Scanning to Parking

Last week I finished a 90-Day Bible Reading Plan, and can only say positive things about having the big picture of the Bible scanned over in 90 Days.  There were days that I wanted to slow down and linger… there were days I felt I would never finish that day’s reading… there were definitely days it felt like drinking from a fire hose, but as I look back on it I would absolutely recommend it if you are wanting to zoom way out for a bit, and take it all in quickly.   If you’re interested, click here for the plan that I used.

Anyway, once I finished the big picture, I found that I was really missing the really slow, savoring reading that I had done a couple years ago.  That method, for lack of a better word, was this.

Journal your thoughts, struggles, or whatever is on your heart for that day.

Read scripture (I read through the book of Psalms) until God encourages, rebukes, or directly speaks to what you are reading about.  Sometimes this happened in 3 verses, sometimes I would read chapters, but it was unbelievable the way that God’s word came to life every single time.

Then record the passage (I wrote the whole thing, and sometimes would memorize it), and then journal a prayer or response to God.

When I first heard about this from Andrew, who had learned it from the CEO of Crosswinds and Lifeline, I thought it sounded ridiculous.  However, at that point in my life, it was exactly what I needed to keep me faithful in reading.  It was amazing how he corrected my thinking, encouraged my weary soul, or spoke directly into lies that I didn’t even know I was clinging to.

So, back to the point.  I was missing the savoring of God’s word.  So, I went back to a book I needed to chew on longer because it kicked me in the pants when I read it in the 90-Day Plan.  Those books were 1-3 John.

I read it fast, but oh buddy did it sting.  It convicted me so deeply of all the ways I had not been loving my brothers.  You know what 1 John says?  If you don’t love your brother, who you can see, how can you love God, who you can’t see? (1 John 4:20).  I will really dig into that in another post. 

So, I spent a week.  Reading just 1, 2, and 3 John.  Learning the nuances, the overarching message, the small details.  Then I began studying it more in depth through a Jen Wilkin Study (which is FREE by the way, and available HERE).  Dang.  I want to sit in this book for another year, because if the Holy Spirit grew the kind of love in me that the gospel should grow in me, then every relationship that I have would be radically different.

So, that’s where I am right now.  Parked in 1 John for the foreseeable future.  Desperate to understand that fellowship with the Father and the Son, absolutely means fellowship with my brothers.  True, deep fellowship.  No room for grudges.  No room for fearfully not leaning in.  No room to neglect relationships with those around me.  What would that do in our churches, you guys?  What would that do in our families?  If we have really experienced the depth of the love of our Father, and we don’t love our brothers well, we have to ask the question.  Do we know His love?