Yet Another New System

If you have read my blog for very long or know me at all you will know that I am a Bible reading plan junkie.  I'm trying to think of all the ways I've read through the Bible.  I've done straight through, which I do not recommend.  I've done a system where you read Pentateuch one day, History the next, Psalms the next, etc.  I've done variations of the M'Cheyne system.  Up until now I've enjoyed that the best.  The key thing is to be in various parts of the Word each day.

I just learned about yet another system.  The idea is that you read ten chapters a day, but don't let that scare you.  It took me less than 15 minutes this morning.  Obviously some days will be longer, like when you hit Psalm 119.  What I'm really excited about is seeing how the various parts of the Bible will be interwoven throughout the year.

Will you join me?  The cool thing is that you don't need to start on any specific date.  Just start going because nothing hinges on the calendar.

Reading about Reading

Psalms 1:1-6
(1) Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
(2) but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
(3) He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
(4) The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
(5) Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
(6) for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Now that I finished Isaiah I'm taking a little time to read through some of the articles in my ESV Study Bible. I read two articles about reading this morning. One was an article about reading the Bible for personal worship and the other was about reading for personal application. Great stuff.

As I think about what I read I am convicted on a couple of fronts:

• My prayer life is not particularly vibrant. This would be helped by taking the time to pray through Scripture.
• My reading is often too heady.

Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that some spiritual discipline substitutes for prayerful time spent in the Word. What I realize more and more is that nothing substitutes for it. For example, memorizing and reciting Scripture is a great discipline. However, if I'm never pausing on anything I've memorized then what is the point? Doesn't it seem a little strange that I can recite this in about 20 seconds every week without really dwelling on it:

Ephesians 1:3-10
(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
(4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
(5) he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
(6) to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
(7) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
(8) which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
(9) making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
(10) as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

This speaks of how the God of the universe chose me before the beginning of time to be part of His master plan. How can I not dwell on that?

Sorry to get away from the usual journaling here. This is on my heart this morning and I ask for your prayers.

Potter OD

I feel like I've been mainlining Harry Potter lately. I spent Sunday-Tuesday finishing Book 7 and we saw the movie for book 5 last night. Plus, one of the blogs I frequent has had a discussion about the merits of Harry Potter for Christians. I couldn't help but throw my hat into the ring there.

I can see the appeal to Harry Potter. The writing is good and the characters are engaging. I actually felt myself tearing up near the end of Book 7. Warning -- SPOLIER


Spoiler alert. Read on only if you have finished Book 7 or don't care about learning the outcome
This may sound crazy, but the engagement I had with the characters in Harry Potter has given me a keener understanding of what Christ suffered on the cross. Reading Harry's thoughts as he voluntarily submitted to death was very poignant. Obviously the analogy breaks down because Harry did not have to suffer the sins of the world. The redemption metaphor is incomplete.

I think that this was poignant because I know more about Harry's past than I do about Jesus'. I know that Jesus was born on Christmas and I know the circumstances around it. I know that He was pretty precocious based on his teaching at age 12. I know a lot about the 3 years of his ministry. However, I don't know much about Him as a person. What was his favorite food? His favorite color? Did He prefer the mountains or the beach? What games did He like to play as a child? Did he ever have any pets? How did He deal with being the oldest in the family? How did He deal with the resentment that must have come from not only being the oldest, but also from being perfect?

Obviously some of these things can be answered from what we know of Him through Scripture. My point is that Harry Potter is someone that we got to watch grow up for 7 years until he made the decision to freely sacrifice himself for the sake of the world. We got to know what makes him tick. Reading his story makes me think more about Christ's humanity and the awful weight that was on His shoulders. And, through it all, He freely gave Himself for me.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Harry Potter

So I finished the book today. I probably should have got more work done than I did, but it was good to finish it. I am very pleased with how the whole thing turned out.

Anyone who tries to say that Harry Potter and Narnia are different obviously has not read this book. I won't spoil anything as this says enough.

I'll admit to getting pretty teary at the end for a variety of reasons. It's tough to see the whole thing end.

Reading

I realize that I am married to one of the world's champion readers. Amanda just devours books. There was a time when I decided to read War and Peace as kind of a lark. I read it on my Handspring PDA that I used at the time. It turns out it is a fascinating book and totally engaging -- sort of a Tom Clancy meets Jane Austen. I got Amanda to read it and I think she probably could have read it more than twice in the time it took me to read it once. Then again, once she is hooked on a book she is as bad as I am with a video game. She hates to put it down.

I admit to being a tad envious of her. There are so many books out there that are worth reading. Many are books that I would fundamentally agree with, but I'd also like to read more from authors with whom I disagree. For example, I've really enjoyed reading McLaren as I learn more about the emerging church. A great thing about reading the other viewpoint is that I get a better understanding of why they believe what they believe. That helps me to relate to them better as men and as Christians.

I just wish that I had more hours in the day sometimes. At least I'm doing well on the first few days of my new Bible reading plan. And I'm stoked that I was able to get a very small copy of the ESV (mine is burgundy) for $10 at a local Christian bookstore. I've wanted something smaller than my massive study Bible for a while now. It's always fun to get a new Bible. Try as I might, I just can't get into doing all my reading on my PDA anymore. It is awfully convenient, but I like seeing the pages better.