Weekly Reading & Scripture Memory

Week of 23 Jan 23
Reading Plan: Matthew 15-21; Psalm 150; Proverbs 3
Scripture Memory: Ephesians 4:29

"The word discipline has disappeared from our minds, our mouths, our pulpits, and our culture. We hardly know what discipline means in modern American society. And yet, there is no other way to attain godliness; discipline is the path to godliness." —Jay Adams

Week of 16 Jan 23
Reading Plan: Matthew 8-14; Psalm 146; Proverbs 2
Scripture Memory: 2 Tim 3:16-17 

"The word hidden conveys the thought of storing something up against a time of future need. We do this by meditating continually on God’s Word, by constantly thinking about it, and applying its truths to the everyday situations of life. I personally have found a systematic Scripture memorization program to be absolutely necessary to continual meditation on God’s Word. I cannot think throughout the day about what I do not have in my heart."    —Jerry Bridges

Week of 9 Jan 23
Reading Plan: Matthew 1-7; Psalm 1; Proverbs 1
Scripture Memory: 2 Tim 3:16 

"Though the power for godly character comes from Christ, the responsibility for developing and displaying that character is ours. This principle seems to be one of the most difficult for us to understand and apply. One day we sense our personal responsibility and seek to live a godly life by the strength of our own will power. The next day, realizing the futility of trusting in ourselves, we turn it all over to Christ and abdicate our responsibility which is set forth in the Scriptures. We need to learn that the Bible teaches both total responsibility and total dependence in all aspects of the Christian life."    —Jerry Bridges

Week of 2 Jan 23
Reading Plan: 1 John
Scripture Memory: Genesis 1:1

Why are there only 5 chapters to read this week?
Two reasons:

1. If you haven't been in the habit of reading Scripture, we want to ease you into it. You may find even five chapters are difficult to get through and comprehend. That's ok. Someone who hasn't been exercising shouldn't expect to bench press 200lbs the first day they walk into a gym. The same is true of the spiritual disciplines. Scripture memory and meditating on Scripture may be very difficult at first. Keep at it and over time your mental muscles will strengthen and the disciplines will become easier.

2. The more important reason there are only 5 chapters is that our goal isn't just to "read" Scripture. We want to chew on it, to study it, to APPLY it. That doesn't happen in one quick reading. Maybe you will want to read (or listen) to the entire book each day. Repetition causes truths to jump out that you miss in a first or second reading. Maybe a chapter stands out in your reading that you want to dive deeper into...after reading the whole book you could spend the rest of the week just focusing on that chapter.

I'll give an example of how I plan on chewing on 1 John this week. Today I quickly read through the whole book. I wasn't focusing on meditating or "chewing" on my reading at this point. In my reading I was struck by verse 20 "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his  brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." What struck me was that my love for others is a gauge of how much I actually love God (regardless of what I think or profess). That's a humbling thought because I have a lot of room for growth. So in my reading this morning God has shown me an area where my life needs to grow into conformity to Christ.  Now what? If Christianity were like every other religion, I would just try to love better. But 1 John teaches "we love because he first loved us.(1 John 4:19)." So if I want to grow in love for others, then I need to drink deeply of God's love. So that's my plan this week. I'm going to meditate on those passages in 1 John that speak of God's love and I'm going to read through the book looking for all the ways God has lavished His love on us.

What's important is not the technique you use to meditate and apply God's Word, but that you do it. Our goal isn't just to read Scripture. The goal is to commune with God and to become more Christlike.