Help! I’ve Fallen Behind and I Can’t Catch Up!

As I prepare this last Resting at the River’s Edge recommended reading list for 2011, I somehow “all of a sudden” find myself 22 chapters behind! Now that translates to just about a week, but I like to stay a couple of days ahead so that I can write blogs related to passages you’re reading that day, the next day or you’ve just read the day before. And here I am in late November finding myself 22 chapters behind. Well, at the end of this blog you’ll find December’s reading schedule, but I think my own situation provides a perfect jumping off place for when you’ve fallen behind in your reading. (I’m guessing there a few of you out there who share my situation!) Here are some tips:

• Don’t fret over it! Our pastor shared the definition of “fret” in his sermon last week. The definitions included:
  • Feel or express worry or discontent
  • Cause corrosion, gnaw into something
  • To become eaten, worn or corroded
  • Irritated state of mind, vexation

Wow! That’s certainly not a condition or state of mind conducive to meeting with God as you read His Word! Let it go.

• Keep at it! Don’t let being behind schedule keep you from continuing to read. What’s the worst that can happen? Instead of reading through the Bible by December 31, 2011, you’ll finish some time in 2012. Sounds good to me! You will still have read through the Bible and that’s the important thing. It’s not the schedule, it’s the content and meeting with God.
• Don’t rush through your reading just to stay on schedule! It’s not the schedule, it’s the content and meeting with God. (Is there an echo here?)
• Realize that catching up just might be possible! Our reading plans schedule about three chapters a day. Here are some ways to catch up:
  • If you’re able to add one chapter each day, you’ll catch up almost two days each week.
  • Read three chapters on Saturday or Sunday (or both) and you’ll catch up one or two days each week.
  • Spend your lunchtime reading your Bible. You’ll catch up at least one day, perhaps more, each time you do this. You might even decided that it’s a great way to relax at lunch!
  • Arrive at an appointment about fifteen minutes early. Spend the time reading your Bible. You’ll catch up another day. This is a great thing to do on Sunday morning if there is a quiet place you can read before service. It really prepares you to enter into worship and the message.
  • Carve out some “me and God” time in your schedule. This is absolutely the best thing I’ve done in my walk with the Lord and I look forward to it each week.

Implement one or more of these things for a few weeks and you’ll find yourself catching up quickly.

• December’s reading schedule is great for this season. Don’t hesitate to stop reading where you are, read along with us in the month of December (think Revelation and Psalms), then pick up where you left off in January. Or begin following the December schedule while you employ some catching up techniques to previous schedules.
• Remember: It’s not the schedule, it’s the content and meeting with God!

So, friends, keep at it. I commend you for all the reading you’ve done – even if you’re three months behind schedule or more! The monthly schedules will continue to be available here all throughout the coming year. Enjoy your reading and your time with God.

Now before I get back to my reading, let me provide you with a short synopsis of our December reading:

• We will begin the book of Revelation on November 29^th  and we’ll finish it on December 29^th. We will end the year reading about the future. I love that God’s Word doesn’t teach us only the Law and history and how to live in this life, but it gives us a glimpse into the future – some of which we can only imagine, and some that seems so bizarre that we can’t even imagine it. Still, He trusts us with such knowledge. Wow! Enjoy this book and if it gets too confusing don’t let it get to you! Just ask God to reveal what He wants you to understand and keep reading. What you can’t understand will simply begin to lodge itself in your spirit for the time it’s needed.
• We’ll finish the minor prophets by reading Malachi on November 30^th. Note that this is a slight change from the schedule that was published in November. I changed things up a bit to read the book of Malachi before finishing the Psalms instead of after.
• We will begin reading the rest of the Psalms on December 1^st and finish them on December 30^th. I can’t think of a better way of ending the year than with Psalm 150 which begins and ends with the phrase “Praise the Lord.”

I know the month of December is a busy one for everyone, but friends – enjoy your reading throughout the month. Remember, it’s not the schedule, it’s the content and meeting with God!

Blessings, Friends!
Sandy

The recommended reading schedule for December is below.

To download a PDF of the December 2011 recommended reading plan, click here.

Jeremiah hasn’t been the easiest book to read through, but as I’ve read, I’ve seen the emotional side of God more clearly. I’ve seen both His anger and His compassion. I’ve seen His patience and His enduring love. And seeing those things make reading the book worthwhile – even if it is hard work sometimes.

You can read my reflections from the middle chapters of Jeremiah here.

Upon finishing the book, I thought it appropriate to add my reflections from the latter chapters. Here’s what struck me as I read the latter half of Jeremiah:

• God sends people to warn us before He brings judgment.
  • Sometimes we’ll be the ones sent to warn others. Do I take that responsibility seriously? Am I obedient when I am confident God wants me to give a warning to others or do I shy back? Do I handle the responsibility with love? Jeremiah didn’t want to spend his life bringing news of impending doom. (Likewise, Jonah didn’t want to bring news of repentance to Ninevah.)
  • Sometimes, others will be sent to warn us. Do I listen to the warnings or do I take offense and ridicule the person God has sent to save me? The first two verses of Jeremiah 43 caught my attention:

¹When Jeremiah finished telling the people all the words of the LORD their God—everything the LORD had sent him to tell them—²Azariah son of Hoshaiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say…’
Jeremiah 43:1-2

It is arrogance – pride – that causes us to reject God’s Word when it’s not what we want to hear. We think we know better. We think that God will not bring His judgment. We’re wrong on both those accounts.

• When we sin, we encourage those around us to sin. Notice in the verses above that it was the gang of men that accused Jeremiah of lying. Sinning doesn’t just affect us, it also affects those around us. Perhaps you’ve heard the saying “Misery loves company.” I would say that “Sinning loves company.” (We’ll see that lesson repeated quite a bit when we read Proverbs next week.)

• Even in the midst of our sin God pursues us – always with the intent of helping us turn to Him in repentance and living a life that He blesses.

• There is always a remnant of people who follow God. And we always have a choice of whether to align ourselves with those who are sinning or those who are following God.

• In the midst of God’s judgment, He reassures us of His love:

“Do not fear, O Jacob my servant;
do not be dismayed, O Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security,
and no one will make him afraid.
Jeremiah 46:27

Remember to look for God’s love. It’s always there.

After reading through all of Jeremiah, then, it seems to me, that God’s compassion takes three forms:

• Warnings given so that we might repent and live the life He has designed us to live.
• Punishment or judgment sent to get our attention when warnings have failed. They are designed to bring us to repentance and/or mitigate our sabotaging influence over others.
• His constant, always-present love for sinners. He graciously reassures us during judgment and rescues us when we cry out to Him.

What a gracious and compassionate God we serve! I can’t help but love Him more and more as I learn more and more about Him.

I periodically get asked about various translations of the Bible, so today’s blog is a bit different from others. It will be much more informational than most blogs. Even so, this is a very summary level overview of the topic, but it’s a good start. I haven’t included all translations by any means, only the most popular or well known ones.

Bible translations fall into three categories, based on how the translation was developed:

• Formal Equivalence (word-for-word)
• Dynamic Equivalence (thought for thought)
• Paraphrase

Formal Equivalence
Formal Equivalence translations seek to translation the Scripture word for word. Examples of this type of translation are:

• King James Version (KJV), also known as Authorized Version (AV), published in 1611
• American Standard Version (ASV), published in 1901
• New American Standard Bible (NASB), published in 1971 (New Testament revised in 1969)
• New King James Version (NKJV), published in 1982
• New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), published in 1990
• English Standard Version (ESV), published in 2003

Technically, word-for-word translation is the most accurate method of translating text, but it is not always the most accurate method of conveying the thought being expressed in the text. That’s where Dynamic Equivalence translations find their strength.

Dynamic Equivalence
Dynamic Equivalence translations seek to translate the passage thought by thought. Instead of translating word-for-word, they are translating thought-for-thought. Here are some examples of Dynamic Equivalence translations:

• Good News Bible (GNB), also known as Today’s English Version (TEV), published in 1974 (New Testament revised in 1993)
• New International Version (NIV), published 1978
• New Living Translation (NLT), published in 1996

Most people find these translations to be more readable than the word-for-word translations (as you’ll see in the examples below).

Paraphrase
A paraphrase translation is just that – it is putting the concepts into different words. When Phil and I were in the Air Force, a running joke was that after a new second lieutenant gave his boss an answer to whatever question was on the table, the sergeant would always say “what the lieutenant meant to say.” In other words, unless you’re speaking the language of your audience, you’re most likely going to get yourself and others in trouble. A paraphrase translation seeks to speak the language of the audience while remaining true to the text. The most commonly known paraphrase is:

• The Living Bible (TLB), published 1971

Why So Many Translations?
It’s important for people to read the Bible in their own language, and language changes over time. The King James Version was the only English Bible available for over 300 years. Most middle-aged and senior Americans were raised with that version. Most of the Scripture memorization that I have done is in that version. (And it’s hard to re-learn Scripture that one has memorized.)

Yet Phil often comments that he now realizes that what he once thought of as “revelation” about a passage was simply finally being able to work through the arcane language of his Bible and understand the plain meaning of the text.

Then along came the newer translations. Now we can read passages in a language we understand so that the plain meaning of the text is easily understood. Understanding the plain meaning of the text is the first step to Biblical interpretation and further revelation.

The Value of Many Translations
While some people are uncomfortable with the concept of multiple translations of the Bible being available (either they have a significantly strong association with one translation or they are uncomfortable that there isn’t a single, definitive translation), having multiple translations is really a good thing.

• It gives the reader the ability to compare how different passages have been translated. Such comparisons often yield a rich understanding of the original writer’s intent.
• It provides the translators the opportunity to apply knowledge that has been gained over time to the new translation. Translations are not being made from the original manuscripts. They no longer exist. Rather, translations are made from copies of the more than 24,000 ancient manuscripts that exist. (If you have questions about how reliable the Bible is, I recommend this site by Josh McDowell, or read his book Evidence that Demands a Verdict.. Josh has done a tremendous job of reviewing data from a skeptic’s perspective and presenting it in a compelling and readable fashion.)
• It allows a broader representation of the Body of Christ to participate in the translation, reducing the opportunity for error based on denominational bias. For example, the King James Version was translated by 47 scholars, all who were members of the Church of England. The new King James Version was translated by 130 scholars from a broad spectrum of Evangelical Christiandom.

How to Choose a Manuscript
First, don’t think of it as choosing one over another forever. There are many opportunities to compare multiple translations. There are several good online Bible translation sites, but the one I use most often is www.BibleGateway.com. I highly recommend reading in multiple translations when you are studying or meditating on a passage.

Having said that, you do want to choose a single translation for “every day” reading. This “every day” reading Bible may change periodically, but for continuity I think sticking with a single Bible makes sense. I tend to stick with a single translation for my Resting at the River’s Edge until I have read through the entire Bible. Then, I consider selecting a different version for the following year’s reading.

How Do You Find Your “Every Day” Translation?
You simply have to try several out to determine which version accomplishes your goals. If you are studying scholarly, you probably want a word-for-word translation. If you are a layman studying for personal edification and teaching those around you, I recommend a phrase-by-phrase translation. I would never recommend a paraphrase as the primary translation you read. It is much better in a supplemental role.

What do I read? My every day reading Bible is the NIV. It’s phraseology is easiest for me to follow. I enjoy reading it more than others.

A Point on Which We Ought Not to Divide
There are some who feel that a specific translation is the only accurate one. May I suggest that no one has the corner on Truth and we ought not to argue this issue. Just as there are many denominations and we’ll find members of each of them in heaven with us, so there are many opinions on Bible translations and we’ll find those who prefer different translations next to us in heaven. If you believe that a single translation is considerably more accurate than others, I encourage you to continue to read that translation. If others prefer a different translation, allow them the freedom to do so.

Following is a taste of several different translations. Perhaps it will be a starting point for you. Hebrews 12:1-3 is provided in each translation.

A Side by Side Comparison

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. – King James Version (KJV)

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. – New King James Version (NKJV)

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. – New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. – New International Version (NIV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven. Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up. – New Living Translation (NLT)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. – English Standard Version (ESV)

Above all – READ! Reading God’s word daily is incredibly more important than which translation you choose to read.

So Many Books, So Little Time

Well, it’s many books, but it’s not really much time. We’ll finish six books and start two others in August, but we’ll do it at the same pace as we’ve been travelling throughout the year – three chapters each day, Monday through Friday.

I’ve had a number of conversations about reading through the Bible recently. It seems that many people have the misconception that they just can’t do it. “I’m not much of a reader,” is what I’ve been hearing.

The good news is that:

(1)  You don’t have to be much of a reader to read through the New Testament in a year. All it takes is reading one chapter each day, five days a week. Even if you are a slow reader, you can probably do that in less than ten minutes. Increase that time to thirty or forty minutes each weekday and you can follow our Resting at the River’s Edge schedule. Over a two year period, you’ll read through the entire Old Testament once and the New Testament twice.

(2)  There are many modern language translations available. You can check out different translations online. Read from several different versions. If you find one you like, head on over to ChristianBook.com and pick it up.

(3)  It’s the inspired Word of God. I confess – sometimes it doesn’t feel like it! But when it does, it’s magical! (That would be magical in the sense of “wow!” and “cool” and “how does God do that?”, not magical in the sense of sorcery of course).

Reading through the whole New Testament and/or the whole Bible pulls the story of God’s plan together in a way that isn’t grasped by reading less methodically. So even if you haven’t been reading along with us yet, I invite you to join us in August.

In August we’ll finish 1 & 2 Samuel – the story of David’s life. God called David a man after His own heart – that seems like reason enough to study his life. In the New Testament we’ll read Collossians, Philemon, and Hebrews. In the book of Hebrews we’ll read about how Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all that is taught in the Old Testament – He is our sacrificial lamb; His blood was poured out for the forgiveness of sins; He is our great high priest. Mr. T used to say “I love it when a good plan comes together.” Hebrews pulls God’s plan together and spells it out for those of us who didn’t catch it on our own!

May God whisper in your ear as you read with us this month!

The recommended reading schedule is below.

To download a PDF of August’s recommended reading plan, click here.

A New Year, A New Plan – Let’s keep reading!

In 2009, our Resting at the River’s Edge reading plans took us through the entire Bible in a year. That’s a great thing to do. I love the impact Scripture can have by reading large portions – we get the “big picture” that is easily missed when we only read short passages.  Sometimes what happens, though, is that we fly through what we’re reading without taking time to appreciate individual passages or Scriptures and letting them speak to our hears and spirits.

Our reading plans for 2010 and 2011 will give you more time for just that. They will take us through the New Testament each year, and spread the Old Testament out over the two years. We’ll repeat a couple of foundational OT books both years, but the entire plan will have us reading only three chapters a day, five days a week.

Why is it we only plan readings for five days a week? It’s not that I’m trying to encourage you to take the weekend off. Rather, it’s that I recognize that life rarely goes as planned. Planning three chapters each day for only five days each week provides a relief valve for those days when we read less than we’d hoped we might.

Some people have expressed that they don’t like reading from multiple books at a time. In this plan we’ll only be reading from two books at a time – typically an Old Testament and a New Testament book. We’re not legalistic here! Feel the freedom to read the entire OT book and then the entire NT book (or vice versa, of course) instead of reading from both each day.

So, we begin 2010 with the Book of Beginnings – Genesis, and are pairing it with the Gospel of John. Both look at the the creation of the world. Isn’t it amazing that we serve a God who existed before the world was created? In all honesty, that goes beyond what I can comprehend. What came before the beginning? Eternity past, and God was there all the time – just as He’ll be there in eternity future, after this world is long, long gone.

I hope you’ll be there too. You’ll learn as you read through Genesis that God’s plan has always been to provide a way for you to spend eternity with Him. In John, you’ll learn that Jesus is that way.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
John 3:16-17

Enjoy your January reading! The recommended reading schedule is below.

Take some time to meditate over verses that jump out at you as you read this month.

To download a PDF of January’s recommended reading plan, click here.

• Doesn’t Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 make so much more sense, having just read Genesis & Exodus in the past couple of months? It does to me. Stephen’s speech used to seem long and boring. But now I find it an amazingly compact telling of the story of the Old Testament. Reading the O.T. so enriches the N.T.

• Notice the position of Jesus as Stephen saw Him:

⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

In Luke 22 Jesus says that he will be seated at the right hand of God after His resurrection. In Colossians 3 Jesus is described as being seated at the right hand of God. Apparently Jesus stands up when He sees His saints martyred. Stephen looked up and saw Jesus standing. How hard it must be for Jesus not to come rushing in to save us. But thankfully, He sees the bigger picture.

• Did you notice the young man who stood by and watched the clothes of those who stoned Stephen? Yes, that was Saul, who later became Paul. At the time of Stephen’s stoning, Saul was a righteous young man in agreement with those throwing the stones.

⁵⁷At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him [Stephen], ⁵⁸dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Our God is a God who can change the heart of anyone. Thank you Lord!

Psalm 21 (NIV)
          For the director of music. A psalm of David. 

¹    O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.
    How great is his joy in the victories you give!

²    You have granted him the desire of his heart
    and have not withheld the request of his lips.

This morning as I began to read Psalm 21, I realized that David, the writer of the psalm, is the King. So I went back to the beginning of the psalm and read it through speaking in first person instead of third person. In other words, where it says “the king” I read “I,” and where it says “his” or “him” referring to King David, I substituted “my” or “me.” So the first two verses read like this: 

¹    O LORD, I rejoice in your strength.
    How great is my joy in the victories you give!

²    You have granted me the desire of my heart
    and have not withheld the request of my lips.

 What a blessing! Try it! It (1) caused me to read the Psalm more slowly and (2) gave it tremendously more personal impact. Sure, there were some verses that couldn’t be taken literally (“you placed a crown of pure gold on my head” v. 3b), but when they were not true in the literal sense, they were surely true in the spiritual sense (our “crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8), “crown of life” (James 1:12), and “crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4) – crowns which we shall lay at the feet of Jesus (Revelation 4:9)). As I read Psalm 21, I briefly thought of these crowns, and reflected on the crown of gold that rests on the head of Jesus (Revelation 14:14). As you personalize Psalm 21, God may bring other things to your mind. That’s the wonderful personalization work of the Holy Spirit.

So personalize it! You’ll be glad you did!