Sixty Days: Day Two

 

 

Today's Reading

• Genesis 8-15
• Psalms 5-8
• Isaiah 5-8
• Matthew 3-4
• Romans 4-5

Reading Time:  53 minutes

 

There are constant themes in the Bible, and those themes are threaded throughout the entirety of Scripture, woven into an intricate and beautiful tapestry.  Sometimes we tend to focus so much on the individual threads that we fail to see what the whole picture is trying to tell us.  Take today's reading, for instance.

 

Starting over in Genesis, I read about the flood, the tower of Babel, Ham and the curse of Canaan, a plague in Egypt, and the sacking of Sodom and Gomorrah--all pictures of God's judgment on unrighteous behavior.  But I also read about the call and covenant of Abram to be God's blessing to the world.

 

Skipping to the Psalms--God condemns the wicked, and covenants with the righteous for salvation and eternal life.

 

Skipping to Isaiah--more of the same.

 

Skipping to Matthew--John the Baptist come preaching condemnation for the wicked, but covenant salvation to those who will believe, receive, and repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  And then Jesus comes after him preaching the exact same thing. 

 

Skipping to Romans--and we're back to Abraham.  And more about condemnation and covenant.

 

We don't like to talk about condemnation in the church much any more.  Condemnation makes us feel back.  Judgment scares us.  Hell is too hot.  The devil is too...something.  Sin is relative.  Repentance is overrated.  We'd rather hear about a God of love who loves everybody and is just going to let everybody in regardless of what they believed or how they lived.  As one false prophet just put it:  God just wants you to be happy.

 

It's a lie.

 

People are happy in their sin.  The Bible tells us that people carried on with business and life, eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage, right up until the day it started to rain.  They were happy, and living under a sentence of death.  It had been proclaimed daily by Noah for more than a century while the ark was under construction, but nobody listened.  They were to busy being happy.

 

Fresh off the boat, Ham laughed with giddiness at the sight of his drunk and naked father.

 

The Tower of Babel was a monument to happiness, self-determination, freedom, and unity.  It was a symbol of humanity.

 

Pharaoh looked forward to the happiness and pleasure Abram's wife Sarai would give him.

 

Sodom was exceedingly wicked, but Lot chose to move there because he thought the verdant pastures and easy living of the valley would resolve his conflicts and solve all of his problems.  Boy, did he get more than he bargained for.  Just Lot, vexed by the sin of his own city, but living in it all the same.

 

Happiness is temporary.  Sin has long-lasting effects and far-reaching consequences.  And hell is forever.

 

The good news is that heaven is forever too.  You can have life--abundant life now, eternal life in the hereafter.  You can have real happiness, based not upon your actions but upon the activity of God.  God is calling you with a sweet and wonderful message, but the message is still Repent!  For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  God's desire is not your merely your happiness, but rather your salvation through His message.  You have to believe it and act upon it, but once you do, you are in covenant relationship with God, there is no more condemnation for you, but life everlasting.  And a glorious future ahead!

 

But God showed his great love for us

by sending Christ to die for us

while we were still sinners.

And since we have been made right in God's sight

by the blood of Christ,

he will certainly save us from God's judgment.

For since we were restored to friendship with God

by the death of his Son while we were still enemies,

we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life.

So now we can rejoice!

Romans 5:8-11, NLT

Sixty Days: Day One

Today's Reading:

• Genesis 1-7
• Psalms 1-4
• Isaiah 1-4
• Matthew 1-2
• Romans 1-3

Reading Time:  47 minutes

 

I've read it all before.  God makes the earth, makes man in his own image, lets man make his own decisions, watches as humanity descends into rampant immorality and chaos, decides to flood the earth and wash it clean, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  The Psalmist sings about the greatness of God and God's truth and God's son and God's power, and how good it is to serve Him.  Isaiah cries for the repentance of a people who are destined for destruction and captivity.  The Messiah arrives in the world via a Jewish family.  And Paul writes his gospel-centered letter, including the oft quoted verse: 

 

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ.  It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes.

Romans 1:16, NLT

 

And it was there in Romans 1 that my heart began to break, because having read about the flood and the demise of humanity save eight souls, I now hear that God still hates sin and that there is judgment awaiting those who do not believe in Him to the saving of their souls and the changing of their ways.  The apostle inspired even shows us the path that leads to such destruction.

 

First is the refusal to believe God's truth.  It is heard and rejected, willfully pushed away and denied.

 

Then is the refusal to worship God, the omnipotent originator and benevolent sustainer of all that is.

 

Next is the refusal to accept God as He is, rather remaking Him in our own image with our own imaginations, so that He is more like us or that which we have created for ourselves.

 

And God let's us go and do it.

 

Having refused the truth and reshaped God, we now redefine morality, fidelity, and reality.  Anything goes as we explore the newfound freedom of godhood.

 

And God let's us go and do whatever we want.

 

Having redefined right and wrong, we begin to celebrate wrong as right, right as relative, and debase ourselves with every kind of indulgence, defying nature and defiling ourselves to the point of reaping in our bodies the consequences of our own actions.

 

And God let's us go and do what should never be done.

 

There we find the depth and depravity of becoming a governing force for ourselves, because without God, with absolute truth, without an absolute moral standard, without an omnipotent power guiding our lives, we descend into every kind of wickedness and sin, knowing that it's wrong but refusing to do what is right, ultimately encouraging those around us to come along too.  And there we die.

 

Without Christ.

 

And here my heart was broken.  I wept over the pages as I continued to read.

 

We find that there is no righteousness apart from Him, none righteous without Him, none able to do good outside of Him, and no one able to save us...except HIM!  And He has done everything necessary to save us from our sin, from ourselves, from satan, and from certain destruction in a devil's hell.  He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us, taking in Himself all of the punishment and penalty for our sin.  Salvation is ours for the having...if we will just have it.  And there my heart was healed and made whole again!  There I rejoiced and was made glad.  Because I know Him, because I have Him, because I believe.

 

There is only one God, and there is only one way of being accepted by Him.  He makes people right with himself only by faith.

Romans 3:30, NLT

Sixty Days

 

 

Reading the Bible isn't really that hard.  I've heard people talk about how hard it is to read through the Bible, but when you consider that there are 1189 chapters in the Bible, and 365 days in a year, all you have to do is read 3.5 chapters a day (or 3 chapters a day, plus 5 on Sunday).  I'm a fast reader, so it takes me about 10 minutes to read 3.5 chapters.  It might take someone else longer, but not hours and hours.  Just a few minutes a day can get you through the Bible in a year.

 

Everybody has to start somewhere.  So if you've never read the Bible through, try reading those 23 chapters a week and do it for 52 weeks.  Then start again next year.  And keep doing it.  You will never read it over again without it speaking something fresh and new to you.  That's because it is alive and powerful, and sharp enough to work wonders in our lives.

 

I'm going to be 42 this September.  I was given my first Bible to read 35 years ago, and I've been reading it ever since.  I do not know how many times I've read it through.  I can honestly say I haven't read it through 35 times, but I know there are parts of the Bible I have read through at least that many times.  I suspect I've read Genesis close to 100 times.  That's from all those times of starting to read the Bible and getting through Genesis and Exodus, only to get bogged down in the laws of Leviticus or lost in Numbers while wandering in the wilderness.  Plus, Genesis is a fascinating and exciting book.  The rest of the Bible is built on the foundation of Genesis.  I used to read through Psalms and Proverbs every month, so I've probably read them more than 100 times.  I've read the gospels a lot.  Also Jude.  Other books, I've read through multiple times.  But I've never actually counted how many times I've read the entire Book through.  Cover to cover, maybe a handful of times.  Using different sampling plans, about the same.

 

A few years ago, I determined that in reading 40 chapters a day, I could go through the Bible in a month.  I've attempted it several times, succeeded only once.  But each time I try, I am amazed at how much truth is woven through this wonderful text.  It is always surprising to start in Genesis and read the same theme through Proverbs, Psalms, a couple more wisdom chapters, the prophets, the gospels and the epistles...always saying the same thing on the same subject.  It was exciting to finish the book 30 days after I started, and still be able to remember what I read just 4 short weeks before.  Of course, it usually took 3-4 hours of reading every day, and if I missed a day, I had to make it up somewhere.  Suffice it to say that there were some days I read more than 40 chapters, more like 70 or 80 or 90 chapters, which took considerably longer.  Fortunately, the one time I did it, I didn't have much else going on.  I had all the time I needed to read and read and read.  Not so much anymore.

 

One day, I may try it again, but today, I started a different challenge only half as difficult.  I'm going to read the Bible through in 60 days, at a pace of 20 chapters a day.  Today, reading seven chapters from Genesis, four from Psalms, four from Isaiah, two from Matthew, and three from Romans, I read my chapters in a 45 minute setting.  Some days may be longer, some shorter.  But I want to read the Bible through, and I've shared my plan with others who said they would like to read along with me.  So here we go.  My goal is to have read all 1189 chapters of the Bible by the end of October.  I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Why?  you might ask.  Why do you feel it necessary to do such marathon reading?  Wouldn't 3 chapters a day and 5 on Sunday be sufficient?  Perhaps it would, and if anybody does that, I say keep on reading!  We need to put the word in, so that the word comes out.  We need to let it dwell in us richly.  We need to let it correct and exhort and transform and renew us.  We need the word of God to speak life into our lives.  Any amount is better than none at all, and as previously noted, those 3 & 5 chapter days will get you through the Bible in a year.

 

But sometimes, I just want more.  I want a feast, an endless buffet, a smorgasbord.  So I take it a little faster.  This isn't Bible Study.  I'm also doing that--in Malachi, 1st & 2nd Thessalonians, & 1st Corinthians right now.  Soon it will be the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6 & 7.  This is just reading, reading for pleasure, reading to read, reading to fill myself up with the word of God.  Because when I do, what goes in comes out.  What goes in changes my life.  What goes in stays in and revives my soul. 

 

Let it do the same to you!

My All Sufficient Guide

 

This book is my all sufficient guide for faith and conduct.

 

Those are the words inscribed in the cover of practically every Bible I own.  They were uttered by my Bible Study professor in Bible College more than 20 years ago, and I've never forgotten them.  Though I never thought any other way, I immediately took those words to heart and have based my life and ministry on that statement.

 

This book is my all sufficient guide for faith and conduct.

 

A stranger on a plane asked me once, "Why do you keep reading that book?  Isn't once enough?"  My response was, "This book has more to say than any other book.  I find something new every time I read it."  All I got in return was a blank stare from an individual who had no idea what I was talking about.  They did not understand the declaration that All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable... 

 

When we speak of the Scriptures being inspired by God, we don't mean He was the muse.  God wasn't a good idea upon which men based their writings.  God wasn't the subject matter.  God was the Author.  Peter says, Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.  Jesus went so far as to say not one jot nor one tittle shall pass away, meaning He placed authority on the smallest stroke of the pen.  To say that the Scriptures are inspired is to say that God breathed life into the Word, making it more than a collection of writings.  It is alive and powerful and sharper than a double-edged sword; it divides soul from spirit; it divides bone from marrow; it reveals the deepest intentions of a person's heart.  I can understand why some don't like it; they don't like what it says to them about themselves.

 

In this simple, easy to read text--and it is easy to read, regardless of what you've been told--God has revealed Himself to fallen humanity in order to reconcile them to Himself.  He has recorded the history of his dealings with mankind, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  He has presented Himself as Almighty Creator, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, First and Last, the Ancient of Days, the Great I AM.  He has shown Himself to be everything we need Him to be whenever we need Him to be that.  He is Savior and Lord, Master of the Universe.  He started it and He will finish it.  In between beginning and end, He has done everything necessary to bring us to Himself.  He provided the means of salvation, they way to obtain it, and the guide to get us there.  It's all in the Bible!

 

The Bible contains everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.  Everything I need to know about God, everything I need to know about life, everything I need to know about God's will for my life, is contained in that all sufficient book.  It teaches me what to believe about the God who wants me to believe; it leaves nothing out that I need to know.  It tells me how to live; what to do and what not to do.  It is a tutor that leads me to Christ; it is a guardian that keeps me in Christ; it is the words of a loving Father to an ever needy son.  And I love that it is so.

 

God didn't leave my salvation up to my own devices or devising.  He didn't want me to figure it out by myself.  He didn't want to leave it up to my own reasoning or understanding.  He didn't write some mysterious ancient text that I cannot understand, that I have to struggle to make sense of.  He didn't write in secret code that is indecipherable.  He gave me a book of life, a book of hope, a book of wisdom.  He gave me the history of mankind, particularly that branch of the family tree that delivered Jesus into the world so that He could save it.  He gave me His prophecy and His poetry, His wisdom and His Instructions.  He wrote me love songs, He wrote me letters, He wrote me visions about the end.  And He explains Himself.  He wants us to know Him and understand Him; His word does not conceal, it reveals.  All I have to do is read the book and believe it.

 

This book is my all sufficient guide for faith and conduct.

 

There is apparently a new breed of people calling themselves Christian who have decided they may disregard the Bible.  For various reasons.  It's an ancient book; we're a modern culture.  It's religious; we are scientific.  It demands blind obedience; we have abilities of higher reasoning.  It constrains; I'm liberated.  It was for then; I am for now.  Somehow, some have deluded themselves into thinking that they know better than God, or at least the Bible.  They have declared that the Bible isn't true, it isn't accurate, it isn't complete, it isn't for us.  They have shrugged off the burden of the Word and its authority.  They have decided for themselves which of it they will believe, and which of it they will discard.  But I have news for you.  If you're even reading.

 

Your disbelief doesn't make the Bible untrue.  Your independence does not negate the authority of the Word of God.  And all of your reasoning and wrangling of the Word does not change what it is--the inspired, infallible, inerrant, authoritative Living Word of the Living God.  You're not progressive.  You're not enlightened.  You're just lost.  And you need a guide to help you find the way back to God. 

 

For you see your calling, brethren,

that not many wise according to the flesh,

not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise,

and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame

the things which are mighty;

and the base things of the world and the things which are despised

God has chosen,

and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,

that no flesh should glory in His presence.

1 Corinthians 1:25-29, NKJV