The Joy of Unit-Reading #63 (the Book of Proverbs)

Wow!  The book of Proverbs is AMAZING!  I want to make a couple of comments — and then provide my notes on the book at the end. (If you click on the notes box, you can read it better).

(1) There is much said about raising one’s children.

(2)  There are numerous warnings about the adulterous woman.

(3)  There is much here about listening to rebuke and accepting discipline.

(4)  There is much here about the use of the tongue!

What do you find in this marvelous book?

 

 

The Joy of Unit-Reading #61 (the book of Philemon)

Friends:

We are almost done unit-reading the books of the Bible. Unit-reading is reading straight through a book at one sitting. I’ve been mostly successful so far. Some books are easier than others to unit-read. Philemon, for example. But I’m looking forward to a couple of hours to go through Isaiah, then a couple of hours to go through Jeremiah, etc! Here are my notes on this short epistle to Philemon:

 

The Joy of Unit-Reading #60 (the Book of Acts)

What an amazing book the book of Acts is! We are continuing our unit-reading of all the books of the Bible (with the exception of the book of the Psalms). There is so much here! I deeply miss my colleague and friend, Dr. William Larkin, who was an expert on the book of Acts.

A couple of takeaways for me:
1. There is much in the book of Acts about the Holy Spirit.
2. Salvation is described in a variety of ways in this book: being set free from every sin; being appointed to eternal life; those who by grace had believed.
3. God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are held in tension throughout this book.

 

The Joy of Unit-Reading #59 (the Book of Nehemiah)

We are making great headway in our quest to unit-read 65 (of the 66) books of the Bible. Unit-reading is reading a book through at one sitting. Today’s book, Nehemiah, issues some needed challenges to my heart. My notes follow, but here are a couple of takeaways for me:
1. I seldom take life and its challenges seriously enough to mourn, fast, and pray. How about you?
2. Do I hide my sadness of heart from unbelievers? Why?
3. Is my heart open for the Lord to “put” something in it for His glory?
4. There is a place for imprecatory prayer (4:4-5).
5. If “the joy of the Lord” is not my strength, I’m in big trouble!

Your comments?

 

The Joy of Unit-Reading #58 (the Gospel of Matthew)

What an amazing gospel the Gospel of Matthew is! Here are a couple of takeaways for me (my notes are at the end):
1. Dreams are prominent in this gospel.
2. The teachings of Jesus are immensely practical!
3. Hell/eternal lostness is mentioned several times in this gospel.
4. Jesus’ top priority is not to not offend the Pharisees!

 

The Joy of Unit-Reading #57 (the Old Testament Book of Ezra)

There is so much in the OT that I need to learn! What an encouraging book Ezra is. A couple of challenges jump out at me (see my fuller notes below):
1. The Lord wants to move our hearts to do His will (1:1, 5).
2. He believes in young leaders (3:8).
3. God cares about our joy — especially, in Him! (6:16).
4. We are to study, observe, and teach God’s decrees and laws (7:9ff).
5. I want the gracious hand of the Lord to be upon me. How about you? (ch. 8).

 

The Joy of Unit-Reading #56 (the Gospel of Luke)

We’re continuing with our unit-reading, and today’s book is the Gospel of Luke. (my notes are below). This book took several efforts to get through.

A couple of issues leap out to me in this third gospel:
(1)  There is much in Luke about God the Holy Spirit!
(2) Jesus did not consult a calendar when He healed people.  It seems He purposely did so on the Sabbath!
(3)  There are several references to life after death (beyond the story of the rich man and Lazarus in ch. 16).

I don’t know about you — but I don’t want to lose my saltiness (14:34)!

Question:  How can you be salty for Jesus today?

 

The Joy of Unit-Reading #55 (the Book of Deuteronomy)

Wow! What an incredible book Deuteronomy is! I must admit, it took me two sittings to read all the way through it. (I apologize for the many notes I took — see below).

A couple of truths leap out at me:
1. God does not hesitate to condemn idolatry. He is a jealous God who deserves our worship!
2. There is great benefit in rehearsing the past works of the Lord in your life!
3. God wants His people to pursue holiness, to purge evil from among them.
4. This same God, who delivered Israel from Egypt and gave them victory over the Canaanites — this same God is my God — and I am to joyfully serve Him!

 

The Joy of Unit-Reading #54 (the Book of Numbers)

The Old Testament book of Numbers is a tough — and long — book! Here are my notes:

Here are a couple of takeaways from this book:
1. Capital punishment is applied to a variety of sins!
2. We get several passages that deal with God’s wrath.
3. God speaks with Moses as a friend with a friend!
4. Even Moses thought that God lacked the ability to provide for His people.
5. We get some fascinating detail about the Avenger!

My prayer:  “Lord, make me aware of Your holiness.   Keep me from those sins that would be barbs in my eyes and thorns in my side!  Thank You for Your unchangableness — and Your grace!  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.”

 

The Joy of Unit-Reading #53 (the Book of Leviticus)

I must admit — Leviticus is one Old Testament book I was not looking forward to unit-reading!  But we read through it this morning.  Man, am I glad we are not under the Old Testament sacrificial system!  There is a lot of splashing of blood and slaughtered animals and regulations and sin and guilt and fellowship offerings. Here are my notes:

A couple of takeaways for me:
1. Offerings to the Lord have an aroma which pleases Him.
2. God cares about process — sin must be dealt with!
3. God’s holiness ought to impact everything we do — what we eat, what we touch, what we look at.
4. Leviticus is clear about homosexual behavior being sin (18:22; 20:13).

My prayer: “Lord, thank You that Jesus is the end of the sacrificial system. But help me, Lord, to put You first in all things! In Jesus’ name. Amen.”