Print out your Reading Plan

In the past I’ve talked about Bible Reading Plans. These are really helpful ways to read through the Bible through the year. There are all sorts of plans that give you all sorts of options. But the most important part is that you are reading the Bible.

The generous people at Crossway have made many different reading plans available for free on their website (http://www.esv.org/). My personal favorite is the M’Cheyne One-Year Reading Plan. It guides you through the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms/Proverbs twice in one year. It also helps balance difficult sections to go through (such as the laws in Leviticus) with other sections that aren’t so difficult to keep up with.

There are many ways to go through these plans. You can get them as a RSS feed, emailed to you daily, read it online, or even download it to your calendar. I’ve tried all of these solutions and they work fairly well. However, the most effective way I’ve found to go through a reading plan is to simply print out the plan. The Print option gives you a single page (double-sided) that has the entire year’s plan on it. I’ve printed this plan out and have it in a Bible at the office as well as in a Bible at home.

I’ve found this method to be the most beneficial because I don’t have to open up my computer or phone to get the passages I am going to read that day. When I do turn to my phone or computer, there are dozens of other things begging for my attention that easily distract me. And if they don’t pull my attention away from reading the Bible right away, they sit in the back of my mind and nag me to finish reading quickly so I can move on to do the things that need to be done today.

By having just my Bible and a single sheet that lets me know where to read today, I find that I am able to really concentrate on my reading and really interact with the scripture.

What are some other ways that help you read through the Bible?

An Update on Jonathan

Today we moved into a room where Jonathan can stay with us. Praise God!

Though we’re not home yet, it’s a huge improvement. The room is a little larger than our closet, but with all three of us in there at the same time, it’s just right.

Jonathan gets to come out of the NICU and stay with us in this room. He still has to go back to the NICU nurses for his antibiotics, tests, and regular vitals. But other than that, he gets to stay with us, in our room! (like naps being wasted on the young, babysitting is wasted on us, the new parents)

With Jonathan in our own room, I was able to video chat with some family in Florida and spend the day relaxed with Jonathan napping on my chest.

Tonight, around 4 AM, they will run another batch of tests on Jonathan. If his CRP isn’t at 5 or below, we’ll be staying another night. If it is at 5 or below, we’ll talk with the doctor on duty about circumcision and see how quickly we can get home.

One last phenomenon to mention. Before Jonathan I had never changed a diaper. It’s not like I was avoiding the experience. I never really get offers to change diapers and I have never been in the situation where the child needed a diaper change and their parent wasn’t there to change it. So yesterday was my first diaper change. Since then, I’ve changed a few. I don’t get the hysteria that surrounds changing a diaper. It’s not like it’s hard or disgusting.

From what I’m told… that will change once he starts on baby food.

Here’s how to pray for us:

• Pray that God would be glorified in Jonathan’s life.
• Pray that he would grow up to be a man who honors God with his life.
• Pray that his CRP falls from 11 to 5 tonight, before the tests and we would be able to come home quickly.
• Pray for Stephanie, that she can get some sleep on the pullout chair/bed we’re sleeping in tonight.

Lastly, here’s a picture from today. It’s still in the NICU, but we had so much fun sitting together. We talked about the Bible, Jesus, friendships, relationships, how much I love Stephanie, politics, foreign oil, how the internet works, and life in general. He’s a great listener.

I’ve also included a video. Sorry for the 3 minutes of his face and little movement, but that’s what happens with 2-day-old babies…

The Hope of Righteousness

5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

via Passage: galatians 5 5-6 ESV Bible Online.

We eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. The HOPE of righteousness.

That’s not a lofty dream of one day becoming righteous. It’s an active, knowledge-based hope, knowing that is going to happen.

I can’t make it happen. As hard as I try, I can’t make myself righteous. I can’t produce righteousness. No one can. We’re sinful.

So we hope for it. We know that we can’t do anything to obtain it. Instead, we have to wait for God, who is righteous,  to complete righteousness in us. It’s an act of faith on our part, not something we can do. It’s something God does.

Why is that distinction important? Because it removes any reason for us to boast, be proud, brag or be conceited. It’s God’s work in us, not our work that counts for anything.

In Galatians, a book in the Bible, the missionary who brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Galatia (Paul) is writing to the people in the church who are being led astray by false teachers who are distorting the Gospel by adding regulations to it that do not belong. Specifically, circumcision.

Jewish law said that all males needed to be circumcised. Gentiles (meaning not-Jews) were becoming Christians and believing in the Jewish Messiah (savior), Jesus Christ. They were gaining the righteousness that God freely gives through Jesus. Some men who came after Paul started to distort the message and required the Gentiles, who were not circumcised, to be circumcised in order to truly worship and be in right standing with Jesus. After all, the Jewish law says so.

Paul’s whole letter seems to return to this issue. He’s furious that some are coming to the Galatian Christians and requiring them to follow the Jewish law. Actually, Paul takes it so far as to say that he wishes these men who are wrongly teaching circumcision would emasculate themselves (verse 12).

Circumcision is such a big deal to Paul because if circumcision is required for non-Jews, than the rest of the Jewish law is required of them as well. And if that is the case, then they can only obtain righteousness by observing the whole law. And if righteousness comes through the law, then Jesus is of no value to them.

So by requiring circumcision of the Galatian gentiles, these men were removing the importance of Jesus. No wonder Paul was mad.

So here’s how this works. Here’s why Jesus is important.

Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. He died a death he did not deserve to die. In his death, he was the sacrifice for your sin. And what he asks of you is that you put your faith (complete trust or confidence) in him and him alone. In doing so, you acknowledge that this is the only way that your sins are forgiven and you can be made right with God. You can’t do it on your own. You need his sacrifice to pay for your sins.

This is called repentance. It leads to salvation.

In the beginning of the history of the church, right after Jesus left the disciples, Peter stood up and preached a sermon about Jesus. In the end, the men listening asked him, “what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).  ”And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38)

(to read more about the history of the church’s position on this issue, read Acts 15)

ESV Study Bible

I’ve posted about the ESV Study Bible here and here. But today, I want to tell you why it’s so great.

This morning I sat down to read 2 Corinthians. Before diving in, I took my time reading the introduction in my ESV Study Bible and considering what it had to say. It was amazing. When you understand why the author is writing what he is writing, and what is going on behind the words on the pages, it helps you understand more of the context in which this is being said. It also help you see more of the meaning behind the text. Though it does not change the actual words or the truth they proclaim, it helps you understand it in a more personal way.

Now, before I go any further, you have to understand that the notes, articles and introductions in any Study Bible are not the inerrant, inspired Word of God like the actual words of the Bible are. But, after much research, the best scholarship they could provide, and years of insight, they help guide the reader to know more about what is being said and to bring you to other passages that will help your reading of the Bible.

So back to the story.

I read the introduction to 2 Corinthians and it was very helpful. Instead of diving in and reading the text, it gave me a lot of the background and a fresh understanding of why Paul wrote this book. From this intro, I started reading and felt like I could understand what Paul was saying with a lot more context. From there, his words became even more powerful.

So what’s in the ESV Study Bible that makes it so amazing? Well, a LOT of notes, introductions, articles, and cross references. In the introduction to the ESV edition, they talk about how this is not an entirely new thing but rather this edition was written on the shoulders of so many wise men who have gone before them. Benefiting from centuries of study, the contributors were able to provide more insight into both the meaning and occasion of the text. Developments in historical understanding, archeology, language research and other contemporary sources that give us an understanding of what was going on then, help enrich the understanding and background of the text.

At no point does any footnote or article make a theological stand on a controversial passage. Instead, they clearly state what the scripture says. And if the issue is not clearly decided by the text (such as the second coming), the contributors have done a very wonderful job of presenting what the text says and providing differing understandings.

The Resurgence, a blog I really enjoy reading that is written by a variety of current Evangelicals, just did a series on the ESV Study Bible. I found it this morning after I wrote this post, so please go here and enjoy their posts about the Trinity. Here’s a quote from The Resurgence that gives the resasoning for their series:

The ESV Study Bible is our bible of choice. To show you how good the notes are, we’re sharing pieces from the ESV Study Bible’s article on the Trinity.

If you don’t have one already, I would highly recommend purchasing an ESV Study Bible. You can find them in many different bookstores. Here’s a link to CBD, who has them at a great price.

One last note: Crossway, the publisher, provides a lifetime warranty on the binding. That means if it starts to fall apart, you can send it in and they’ll fix it. I don’t know how many bibles I’ve had to retire because the binding has fallen apart (including my NIV Study Bible). This is especially nice on a bible as thick as this…

Can’t decide which one to buy? I started with a hardcover. It is a great edition and makes a nice book if you like the hard binding. But after a little while, I really wanted to go with a soft cover. I couldn’t stand a textbook feel for a book so important to me. So I was able to switch with a good friend of mine who purchased it for the online version (as I did) and the TruTone was on sale for less than the hardcover. Since neither of us had written anything in it and both were in pristine condition, we swapped. I’m VERY happy with the TruTone.

Here are a few peeks inside (Thanks to CBD) the ESV Study Bible to show you how great and extensive the notes are:

Introduction to Genesis

Study notes in Genesis 1:3ff

Timeline example in the Introduction to Mark

Full Color Map