Technically, we should have our next assignment...

However, I must admit that due to
our leaving town for a week to celebrate Christmas
with part of our family,
I am Way Behind in my reading!

Have you found yourself with this same dilemma?
Would you feel relieved if I gave us each another week
to complete Assignment Two?

Check back next Wednesday,
January 7, 2009
for Assignment Three.

However! This might be an opportunity to encourage anyone who has just begun this study, to be able to catch up to the rest of us! At any rate, if we continue the practice of printing each assignment, it won't matter if someone falls behind. The assignment will be in our notebooks and each person could progress at his/her own rate.
(Don't forget to leave a comment whenever you might feel the need or desire!)
:-)

In Chapter Two of this study book, Mr. LaHaye encourages each of us in our Bible Study by writing an expanded list on What Bible Study Will Do for (Each of Us) You.
This is a list of his topic headings:
1) It will make you a strong Christian,
2) It will assure you of salvation,
3) It will give you confidence and power in prayer,
4) It will cleanse you from sin,
5) It will give you joy,
6) It will produce peace in your life,
7) It will guide you in making important decisions of life,
8) It will enable you to articulate your faith,
9) It will guarantee your success!

"The things that are closest to our hearts are the things we talk about, and if God is close to your heart, you will talk about him." A. W. Tozer

Assignment Two - the Book of John

"Read the Bible as if you were seeking for something of great value.
It is a good deal better to take a single chapter
and spend a month on it
than to read the Bible at random for a month."
---- D. L. Moody

To quote Tim LaHaye: "Like your first great need [that of the assurance of your salvation], the increase of your faith in general is vital to an effective Christian life. The best book in the Bible for that is the Gospel of John . . . John lived long enough to hear the teachings of heretics who began challenging the deity of Jesus Christ . . the apostle John, knowing that he was the only remaining eyewitness to the supernatural life of our Lord, set out in the Gospel that bears his name to include those events and teachings that leave no doubt as to the true identity of Jesus Christ. By the time you have read this book twice you will be in a good position to judge how well he accomplished his purpose."

We will take these next two weeks to read the Gospel of John twice. It is 21 chapters long. That means you could read around four chapters daily and not get behind.

This week's assignment:
Read the Gospel of John once. As you read your 3 - 4 daily chapters, keep your daily spiritual journal, and also make a list of the seven miracles John recorded that show Christ's supernaturalness.

Tim LaHaye concludes: " . . . in less than one month your faith will be well grounded in the Word of God and you will be ready to proceed to other books."

Anticipate this daily reading, and look forward to your journaling. We must not forget our daily prayer before reading. God will bless us in this, our spiritual adventure of reading the Bible. And then return to make a comment when it strikes you. :-)

kt

One More Week on 1 John

Due to the fact that I believe there may have been some confusion as to the web address of this site:

www(no dot)readingthebible-aplan.blogspot.com

I thought I'd give another week on this first assignment. Confusion comes from having first created the blog address with a dot, and then deleting it and starting over.

If you've already participated for one entire week of reading 1 John, please be patient. Perhaps you could try reading the book from different translations this week? I apologize.

kt

Week One - Our First Assignment

"A Treasure Map"

"The Bible has been banned, burned, scoffed, and ridiculed. ... The Bible's durability is not found on earth; it is found in heaven. ... The purpose of the Bible is to proclaim God's plan and passion to save his children. ... It is the treasure map that leads us to God's highest treasure, eternal life." ---Max Lucado, The Inspirational Study Bible

So here we are. Our Bibles, journals, and pencils in hand, ready to read completely through the Bible by ourselves, together! It may take awhile, but God is patient and good. He sees our hearts. He loves us and he will see us through. You get your assignment today with the intention of starting tomorrow morning. (But don't let that stop you from beginning today, if you wish!) :-)

Remember to set aside your 15 reading minutes and 15 study minutes every morning before breakfast and, whether you're feeling up to it, or in the mood or not, do it! Be persistent! You will be rewarded. :-) (There may be occasions that you can only read for 15 minutes and begin your study notes at this time. You could (make sure to) finish before bedtime.

During this, our first week, we will read the entire book of 1 John. Don't let that scare you! You will find that it is only five short chapters long. Tim LaHaye recommends we read it once every day. I will ask you to please attempt this.

First Reading: You may just wish to read the entire book through, once, without taking notes until after you've finished. Record thoughts and impressions and insights.
Second - Seventh daily reading: Record items 1 and 2 in your Spiritual Journal.
1) Record the day's date and the Name of the book you're reading.
2) Who is the author of this book? and to whom is he writing?
Other suggested notations:
3) Record the Chapter and Verse and major points that caught your attention.
4) Did you find a promise that God has made?
5) What special meaning might have been intended for the people at the time it was written?
6) What central meaning has this Book of the Bible for you (or How does this Book of the Bible relate to you?)
7) Have you found a verse you'd like to memorize?

Of course you may deviate a bit from these specific points, but all-in-all the above are pretty good suggestions.

***At any time during the week, but especially at the end of the week, return to this assignment post to leave a comment or question. We will all do this. We can encourage and help each other. We can also keep each other accountable for our reading! :-)

May God bless each of us as we begin the reading of His Word together.

kt (Kathy T)

Note: If you're using a 3-ring binder, you could copy and paste each weekly assignment into a text document, print it and put it in your binder.

Getting Ready

We can anticipate our first Bible Reading/Study assignment to be posted Wednesday, December 3, 2008.

You will need to decide how you will sign your comments. Will you use your real name, your initials, a nickname, or an invented name? Just make sure that you use the same signature each time you leave a comment. We will get to "know" each other through using our names.

(I am "kt")

Kathy T
:-)

Before We Begin

In anticipating this Study of the Bible, a first recommendation would be to utilize a Spiritual Journal. This journal can be as simple as a 3-ring notebook and notepaper or a spiral notebook.

Next, decide where you will study every day and when you will set aside a 15 - 30 minute period of time, free of distraction. This could be early in the morning before the activity of others, or before bedtime. Knowing that my mind is freshest in the morning, I would suggest the a.m. :-) The author of our study book mentioned someone that made a vow for "Bible before breakfast," in that this person would not allow him/herself breakfast unless he/she had done the Bible study first. It is very important to try to guard this time, as it becomes very special.

Leave your Bible, journal and pencil in this special place. It can become nearly as special as the time you allow yourself.

Begin with prayer. Simply thank God for the opportunity to read His Word, and ask Him to provide clarity of mind and insight as you read.

I will post our weekly reading assignment every Wednesday afternoon. After a period of reading, you may make an observation, have an insight, or find a passage that "speaks to you" in a new way. You should use your Spiritual Journal as you read, taking note of these passages. Especially after you complete an assignment, you should review your notes. Have you noticed a theme? Do you have questions? Do you need to re-read for clarification?

When you finish, return here, to the post of the assignment you're completing. Take a few moments to leave a comment: 1) Something you would like to share, or 2) A question you might have. We'll be able to read everyone's comments, learn from each other, and perhaps help each other.

I look forward to this on-line Bible Study. I hope you do, too!

Technical Information: To leave a comment, click "# comments" at the bottom of the current homework post. You will be taken to a page or window with a box entitled "Leave a Comment." This is where you'll type your comments. After commenting, you should enter your name (first name and last initial?), or nickname. When you finish, copy the letters of the "word" into the Word Verification box, and click on the circle in front of "Anonymous" (unless you are already registered with Google and/or have your own blog). Then click on "Publish Your Comment." It will appear under the posting with the rest of our comments, as soon as I check to see that it is a legitimate comment and not left by a "spammer."

If you have any questions, my e-mail address is at the top of the homepage.

Let's look forward to Reading the Bible together! :-)
kt