Sunday, March 28, 2010 Reading for the Day
In the final two chapters of the Book of Revelation we find ourselves in heaven. One of the most powerful statements in these chapters is: I am making all things new! Jesus told us that in order for us to go to heaven we must be born again. Here at the end of the New Testament we find that God has finally established those who will reign with Him forever! In order for that to be the case, each of us must be made new. Yes, we have been born again and have inherited eternal life, if we have trusted Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Yet, as we die to this life, or as Jesus returns and we are received into heaven, the reality is we and every other thing that will remain is made NEW, by God in that moment. This is what we wait for all our lives after Jesus becomes Lord of our lives! This is what separates our faith in Jesus from all the other religions of the world. We aren’t going to be recycled through thousands of incarnations here on the earth. We live once, and then we die once. Then all of us who trust Jesus will be raised to new life to live with Him forever. We’ve read about it since we picked up the New Testament and started working our way through the gospels. Now, we read about it again as we come to the close of the New Testament. That’s because eternity IS a reality, and living in eternity with Jesus is our end experience as human beings who have trusted in Him. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus, Our Lord! Amen.
Congratulations to all of you who have stayed with the New Testament Challenge through today and who have read the entire New Testament in 63 days! Now, as you look forward to tomorrow here are a few suggestions of what to do next to continue growing in God’s word:
1) Go back to the beginning of the New Testament and read it again. After all, repetition, is the mother of learning!
2) Go to Genesis and start reading the Old Testament. If you continue to read at your same pace of 20-30 minutes each day, you will complete the Old Testament in about four months! (A big suggestion here: When you come to portions of the Old Testament that seem boring to you—SKIP over them and go on to the next section of interest. Some portions of the Old Testament are rather draw on a first reading (and a second or third for that matter!), so don’t let that you sidetrack from reading all the great passages found in it.
3) Consider a repetitive reading program such as the one that follows to deepen your understanding a certain Scriptures. For example, read one chapter of Proverbs each day and one chapter of the Gospel of Mark each day. If you do that you will read through Proverbs one time each month (It has thirty-one chapters), so if you read a chapter a day, you’ll read through it each month. In addition read one chapter in the Gospel of Mark each day. Mark has sixteen chapters, so if you read one a day and then double up on the last day or two of the month depending on whether it is a 30, 31, or 28 day month, and you’ll read through Mark’s Gospel twice each month. Some also like to read 5 Psalms each day, since there are 150 Psalms, and by reading five each day you will cover the entire book each month. This repetitive reading helps a person grow deeper in his or her faith, and also to gain some mastery of specific Bible texts.
Whatever you choose—KEEP READING! Keep filling your mind and heart with God’s word, and pray for Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit that you’ll understand it and apply it in your life. As you do that you will grow more and more into the full stature of Jesus!
Heavenly Father, I thank You for every person who has taken the New Testament Challenge and finished the readings! Fill each of us with Your Holy Spirit that we may continue to learn and live Your word, and bring Your love and salvation to the world. This we pray in Jesus’ name.
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