with theology that is important for every single believer. The key verse is 2:16 where Paul writes that "a person is not justified (declared right before God) by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ... by works of the law no one will be justified."

Happy reading and I'll see you tonight!

Who's With Us?

Hello Everyone,

If you check out the side list, I've posted the reading teams from our High School FUEL group. We're going to use these groups for encouragement as well as organizing monthly times together to hang out and have fun.

If you weren't able to be there on Wednesday night, it's still not too late to join our group. Talk to me at church, give me a call, send me an email or post a comment letting me know that you want to join us.

Also, I've talked with a few others in our church (and elsewhere) that have decided to join us on our Scripture Adventure. If you are joining with us, leave a comment so that we can know who's with us.

Blessings as you read!

Prepare for the Prophets

As of today, we will have completed the book of John. Can you believe that in only a week we have read the entire book of John (plus 5 Psalms)? I hope you were able to know God a little more through these first few days in the Scripture Adventure. Feel free to use this posting to comment on anything you learned or were impacted by while reading John.

As of Saturday we are going to start with the book of Micah, and we are going to try to do it in 2 days. After meeting on Wednesday and hearing some of your reading tips, here are a couple of things to keep in mind as you read Micah:

*consider doing the whole book (7 chapters) at once. It will help you keep the flow of the theme of the book (plus you can then take 1 day off or use it to get caught up or get ahead).

*remember that the style is going to be much different than John. Micah was a Hebrew prophet that lived 700 years before Christ and he used poetic language to communicate his message.

Here's a little more background info to prepare you for your read:

Micah prophesied in Judah during the reigns of King Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (about 750-700 B.C.), at about the same time as Isaiah. It was a time of prosperity, and Micah denounced the wealthy, who were oppressing the poor, and warned of impending judgment. The northern kingdom (Israel) actually fell during Micah’s ministry, in 722, and Judah almost fell in 701 (2 Kings 18-20). The book contains messages alternating between words of warning and of hope. Micah told of a day when there would be peace among all nations, who would then be able to “beat their swords into plowshares” (4:3), and of a royal deliverer who would save Israel from all her enemies. This deliverer would be born in Bethlehem (5:2).

By the way, I was very encouraged by our meeting on Wednesday night. Thanks to everyone who came, and I hope that we can keep this up all year. Each of you were a blessing to me!

Anybody have any suggestions for a name for our group?