As 2009 drew to a close and I reflected back on the year, I felt convicted by my lack of spiritual growth. Yes, I had been serving the Lord and teaching His Word but my time spent studying was mostly to teach and not for personal time alone with Him. I felt challenged to dig into His Word and truly seek Him daily so that as 2010 drew to a close, I wouldn’t feel the same disappointment with my walk as I had in 2009. This conviction led me to commit to reading the entire Bible this year. In obedience to what I feel God was calling me to, I followed a Bible reading plan and read daily as well as outlined what I read and journaled about it. As I look back on 2010, I am so thankful that God led me to this commitment, gave me the strength and discipline to stick with it, provided an increased hunger for His Word and blessed me beyond measure as I learned more about Him. I want to share with you the highs and lows of my journey through the scripture in case you are considering taking on the same challenge this year.

Highs…the really good stuff that came out of it:
-Increased understanding of who God is and how He works: God’s desire for His glory, His sovereignty, His deep love, compassion and passion for His people and His jealousy for their affection are just a few of the characteristics that were made so obvious.
-Broader understanding of His love for His people and redemptive plan: The OT can bog you down with the continued disobedience of Israel but God never gave up on them as He never gives up on us.
-Increased discipline and commitment to being in His Word: Waking up and diving into the scriptures became part of my routine and was a daily commitment instead of haphazard coincidence.
-Sweet times of God speaking to me in the middle of the most obscure passage I could imagine: Not only did He speak to me but He used what I was studying to bless others.

Lows…the tough stuff my sin nature struggled with:
-Struggles with duty instead of delight: There were many days I did my reading and studying because I had to not and not because I really wanted to.
-Huge time commitment: In order to properly read and study the chapters, I spent at least an hour to and hour and a half each day–7 days a week. This is not really a bad thing but was difficult to maintain.
-Missing the treasures: I read anywhere from 3 to 5 chapters a day and, because of that, I believe I missed many of the hidden gems within the text.

If you are considering reading the entirety of scripture this year, please know I highly encourage it. This post is simply a realistic reflection in order to prepare you for the highs and lows of the journey before you. It is truly a marathon instead of a sprint-like commitment.

After a long, hard trek, I desire this year to slow the pace and stroll through the sweetness of the New Testament. I am so excited about taking the time in the scripture to really soak it all in and allow the transforming power of gospel truth to take over. Once again, the Spirit has led me to this commitment and prompted me to prepare a study plan I’m calling 260 in 260. There are 260 chapters in the NT and 260 weekdays in 2011. Here is a link to the plan I created. I alternated the gospels with the epistles in this plan because the first three gospels (known as the synoptic gospels) are quite similar and the lengthiest of the New Testament books. In this plan, you will hopefully read each of the gospels in a fresher light because they aren’t one after another.

Here is what I will do each day as I sit down to read and study the chapter:
1. Pray: Ask God to give me an increased hunger and love for His scripture and to stir the Spirit in me that delights in His Word and gives me understanding into all it teaches.
2. Read the chapter.
3. Outline what it says.
4. Write out the scripture that stands out the most.
5. Pray and journal about what I believe the Spirit is teaching me through this selection.

In case you are following along, I will post some commentary at the beginning of each new book to help provide background information to help give us further understanding of the scriptures and help in correct interpretation.

Please let me know if you plan on joining me on this wonderful journey through God’s new covenant with us. I will be posting to the Facebook page and would love to hear from you on how God is strengthening your commitment and using it to draw you closer to Himself.

All my love,

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