New online journal

Greetings friends,

It's been awhile since I consistently posted here, and that is about to change. A team of high school students are preparing to head to Toronto this Summer, and I'm encouraging students to share their journaling experiences through blogging. Therefore I am going to do the same.

Beginning this week I will be posting 2-3 times weekly what I have been reading in scripture and what God has been laying on my heart. Below is the reading plan I'll be using as I proceed through the next week. I pray you'll join me on the journey.

Blessings!

Day 1: Matthew 1 – Matthew 3

Day 2: Matthew 4 – Matthew 6

Day 3: Matthew 7 – Matthew 9

Day 4: Matthew 10 – Matthew 12

Day 5: Matthew 13 – Matthew 15

Day 6: Matthew 16 – Matthew 18

Day 7: Matthew 19 – Matthew 21

Day 8: Matthew 22 – Matthew 24

Day 9: Matthew 25 – Matthew 27

Day 10: Matthew 28

Day 11: Mark 1 – Mark 3

Day 12: Mark 4 – Mark 6

Day 13: Mark 7 – Mark 9

Day 14: Mark 10 – Mark 12

Day 15: Mark 13 – Mark 15

Day 16: Mark 16

Day 17: Luke 1 – Luke 3

Day 18: Luke 4 – Luke 6

Day 19: Luke 7 – Luke 9

Day 20: Luke 10 – Luke 12

Day 21: Luke 13 – Luke 15

Day 22: Luke 16 – Luke 18

Day 23: Luke 19 – Luke 21

Day 24: Luke 22 – Luke 24

Day 25: John 1 – John 3

Day 26: John 4 – John 6

Day 27: John 7 – John 9

Day 28: John 10 – John 12

Day 29: John 13 – John 15

Day 30: John 16 – John 18

Day 31: John 19 – John 21

Day 32: Acts 1 – Acts 3

Day 33: Acts 4 – Acts 6

Day 34: Acts 7 – Acts 9

Day 35: Acts 10 – Acts 12

Day 36: Acts 13 – Acts 15

Day 37: Acts 16 – Acts 18

Day 38: Acts 19 – Acts 21

Day 39: Acts 22 – Acts 24

Day 40: Acts 25 – Acts 27

Day 41: Acts 28

Day 42: Romans 1 – Romans 3

Day 43: Romans 4 – Romans 6

Day 44: Romans 7 – Romans 9

Day 45: Romans 10 – Romans 12

Day 46: Romans 13 – Romans 15

Day 47: Romans 16

Day 48: 1 Corinthians 1 – 1 Corinthians 3

Day 49: 1 Corinthians 4 – 1 Corinthians 6

Day 50: 1 Corinthians 7 – 1 Corinthians 9

Day 51: 1 Corinthians 10 – 1 Corinthians 12

Day 52: 1 Corinthians 13 – 1 Corinthians 15 Day 53: 1 Corinthians 16

Day 54: 2 Corinthians 1 – 2 Corinthians 3

Day 55: 2 Corinthians 4 – 2 Corinthians 6

Day 56: 2 Corinthians 7 – 2 Corinthians 9

Day 57: 2 Corinthians 10 – 2 Corinthians 12

Day 58: 2 Corinthians 13

Day 59: Galatians 1 – Galatians 3

Day 60: Galatians 4 – Galatians 6

Day 61: Ephesians 1 – Ephesians 3

Day 62: Ephesians 4 – Ephesians 6

Day 63: Philippians 1 – Philippians 3

Day 64: Philippians 4 – Colossians 2

Day 65: Colossians 3 – 1 Thessalonians 1

Day 66: 1 Thessalonians 2 – 1 Thessalonians 5

Day 67: 2 Thessalonians 1 – 2 Thessalonians 3

Day 68: 1 Timothy 1 – 1 Timothy 3

Day 69: 1 Timothy 4 – 1 Timothy 6

Day 70: 2 Timothy 1 – 2 Timothy 4

Day 71: Titus 1 – Titus 3

Day 72: Philemon 1 – Hebrews 1

Day 73: Hebrews 2 – Hebrews 4

Day 74: Hebrews 5 – Hebrews 7

Day 75: Hebrews 8 – Hebrews 10

Day 76: Hebrews 11 – Hebrews 13

Day 77: James 1 – James 3

Day 78: James 4 – 1 Peter 1

Day 79: 1 Peter 2 - 1 Peter 5

Day 80: 2 Peter 1 - 2 Peter 3

Day 81: 1 John 1 – 1 John 3

Day 82: 1 John 4 – 1 John 6

Day 83: 2 John – 3 John – Jude

Day 84: Revelation 1 – Revelation 3

Day 85: Revelation 4 – Revelation 6

Day 86: Revelation 7 – Revelation 9

Day 87: Revelation 10 – Revelation 12

Day 88: Revelation 13 – Revelation 15

Day 89: Revelation 16 – Revelation 18

Day 90: Revelation 19 – Revelation 22

SOLO: Psalm 139:1-12

You can read today's passage by clicking here

How does it make you feel, knowing that God sees all, hears all, knows all? Nothing is hidden from him! What a big thought!

I'm not gonna lie. That's a pretty daunting realization. God knows all my dirty laundry. He knows my thoughts that no one would believe I have. He's heard the words I mutter to only myself. He sees into the darkest parts of my soul that are hidden from the public under my pious persona.

My deepest secret? He's seen it! My biggest doubt? He knows it? My most paralyzing fear? He's experienced it!

But he still loves me with reckless abandon!

God sees all, hears all, knows all-and loves us! His love is beyond unconditional. It's inconceivable!

SOLO: Psalm 103:1-14

I was really good at math when I was younger. Computation always made good sense to me. To this day, I'm pretty quick when it comes to basic addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. So for all the math people out there, I have a few simple equations and theorems for you:

1 John 3 encourages us to do what pleases God by believing his son and doing what he commands. What are his commands?

Love God + love people

Jesus taught the entire law hung on those two things. So how do I love God and love others?

listen to him +
do what he says +
be generous +
treat others better than I treat myself

So, it could be concluded that...

Blessing God = Serving

What does God's "heart" good is living as his son lived. And Jesus came not to be served but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45)

The life of the servant is lived in servitude, and we're called to serve the world. This must be what gives God the most pleasure. When we seek to love as he loves, give as he gives, serve as he serves we are living out the dreams he has for us.

How's your serve? God blesses us to bless him and others. It was never for us to horde his blessings to ourselves. Because of what he's done for us and because of what he's given to us, we're called to bless him and bless others.

Well that's it for the math lesson. The test is now yours to take!

SOLO: Psalm 62:1-2

You can read the passage by clicking here

Psalm 62 makes me think of God as the one constant in my world of ups, downs, and in-betweens. As my mind swirls with emotions, he is steady. Rock solid, in fact.

Man that's good news. Life is nothing if not changing. It is a whirlwind of emotions, circumstances, personalities, expectations-all constantly in motion. And as it spins seemingly out of control, voices become nebulous and empty.

But...

Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is consistent. He doesn't change. He's the anchor. He's the rock. He's the safe haven. He's the shelter. He's ever present, he loves unconditionally, and he remains steady when the rest of life is ravaged by storms.

Oh, and He's good!

Be encouraged. God is a rock! Solid. Strong. Consistent. In other words, he's all the things we're not but so desperately need.

SOLO: Job 42:7-13 (Be careful throwing God's name around)

You can read today's passage by clicking here

I referenced this in yesterday's blog, but I wanted to dive into it a little bit more...

Let's focus on the third commandment, of “the Ten Commandments. The third one is easily misunderstood. If you don't know it, here it is: "No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won't put up with the irreverent use of his name." Exodus 20:7, The Message In the King James version I learned as a child it says "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain..."

As a child I learned that the third commandment meant that if you hit your thumb with a hammer, be sure to not say Jesus' name, or God with any curse word attached to it. While I think this a good rule of thumb (rule of thumb...haha...I kill myself) it's not the heart of the third commandment.

Job's buddies are in deep with God! Why? Because they've failed to be honest about God-about who he is and what he's about. They've taken God's name in vain. They've associated him with something he's not or had nothing to do with.

This is a biggie, because you and I can be guilty of this without giving it much thought. "God wants me to...", "God said I should...", "If you want to please God...". I don't think it was Job's pals' intentions to point him in the wrong direction. I don't think they maliciously set out to torture him with their words. I just think they had an opinion, felt they were right, and tied God to it. By the way, that's a very bad idea!

Be very careful what you tie God to. Too many people are guilty of manipulating others in the name of God. This is very upsetting to the Most High, as shown in Job 42. Be careful when you speak for God. Be careful you're not affiliating with your opinion so you can be right or have leverage!

SOLO: Job 9:2-23

You can read the passage by clicking here

Couple of thoughts as I read this: Am I willing to be so honest as to assume my own innocence in the presence of God? I love that Job was willing to be so raw. Personally, I know I've never been able to stand before God and plead innocent. And while I know that Job wasn't sinless, I believe he understood that his circumstances weren't the outcome of his actions. In other words, I think Job had some real insight into his situation. I feel he was onto something.

That said, I also think Job was amiss. He was disillusioned by his circumstances. He wasn't completely innocent. He wasn't just and didn't even deserve to be in the room with the Almighty Judge.

I feel like everyone relates to job's story; we're all a little double-minded. Some good theology - some understanding, but still only seeing a piece of the picture. Most of us feel we're innocent when bad things start happening to us, but we're quick to forget our failures and shortcomings. It's only when our lives are exposed to the light of Christ that we're able to see the truth of who we are! May we be willing to be raw and vulnerable in the presence of God, but may we always remember our own frailty and may we choose to humble ourselves. If God is forced to humble us, it becomes humiliation!

SOLO: Job 1:1-21

You can read today's passage by clicking here.

Do you ever wonder if your life is the kind that would show up in the Bible, or is that just me? I've always thought it would be so cool to be in the scriptures-to live a life worthy of being written about.

That's probably a little arrogant and has a lot to do with my ego, but I can assure you my intentions are good. I really do want to be that consistent. That's why I think Job's such a stud! He's not only written about, but God even points out his faithfulness to Satan. How crazy is that?

I wonder if God were going to make a case for us in front of Satan, would he have a leg to stand on (if God even has legs – I digress)? Would it be an open and shut case? Would there be any reason that Satan would fear our success? I'm afraid I'm much too inconsistent, emotional, and even hypocritical to be able to stand up against the stuff Job did. Yet he remained consistent.

How 'bout you? Could God bring your name up as a model of righteousness and consistency? Why or why not? Is this even feasible? Just a couple of questions to get you thinking...