Welcoming 2019 // Part 2: On Bible Reading

The new year is fast approaching! With all its unknowns: joys yet to share, tears yet to cry, challenges yet to be faced – and what a comfort that every day is known by God, and in his hands, and that he is faithful in it all.

I love the God-given rhythm of new years... Giving thanks for what has been, and looking forward to what might lie ahead. And I love resolutions, and thinking about how we might best steward the time and other gifts God has given. Yesterday I wrote a bit about resolutions, and in particular, considering our use of technology for the new year. Today, the one other area (amongst so many others!) I'm keen to write about is how we might read and soak in God’s Word in 2019.

Why Have a Daily Practice of Devotionally Reading the Bible?

Why read the Bible? Why have a daily habit of sitting with and meditating upon the Word of God?

I don’t know about you, but I remind myself of Israel: I forget so quickly. (Eg, 1 Sam. 12:8-9; Jer. 2:32; Ps. 106:12-22). Unless I’m regularly feeding upon God’s Word, I'm prone to forget his promises, to forget who I am in Christ, and to forget how the gospel gives me real power for the present, and hope for the future. I start to believe the whispers of the world, the devil, and my own fickle flesh. Having God’s Word, and having his ear in prayer, are a daily lifeline. (Caveat: my actual, real lifeline is the person and work of Jesus Christ, especially in his death and resurrection... his saving grace, drenching and overwhelming like a summer storm.) Reading the Bible and praying is not what saves me and gives me life… but it is a precious gift from God in my humanness to help me remember the One who has saved me – his completed work and his promises. As I hear God’s voice in his Word and speak to him in prayer, I daily walk with and remain connected to the one who is my lifeline. The one who has promised that if we abide in him, and he in us, and his Word in us, we will have life and bear much fruit. (John 15:4-7)

We read the Bible because Jesus himself quoted the Scripture in saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4; quoting Deut. 8:3). We read the Bible because it discerns our hearts, and lays us bare to ourselves, as well as before God (Heb. 4:12; Rom. 7:7-13), because it is the inspired Word of God which was given for our teaching, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and because, as Jesus modelled in the desert in Matthew 4, it is our defence and weapon against the accusations and lies of Satan (Eph. 6:13-17). We read the Bible because, as God's Word dwells richly within us, it transforms and renews our character so that we increasingly reflect our Lord Jesus - for the glory of God and our joy.

My Bible Reading in 2018

I’ve written before about how a new year always brings the joy of praying and considering how I might read God’s Word throughout the next year. Two years ago, I wrote a blog post about reading the whole Bible in a year, including my reflections in doing it, and why I love and recommend it. As of last year, I’ve flexibly* decided to read the whole Bible through every second year – I think it’s a rhythm that, Lord willing, seems helpful for me, and aids growth in both intimacy and familiarity (thanks to Tim Challies for those wonderful terms!) with God’s Word.

*“Flexibly” because a Bible reading plan is (once again) a wonderful servant, yet a terrible master, so I want to stay flexible, and open to the Spirit’s leading in terms of what I need to love and delight in Jesus, and be ready to ditch any plan that’s no longer serving that goal.

Using Challies’ language, 2018 was a year of “intimacy” in Bible reading for me. I read slowly, and small chunks. The year didn’t really turn out as I planned, but in it, God gave much grace, as he always does.

I wanted to spend 2018 really getting to know a few books of the Bible. For them to linger in my mind and heart, and to master me and form me in the image of my Lord Jesus. In this vein, I ended up reading 1 Peter for almost the whole first half of the year. It wasn’t all I read; I certainly did other bits of Bible reading during that time (as well as using Tim Keller's excellent devotional, The Way of Wisdom), but in terms of my daily Bible time, it was mostly just those five chapters! (With a 1 Peter commentary alongside in the later of those months.)

I didn’t originally intend to spend that long in that one, short book, but it taught me two valuable lessons: First, that God’s Word became increasingly precious, and increasingly part of me as I committed it to memory, and became profoundly familiar with this book and the work of his Spirit in my heart. It was so worth it, and I would do it again. Yet, secondly, I think my long-fought tendency toward perfectionism was getting the better of me towards the end – I didn’t feel I really knew 1 Peter as well as I should or wanted to, after almost half the year, to warrant moving onto another book. Which kept me from moving on, beyond what was helpful, I think. When I realised that, I entrusted my imperfect efforts to God in all his faithfulness, and moved on to the next thing. Lesson learned. (You might have a similar bent, or you might have different struggles; it helps to learn these lessons, and to know yourself in conversation with God’s Word and Spirit!)

I spent the rest of the year similarly studying and sitting with a few other books: Ecclesiastes (one of my favourites), Hebrews, and 2 Peter – and spent December in an Advent devotional on a Bible app. I found that this kind of slow and close-up reading was incredibly precious. Sometimes I started to see new and deeper truths and links within Scripture. Often, my heart started to see and believe and feel in a new way as I just kept on sitting with the same passages.

But at other times, I felt far less certain that what I was doing was helpful. Sometimes I looked at the same precious passage, and yet couldn't come up with any insights or applications that felt new or profound. Sometimes I felt dry.

I think a lot of that is pretty normal. We don’t read the Bible to gain profound insights every time we open it, or to feel a certain way every time, or to find life-changing, concrete applications every time – even though these are good things, and to be received with joy. We read the Bible because in it, God speaks to us, and we sit at his feet, in his presence, and receive from him: grace upon grace in Christ. Bible reading often reminds me of my humanity. I have days of enthusiasm and joy, and days of weariness and weakness. Days of clarity, and days of foggy barrenness. But the perpetual lesson is God’s faithfulness, not mine. It’s his Word, after all. Christ has promised to be with us until the end of the age, and he is. That’s why we pursue him and hide his Word in our hearts, by the power of his Spirit.

I offer these brief personal reflections on my year, in case they are of any help or encouragement to anyone:

• Spending time in a book of the Bible for an extended time really is worthwhile. I recommend it, and am glad I slowed down this year. I'm enjoying this rhythm.
• I think, in general, it’s a good habit to read the Bible before reading what others have said about it (eg in sermons, blog posts, commentaries, books). I did this, and recommend it as a habit - but on balance, I wish I’d spent a little more time listening to or reading what others had written about these parts of the Bible.
• Memorisation of (and subsequent meditation upon) Scripture is inestimably valuable. Having God’s Word hidden in your heart is worth every minute and every ounce of discipline you pour into it.
• I’m itching to read the whole Bible again. I’m missing the bits I haven’t read in a while.
• I wish, during my Bible-in-a-year reading in 2017, that I was more deliberate and thought-through about jotting down the many questions that arose as I read through the text. I did this a bit, but not nearly consistently enough, and not all in the one place. (Rookie error.) I’d love to have taken some of those questions and used them to potentially shape my Bible reading in a slower, in-between year like 2018, as I explore some of the questions, topics, and musings I’m not able to pour time into when I’m reading bigger chunks. I’m going to be more deliberate about that this year, and see if it bears fruit.

The Plan for 2019

I'll be back to reading the Bible in a year! I’m thinking of either this “Straight Through the Bible” plan, or this “Historical” plan – I’ll decide in the next day or two. If you’re keen to join me on reading the whole Bible in 2019, you can find a helpful selection of different plans here.

A couple of random tools and thoughts:

• I’m hoping to “read ahead” a bit, to give me a couple of days a week to sit with smaller passages that allow me to sit with God and what he’s teaching me through the life experiences he gives me. (Alternatively, you could do a “5-day plan” that’s designed to give you Bible readings for 5 of the 7 days, with 2 days per week to read other things, or to catch up. There just wasn’t a 5-day plan I found that suited me this year!)
• I’m going to use my audio Bible – either alongside my visual reading, or at other times, for example, in the car. (I use an app on my phone – there’s a few options out there).
• I’m going to keep on using my Bible pencil highlighters, and my journal for notes, reflections, and learnings.

Whilst this post has focused entirely on a Bible reading habit, I feel compelled to mention one more thing (albeit, given far less space than it deserves):

Prayer. In a similar way to other books on prayer (such as Paul E. Miller’s excellent book, A Praying Life), Tim Keller’s Prayer deeply inspired and challenged me this year in thinking through my habits and experiences of prayer. (Highly recommended.) He challenges the tendency, perhaps especially of many of us Reformed-evangelical-types, to spend most of one’s devotional time reading the Bible, with prayer at the end, and far less time spent in it. I’m often guilty of this. With God’s help, I hope to spend relatively more time in meditation and prayer, relative to Bible reading, and flowing from the Scriptures that I do read. This shift in the balance will likely mean doing only some of my Bible reading in the morning; and rather, being intentional about finding other pockets and rhythms of sitting with God’s Word during the day – and praying. This both breaks down the rather modern idea of a single “Quiet Time” as the only deliberate daily time we spend with God, rather spreading our communion with him more perceptibly throughout the day, and allows plenty of time in that precious, quiet morning time with Jesus (which I know I need before I start the day), to listen to him, be still before him, and to pray to him.

Do you have a Bible reading plan for 2019? I'd love to hear what you hope to do.

Welcoming 2019 // Part 1: On Resolutions and Technology

Christmas for another year is now past, even as carols sung, family members hugged, and food eaten (and, even now, still to be eaten – thanks, Mum, for leftovers!) still linger sweetly in the memory. During this precious week every year in which the remaining minutes seem to slow down, and linger just a little longer, my mind starts to turn to the dawning new year. A new year – always full of hope, especially when buoyed by the fulfilled promises of Advent: a Saviour who has come to us – truly God with us – to save us, who is coming back again, and who gives us grace and strength to live for him in our pilgrim present.

I love the “resolutions” bit of new years. I’m not against resolutions, but perhaps think more in terms of reflections and goals and habits… with a generous dose of “Lord willing.” (James 4:14-15).

Famous for his resolutions was Jonathan Edwards. When he was still a young man of nineteen, from 1722-1723, he wrote out 70 resolutions for himself, as a means of growing in faith, love for Christ and others, and making the best use of the days God had given him. I think his resolutions can strike the post-modern mind as rather intense, and to the 21^st-century Christian even as legalistic. But I love reading his resolutions, and thinking about them for my life. You can read them here; or Desiring God have put together a helpful version which organises his resolutions by category.

There are three things about them, and Edwards’ heart revealed in them, that I find particularly compelling:

1. His habit of self-examination. Nobody could accuse Jonathan Edwards of an unexamined life. He made habits of examining every part of his life (and not only his actions, but also his mind and heart and emotions), and prayerfully considering whether it fit with that of a disciple of Christ. He understood that all of him was redeemed by and belonged to Christ, and he took the time to examine his life in light of this reality.
2. His sheer earnestness. He desired Christ above all, and wanted to desire Christ above all, and so he directed all his energies in the pursuit of Jesus as his greatest treasure, for himself and others. I think there’s much virtue in this; it is undoubtedly the right response to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
3. The glory of God as his primary motivator. He certainly has high aspirations for each pocket of his life (and I suspect one would need to be in regular examination of one’s own motives, and remembering the purpose and basis of one’s efforts to keep this in a healthy and Christ-honouring place) – yet these high aspirations are born of the stunning realisation that all of his life was lived for God’s glory (not his own), and is empowered by God himself.

Something else I love is that we’ve been left not only with Edwards’ resolutions, but also his diary – where he honestly records the ups and downs of his life and emotions. He reports himself as being “exceedingly dull” on various days, and other honest reflections on his heart and actions. His resolutions were aspirational, but that didn’t detract from their value. The young Edwards grew up into a faithful minister, mentor, husband, and man of God, and I don’t doubt for a second that these resolutions, flowing from a faithful heart which was enraptured by Christ, helped form the man that be became, in God’s hands.

Edwards is just one person – and no person is perfect. But his resolutions have again been thought-provoking for me as I ponder the quick-approaching new year.

I want the glory of God, who has shown me such mercy in Jesus, to be my primary motivator. To cooperate with the Spirit in forming my character and heart more and more in the image of Christ, and for regular self-examination to help me in confessing my sin before God and receiving from his hand more of his grace and more of himself.

I also want his earnestness. Read: earnestness; not perfectionism that leads to the guilt with which New Year’s Resolutions are so commonly associated. When we follow a Saviour who died to take our sin and shame, and offer us a status of “no condemnation,” there is no room for guilt – only grace. This earnestness flows from wonder and joy at what has been done for us, and a shameless desire for more of that joy for ourselves: found in Jesus, who invites us to come and be his disciples, and to pursue him above all else. Not from a desire to please God, impress others, or prove ourselves. In Christ, our status is already secure. And so, we can cling onto him with an earnestness that only leads to repentance and faith when we sin (knowing we remain children of God), and in acknowledging our weakness and limitations when we fail, but knowing that when we are weak, Christ’s power is made perfect in us. This is our great hope as we face a new year.

Also, I think this earnestness wouldn’t and shouldn’t, in a 21^st-century world, look like doing more and more. I think pursuing Christ earnestly must look like learning to rest well, to submit gladly to his will for our lives, to learn from him who is gentle and meek in heart. It’s an earnestness that shows Christ as all-precious, and a heart that reflects that as it rests in him.

Jesus, Technology, and a New Year

This leads me to talk about one particular area that I suspect most of us would do well to consider and pray about as we start 2019: technology. My “resolutions” usually flow from an examination of the various key parts of my life, and my roles in them. I could talk about any number of them, but I’ll limit it here to one. My use of technology (and being aware of its effect on me) has been an area that I have found increasingly important to consider. It’s no secret that our brains, our communication, our emotions and mood, our relationships, and more, are being affected and shaped by the technology we use. It’s been long posited that Facebook is making us lonely, and Google is making us stupid (and Instagram is making us envious and discontented, and endless access to news is making us cynical, etc etc). And that, perhaps more than anything else, having a small computer constantly in our hand (ie our phone) is making us distracted and disconnected.

This is enough in itself to spend some time honestly reflecting on our mastery of the technology we use. Not necessarily to reject these technologies, but to be fully aware of our own habits in this space, and the reality that we are being shaped by these technologies – so that we can be intentional with them.

For those who follow Jesus, we have another, and deeper, question: how is technology in my life affecting my discipleship of Jesus Christ? How can I pursue Jesus and the glory of God earnestly and honestly in the midst of these challenges of 2019? Are my technologies helping me to love Jesus and serve his people? Or are they distracting my mind and shaping my heart to reflect the world’s desires instead of his (1 John 2:15-17)? 

For most of us, the answer is probably both! Audio Bibles on our phone are a great asset. There are Bible and prayer apps which help many people. You can get rich Christian literature for free, or for very little, on the internet. Facebook (and other media) help us to communicate with people at church, and other people we love. Yet, scrolling compulsively or aimlessly through Instagram or Facebook helps us to neither work hard nor rest well, and often has the effect of negatively shaping our emotions and loves. Perpetually dinging phones are subtly subtracting from our care of and attentiveness to those who are physically present. The demands of technology can mean that sometimes (often?) we are distracted, stressed, poorly-rested, or just somewhat numb… which, in our frail humanness, isn’t conducive to sacrificially loving others well (both those closest to us, as well as those in our church family, or our wider community), or sitting at Jesus’ feet. This all brings a certain complexity to our relationship with our devices.

For me, I want to have my eyes wide open, and to regularly be re-assessing my use of technology, and bringing it before the Lord. As with so many other things, technology is a great servant, and a bad master. By God’s grace, I want to be exerting far more mastery over my tech than it is over me… using it to help me love Jesus and others; and fighting against the ways it pulls me away from this. For me, this is finding expressions in habits such as: putting my phone out of reach at various points in the day (and certainly in the first and last hours of the day). Having a blocker which limits my Facebook use to half an hour max. per day. (Tech helping me use tech well!) Turning notifications off for everything except texts and messenger. Developing better discipline in things like doing emails, messages, and tasks, so that I don’t feel compelled to open up my phone or laptop when I’m resting or focused on something else. Turning off the wifi in the house sometimes. Learning that sometimes it’s better to shrug and say “I don’t know!” to a friend than pull my phone out and start googling The Thing we both don’t know. Telling some of these to others close to me for accountability, and so that maybe we can make some changes together.

It’s a complex conversation – complicated further by negotiating the realities of building deep and real relationship with others who are also tied to their technologies. But it’s a profoundly important conversation to keep having… and the start of a new year seems a good time to prayerfully and honestly take stock of this part of our lives. For the glory of God, the sake of our souls, and to be faithful stewards of the time, gifts, and opportunities that God has given to us. For, as Jonathan Edwards realised, our days and years are brief and fleeting, yet precious - so let's spend them well.

Reading the Bible in 2018

This title is probably a bit weird, especially since it's the start of February, not the start of January - which, really, is a far more appropriate time to be writing about "[insert any topic] in 2018."

Granted. 

But I've had Bible-reading-related musings rolling around ever since December, and I figured it was still worth writing... For my own sake, and also because there might be people who don't share my "new Bible reading plan on January 1st!" enthusiasm. Or, people who might have started a Bible reading plan or goal for the new year, and have lost momentum. Or, maybe mostly, because our Bible reading isn't a set-and-forget to-do item that we tick off every morning or evening, but is a rich and real element of a relationship with the living God - and should be something upon which we're often prayerfully reflecting, and ready to adjust as needed.

My Bible Reading in 2017

Last year, I read the Bible in a year. My last blog post (which highlighted, to my sorrow, the fact that I didn't blog once in 2017!) reflected on my goal to do this again, and some of my reflections of having done it previously.

I loved it. Without repeating all my previous reflections from last year... I loved the bigness of the salvation history story, the richness of the different literary genres, and God's utter bigness and centrality to the whole story, and his sheer faithfulness in the fulfilment of his promises in Jesus Christ. It might be because I fell behind on my plan, and ended up reading the entire New Testament in December to finish by December 31, but... one thing that struck me deeply this time around was a deep sense of longing for Jesus. The Old Testament is full of beauty and wonder... and heart-breaking brokenness, and sin... and hope. People are so sinful and broken (even the best ones), yet God is infinitely, breathtakingly faithful. Honestly, after reading through the whole Old Testament, you just know in your guts that nothing is going to change unless God does something. By the end of Malachi, I almost cried with relief and wonder at turning the page, and finding Jesus. The answer, and the beginning and end of everything. The One for whom generations have waited, prayed, hoped. The One who bought our second-hand, shattered souls... with the price of his blood, no less. He is our greatest treasure.

It is so worth doing. I recommend doing it sometime, somehow - if you can. One of my friends, Peter, wrote a great blog post about how he read the whole Bible in 2017, is planning to do it again in 2018... and the fact that he did lots of his Bible "reading" by actually listening - using an audio Bible. It really is a fabulous option for doing at least some of your Bible reading. I love my audio Bible... for all the reasons that Peter mentions in his post. And honestly, if you felt inspired to read through the Bible in a year even now, once month into the year, it's not that hard to catch up if you listen to the Bible on your commute, while you wash up, or go cycling. (And who says you have to finish dead on Dec. 31st anyway?)

This Year

I loved reading the Bible in a year so much that I decided to do it again... in 2019. For 2018, I decided a bit more flexibility, and the freedom to explore and meditate on some of the questions and beauties that my 2017 Bible reading presented to me is what I presently most need.

I've been using a planned but unusually multi-faceted approach this year, but one that I pray will be fruitful. It's kinda comprised, roughly, of four elements:

• Reading and reflecting on a short daily devotion from Tim Keller's new book, The Way of Wisdom. (A great Christmas present from my wise and thoughtful husband!)
• Each month, I'm choosing a book of the Bible that I'd like to study in depth. I'm still working out what this looks like - but something like reading it through (several times, if it's shorter), opening up some commentaries, meditating on individual verses, central themes, observations, and applications that my head, heart, and hands need. January was Proverbs. (Prompted with spending the year with Tim Keller in Proverbs). February is 1 Peter.
• Reading and listening to whole books and big chunks of the Bible randomly when I have a space in my day or week to read, or a long drive or bike ride, or some housework to do, etc. (I still, and always, find reading large portions of God's Word deeply encouraging and helpful - as well as the necessary smaller, meditative chunks which the Holy Spirit works into your bones and life.)
• Finally, reading, thinking, and praying through the Bible passage which is going to be preached at church on Sunday - on the Friday or Saturday morning before.

Bible Reading Before Church

The fourth point is only a new addition in the last couple of weeks, and which has been particularly on my mind. I already have a habit of reading the passage we're doing at church whilst prepping for praying or song-leading at church, or whilst preparing a Growth Group study... but I don't think I've ever made a habit of intentionally and devotionally reading the passage before it's preached on a Sunday. And I'm keen for that to change.

Last Sunday, my church just began a series in the Gospel of Luke for Term 1. I'm always excited about starting a new series each term at church, and walking together with my brothers and sisters, empowered by the Word and the Spirit... and this term is no different. I'm particularly excited that we're going through Luke quite slowly - covering only chapters 1-6 this term, then coming back to more of Luke's story in term 3, and more again next year. It means we can slow down, digest the text, and pay attention to every detail in Luke's Gospel. I've been reading a bit of Luke's Gospel already, and I've been struck afresh by how incredible this story is. I've been struck by how, when I slow down and really read and chew over the details of this story, with curiosity and wonder, I start to notice things I've never noticed before, see things with a startling vividness, and find myself swept up in the story, and longing to read and understand more, and have my heart and life shaped by this story - and particularly by this man, Jesus.

This has motivated me to want to slowly and meditatively read the passage that we're covering on Sunday at church before Sunday rolls around - on a Friday or Saturday preferably for me. (Also to write down some questions, thoughts, and prayers in my journal - I love journalling, it's profoundly helpful for me.) I suspect that, having the passage under my skin before I even arrive at church will shape my affections and understanding as we gather together as brothers and sisters... as we talk together, sing songs of worship, and listen to God's word preached. I'm hoping it will help me to come to church already with questions (which I can listen for in the sermon, and talk about at growth group during the week), that the sermon will throw up more questions and observations for me, that it will help me to listen better, that it will deepen my love and affections for my Lord Jesus, as my personal meditation meets the public proclamation of the word, and that it'll create and deepen conversations with my brothers and sisters at church about God's word in Luke. For a start! Those are big expectations, and God often works in the ordinary and the small... but I do believe God works through his word and his Spirit, and so I am convinced that any effort in this direction is well worth it.

If you're a Christian, what have you been reading in the Bible so far this year? I'd love to hear. Perhaps you'd like to join me, particularly in reading, meditating on and praying through the relevant passage you'll be focusing on during your Sunday church service a day or two ahead? (If your church makes the passage available ahead of time). Listening to it on audio Bible is a great way to do it - I'll be doing this a fair bit!
If you're not a Christian, have you ever thought about giving the Bible a go? Maybe this is the year? It's a stunning, true story... well worth the read.