Skip to main content

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?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Unyielding Messenger

This week, God had a theme of treasure for me to unpack.   Does he ever do that with you?   You read a book, He communicates an idea that encourages your heart.   But then you forget it 10 minutes later.   You go out for coffee with a friend, and the same idea is uttered in their spirit led heart.   “Do you hear me, daughter?”   You turn on the radio, and it’s there too.   “I really want you to get this.” You open your Bible, and every verse, even if you are in some obscure book, relays the same concept.   “LISTEN TO ME!” He does this often with me, and even when I was not faithfully in the Word, He would find such obscure ways to speak to me.   That’s been my week. So, in the study on 1 John, I was digging into the word “Abide”.   Go figure, right?   John really runs with that idea, which probably stemmed from Jesus as the vine, telling us to abide in Him.   What the heck does that mean, though?   According t...
Post a Comment
Read more

No Temptation, No Test

It has been a long time since I last wrote on this weekly blog.   The month in Guatemala, coupled with visiting family, and new job responsibilities has made it difficult.   More than that though, I was sitting in a season of grumbling. I was moaning about injustices.   I was moaning about all the annoying parts of living in the Dominican Republic.   I was moaning about relational difficulties.   I was moaning about disunity.   But in the midst of that, over and over again, I knew that Jesus was gently nudging at my heart, telling me to come to HIM, for rest, but I would angrily hiss back, “your yoke isn’t easy, and your burden is anything but light!” I promised to be transparent in these blogs in the hopes that I can encourage other clay pots. Certainly not because I like it, on the contrary, it pains me to share my sinful rebellion.   With that awareness, I still chose to feel sorry for myself, but I wasn’t fully aware of the sin...
1 comment
Read more

Giants in the Land

This week was a bit of a blur, as Andrew and I had friends visiting on a vision trip.   I kept up pretty consistently with reading and studying, but have felt the weariness in my heart that comes after a long week of sleep deprivation and lack of consistency in all areas. So, this week I didn’t really have anything new and fresh from 1 John.   On Saturday night, I drug out my Sunday School materials because I was slotted to teach, and begrudgingly began reading the lesson and preparing to teach the CMA Chapel kids. That is what I want to share with you (Ironically, there was a mix-up in communication and I didn’t even end up teaching, HA!   God has a sense of humor). So, the lesson walked through Numbers 13-14, and was about the twelve spies who went into the Promised Land.   If you grew up in church, you know this story.   10 said “No”, two said, “Go, giant grapes… all of that.   As I prepared, I thought about the typical angle taken wh...
Post a Comment
Read more