Taking care of your heart well

It was exciting to be part of a big campus ministry. So many things happening. New training programs for believers. Creative outreach ideas. People reading new books about evangelism and old books about the Bible. Conferences out of town, big events on campus and meetings about meetings.

   

In all this excitement I remember feeling surprised that the director kept talking about something that seemed so ordinary and mundane. Bible reading and praying. Throughout the two years I kept hearing this mentioned as the main thing that needed to happen, the most important thing. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised but all the events were all new and exciting to me, while reading the Bible and praying seemed like such a normal, boring, everyday thing to engage in.

I was reminded of this when I was reading Serving Well, in a section called Taking care of your heart well.

"We need so much more than yesterday’s manna, so much more than the gorging of conferences or the regurgitations of famous teachers. We need time with God and his Word. Today.

Each bite will not be Instagrammable. Each bite will not be magnificent and earth-shattering and memorable, and that’s as it should be, because sometimes you just need the calories. Regular, non-crisis reading of the Word may seem to make zero difference in your life today or even tomorrow. But I promise you, in a year or ten or fifty, the consistent ingesting of the Word will make all the difference."

Trotter, Jonathan. Serving Well: Help for the Wannabe, Newbie,or Weary Cross-cultural Christian Worker . Resource Publications, an Imprint ofWipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.

WELL is the word prompt for Five Minute Friday this week.

2 ways to read more of the Bible {fmf}

Years ago I was using a Bible reading plan that took me through the whole Bible at least once in the space of two years. I did it twice in a row, back to back. In the space of four years I read the whole 66 books at least twice, some parts would have been more (I think some Psalms were repeated a few times.)

A couple of years ago I read the book of Revelation. I started in November 2016 and finished around April 2018. It took about a year and a half to read just one of those 66 books. (I didn't plan the timing, it just took how long it took.)

In some ways it feel like I read the Bible more with the whole Bible reading plan, I certainly read more of it. In other ways it feels like I read more of the Bible when I took about 18 months to read one book.

With the whole Bible reading plan, I had to skim read two new passages each day, and sometimes read a devotion on it.

With Revelation I read it myself, I read it with a group and used a study book. I listened to the Bible online while I was cleaning, I listened to Phillip Jensen sermons, he had at least one sermon on each part. I read a Paul Barnett book. I read each chapter again and again. I wrote about it such as this and this. I was fully immersed in it for all those months.

Linking up with Five Minute Friday...a one-word prompt every week, and you have the opportunity to free write for five minutes flat on that one word, then join the link-up...this week the word is MORE

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

Grand Finale

Apocalyptic
It’s meant to unveil truths, which sounds like it should be fascinating 
but it seems a jumble of nonsense.

Apathetic 
It is part of God’s word so I know I need to read it but it doesn’t seem to teach me anything about God.
How on earth does it apply to me? 

Allusions
So many oblique references to the Hebrew Scriptures, but when you flip back it’s not exactly the same.
It’s hard to get interested.

Awkward 
We believe Gods word is full of life and power 
which sounds exciting,
but it feels like reading it aloud to kids or unbelieving friends will probably either put them to sleep or freak them out.



Amazing Authentic 
But when it comes to carefully studying the Revelation it does reveal the fascinating reality of another realm. 
A peek into the throne room, the Lion/Lamb takes the scroll from the enthroned one.

Astonishing Astounding
It shows who God is and what he has done.
Brimming with relevance and things to learn.



Awesome
A multitude washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb,
The slaughtered Lamb who is the victorious Lion. 
He who was, who is and who is to come
He is alive for ever and ever
And he holds the keys to death and Hades

Velvet Ashes this week is curious, which reminded me of late last year when the expat woman's Bible study groups started reading Revelation. We had come to the end of one study and choosing what to do next. One of the options was the final book of the Bible, it seemed like most of us weren't that familiar with it. With the help of John Stott, along with Jensen and Barnett we have been working our way through. Hopefully this expresses some of our journey from curiosity and confusion to excitement.