Flashback Favorite: I don't know what to read next

Sometimes, we just need a little guidance.

I don't know what to read next

Originally posted on July 15, 2021

One morning, a guy got up early, made coffee, and sat down to read his Bible.  The problem was that he didn’t know where to start.  After a few moments of staring at the unopened book sitting on his kitchen table, he still didn’t know what to do.  So he prayed, “Lord, I don’t know what I’m doing here.  Please give me direction on what I should read and what I should do today.”

Not knowing where to turn, he decided to randomly open to a page and point at a verse.  He hoped God would guide him.  Not wanting to end up in the Old Testament, he veered towards the right side of his Bible.  He landed on Matthew 27:5, Then he went and hanged himself.  “That’s…weird,” he muttered. “God, I’m looking for guidance here…” So he flipped a few pages forward and stopped at Luke 10:37, Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”  Feeling a bit unnerved, he sought safety in the book of John.  Quickly turning there, he stopped at John 13:27, So Jesus told him, “What you’re doing, do quickly.”

I joke, I joke.

Randomly opening our Bibles, hoping God will direct our flipping around so we land on a piece of wisdom is never a good idea.  However, wondering what part of the Bible to read next is a very common concern for Christians who choose to spend time and effort seeking God.  There are lots of blog posts, study guides, and other plans out there.  Which one to choose?

You could treat the Bible like one big book and read it cover to cover.  In fact, many people do that – only to get bogged down in Exodus and then quitting at some chapter in Leviticus.  Read-the-Bible-in-a-year plans also take this approach.  You’ll end up reading 3 or 4 chapters a day, every day.  I have finished a yearly plan like this once.  It certainly had its benefits – knowing exactly how much to read, seeing some familiar New Testament references in Old Testament passages that I don’t routinely read – but you have to be aware of the drawbacks, too.  The challenges with this approach is that you’re mainly reading for information and not life change; also your daily chunk of chapters could easily become an anxiety-driven checkbox for your day.  All in all, I’m glad that I completed a full read of the Bible, because getting a 30,000 ft view of Scripture was great – but I do not have any plans to do it again.

Over the years of reading/studying/teaching the Bible, I have found that the slower approach is better.  Take the text in smaller pieces…think about it, pray about it, and then take what you learn into your daily life.  To help with that, I offer 3 suggestions:

·       Proverbs – Whatever day of month it is, read that chapter of Proverbs.  This is my go-to if I’m not sure what to read next or if I just want to read the Bible while I eat breakfast.  Chapters in Proverbs are easy to drop in anywhere and not lose any context.  Read through each proverb and look for truths you have experienced, perspectives you might not have considered, or situations you can trust God with.  It’s ok to linger on a proverb and just think through it.  Since this blog is posted on the 15th, when I turn to that chapter, I’m immediately challenged with the first verse:

Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away anger,
but a harsh word stirs up wrath.

 We can easily see the truth in this statement, but let’s dig a little deeper, shall we?  Allow yourself the time to think through questions like:

Why do I immediately recognize this to be true? 
How do I respond to gentle answers? 
How do I respond to harsh words?
Which one am I more likely to give at work? to my spouse? to my kids? to strangers?
Where in my life can God help me to be intentional about giving others a gentle answer?

I’m sure you could follow this train of thought with a few more questions of your own.  Just one verse…and a lot of good applications that can come from it.  These are easily found when you look at the Proverbs chapter that match the day of the month.

·       Psalms – Where the Proverbs are steady, logical life-principles, the Psalms are dripping with emotion and relationship.  The shortest one is just 2 verses (Psalm 117) and the longest is 176 verses (Psalm 119).  There are 150 Psalms, so you could easily read one Psalm per day and have a five month plan laid out for you (maybe spread out Psalm 119 over a few days).  What you’ll find is a lot of raw emotion, especially in David’s psalms.  He wasn’t afraid to tell God exactly how he felt, for better or worse, and in vivid detail.  Don’t get caught up in any graphic details or cultural references you may not understand…instead look for the theme of each psalm and think about why the Israelites would have sung these lines to God.  You might be surprised to find out that ancient people and modern people aren’t all that different in their struggles, concerns, and aspirations.

·       John – The book of John is THE place to start when reading the Bible.  John’s gospel is the only book explicitly written to non-believers to explain who Jesus is, the purpose and result of His mission, and – most importantly – how to obtain eternal life from Him.  The apostle admits that he could have written about any number of scenes in Jesus’ life, but the specific ones that he selected were to convince his readers that Jesus is the Son of God and that by simply believing in Him, anyone can have eternal life.  John gives no additional conditions or requirements.  In this gospel, you’ll find that in order to obtain eternal life, you don’t have to confess all your sins, believe certain facts in a certain order, promise to live better, repent, or make a commitment to follow Jesus – while all those are good things, they are not pre-conditions of eternal salvation.  The only requirement for eternal salvation is that you believe in Jesus for it.  Don’t believe me?  John’s gospel has 21 chapters – read one per day for the next three weeks, and ask God to show you exactly what He requires.

The main thing is that we continually get into our Bibles.  There are too many things that clamor for our attention every day, and this is the book that God has crafted over the centuries in an effort to reveal Himself to us.  Don’t get hung up on what to read next…just take the next step and don’t be afraid to take your time.  It’s more important that you grow in your relationship with God than checking the box on a reading plan each day. 

The focus isn’t on how many times you’ve been though the Bible…instead, how many times has the Bible been through you?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Revenge, a long time coming

Our oldest son has always been a fidgeter.  In his mind, anything can become a fidget toy…something to spin, twist, massage, or poke.  He’d wear out the battery cover on the remote control – open, closed, open, close.  Keys were for jingling and juggling.  Flashlights were for flickering.  Camera shutters were repeatedly opened and shut.  And let’s not forget one of his favorites – rolling up and down the windows in the car. 

I especially found the car window play to be rather annoying.  We’d be driving down the road, and then his window would randomly open, only to roll back up.  My quick fix would be to lock the windows from the driver’s door panel.  When I did that, he was instantly upset. 

“Why’d you lock my window?”

“Because you can’t play with it.”

“I’m not playing with it!  I just wanted to roll it down.”

“Not while we’re driving down the road.”

He’d sit and sulk until he got over it…at least, I thought he had gotten over it.  Let’s fast-forward 10 years.  He now has his learner’s permit.  I get in the passenger’s seat, and he slides into the driver’s seat.  After adjusting the car’s seat and mirrors, he reached over and pushed the button to lock the windows.  I’m quite certain there was a little smirk on his face when he did so.  At the very least, there was a sense of smugness now coming from the driver’s seat.

“Why’d you lock the windows?”

“Because I’m the driver and I get to now.”

“No, those can stay unlocked.”

“Why???  You always locked them on me!”

“I locked them so you wouldn’t play with the windows.  There’s no danger of the other people in the car doing that, so you don’t need to lock them now.”

“It’s not fair!”

Little did I know, he had held that grudge for 10+ years.  He felt slighted by someone in authority over him, and he nursed that pain without saying a word, waiting until the day that he, literally, sat in the driver’s seat.  He wanted revenge.  He wanted me to suffer the same way he had.  But when the day finally arrived – it didn’t play out the way he imagined all those years.

Throughout Scripture, multiple authors warn us about taking revenge:

1 Peter 3:8-9
Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.

1 Thessalonians 5:15
See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

Hebrews 10:30
For we know the one who has said,
“Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,”
and again,
“The Lord will judge His people.”

This last verse included a quote from the Old Testament:

Deuteronomy 32:35
[God speaking:] Vengeance and retribution belong to Me.  In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.

Jesus even said that the second greatest command is to “love your neighbor as yourself”, but did you know that Jesus’ statement is only the first part of the Old Testament command?  Here is the full verse:

Leviticus 19:18
Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself.

Desiring justice and hating wrongdoing are perfectly normal responses to what happens in our broken world.  The problem we encounter when we are wronged by members of our community is that we tend to “one up” the wrong that was done to us.  We want them to hurt at least as much as we have.  This is why God says to leave the punishment up to Him.  He knows all the angles of every person involved, and as such, His vengeance and retribution is perfectly just and balanced – something we cannot manage within ourselves.

Upon reflection, when we choose to love our neighbor as ourselves even going so far as to be compassionate and humble, we may even find – like my son did – that the grudge we hold is more of a “me-thing” and not so much that I was actually wronged.  We can easily slide toward grudges and wanting revenge when we don’t get our own way.  How much head-space and energy did my son needlessly spend while he waited for his chance at revenge?  Years-worth.  Don’t make the same mistake.  If the moment for revenge actually arrives…it won’t turn out like you’ve daydreamed.  Leave it for God to sort out.  He will do a much better job than you ever could.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

I don't know what to read next

One morning, a guy got up early, made coffee, and sat down to read his Bible.  The problem was that he didn’t know where to start.  After a few moments of staring at the unopened book sitting on his kitchen table, he still didn’t know what to do.  So he prayed, “Lord, I don’t know what I’m doing here.  Please give me direction on what I should read and what I should do today.”

Not knowing where to turn, he decided to randomly open to a page and point at a verse.  He hoped God would guide him.  Not wanting to end up in the Old Testament, he veered towards the right side of his Bible.  He landed on Matthew 27:5, Then he went and hanged himself.  “That’s…weird,” he muttered. “God, I’m looking for guidance here…” So he flipped a few pages forward and stopped at Luke 10:37, Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”  Feeling a bit unnerved, he sought safety in the book of John.  Quickly turning there, he stopped at John 13:27, So Jesus told him, “What you’re doing, do quickly.”

I joke, I joke.

Randomly opening our Bibles, hoping God will direct our flipping around so we land on a piece of wisdom is never a good idea.  However, wondering what part of the Bible to read next is a very common concern for Christians who choose to spend time and effort seeking God.  There are lots of blog posts, study guides, and other plans out there.  Which one to choose?

You could treat the Bible like one big book and read it cover to cover.  In fact, many people do that – only to get bogged down in Exodus and then quitting at some chapter in Leviticus.  Read-the-Bible-in-a-year plans also take this approach.  You’ll end up reading 3 or 4 chapters a day, every day.  I have finished a yearly plan like this once.  It certainly had its benefits – knowing exactly how much to read, seeing some familiar New Testament references in Old Testament passages that I don’t routinely read – but you have to be aware of the drawbacks, too.  The challenges with this approach is that you’re mainly reading for information and not life change; also your daily chunk of chapters could easily become an anxiety-driven checkbox for your day.  All in all, I’m glad that I completed a full read of the Bible, because getting a 30,000 ft view of Scripture was great – but I do not have any plans to do it again.

Over the years of reading/studying/teaching the Bible, I have found that the slower approach is better.  Take the text in smaller pieces…think about it, pray about it, and then take what you learn into your daily life.  To help with that, I offer 3 suggestions:

·       Proverbs – Whatever day of month it is, read that chapter of Proverbs.  This is my go-to if I’m not sure what to read next or if I just want to read the Bible while I eat breakfast.  Chapters in Proverbs are easy to drop in anywhere and not lose any context.  Read through each proverb and look for truths you have experienced, perspectives you might not have considered, or situations you can trust God with.  It’s ok to linger on a proverb and just think through it.  Since this blog is posted on the 15th, when I turn to that chapter, I’m immediately challenged with the first verse:

Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away anger,
but a harsh word stirs up wrath.

 We can easily see the truth in this statement, but let’s dig a little deeper, shall we?  Allow yourself the time to think through questions like:

Why do I immediately recognize this to be true? 
How do I respond to gentle answers? 
How do I respond to harsh words?
Which one am I more likely to give at work? to my spouse? to my kids? to strangers?
Where in my life can God help me to be intentional about giving others a gentle answer?

I’m sure you could follow this train of thought with a few more questions of your own.  Just one verse…and a lot of good applications that can come from it.  These are easily found when you look at the Proverbs chapter that match the day of the month.

·       Psalms – Where the Proverbs are steady, logical life-principles, the Psalms are dripping with emotion and relationship.  The shortest one is just 2 verses (Psalm 117) and the longest is 176 verses (Psalm 119).  There are 150 Psalms, so you could easily read one Psalm per day and have a five month plan laid out for you (maybe spread out Psalm 119 over a few days).  What you’ll find is a lot of raw emotion, especially in David’s psalms.  He wasn’t afraid to tell God exactly how he felt, for better or worse, and in vivid detail.  Don’t get caught up in any graphic details or cultural references you may not understand…instead look for the theme of each psalm and think about why the Israelites would have sung these lines to God.  You might be surprised to find out that ancient people and modern people aren’t all that different in their struggles, concerns, and aspirations.

·       John – The book of John is THE place to start when reading the Bible.  John’s gospel is the only book explicitly written to non-believers to explain who Jesus is, the purpose and result of His mission, and – most importantly – how to obtain eternal life from Him.  The apostle admits that he could have written about any number of scenes in Jesus’ life, but the specific ones that he selected were to convince his readers that Jesus is the Son of God and that by simply believing in Him, anyone can have eternal life.  John gives no additional conditions or requirements.  In this gospel, you’ll find that in order to obtain eternal life, you don’t have to confess all your sins, believe certain facts in a certain order, promise to live better, repent, or make a commitment to follow Jesus – while all those are good things, they are not pre-conditions of eternal salvation.  The only requirement for eternal salvation is that you believe in Jesus for it.  Don’t believe me?  John’s gospel has 21 chapters – read one per day for the next three weeks, and ask God to show you exactly what He requires.

The main thing is that we continually get into our Bibles.  There are too many things that clamor for our attention every day, and this is the book that God has crafted over the centuries in an effort to reveal Himself to us.  Don’t get hung up on what to read next…just take the next step and don’t be afraid to take your time.  It’s more important that you grow in your relationship with God than checking the box on a reading plan each day. 

The focus isn’t on how many times you’ve been though the Bible…instead, how many times has the Bible been through you?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

How to apply Scripture, every time

We’ve done all the hard work – we asked reporter-style questions, we asked detective-style questions, we’ve interpreted our observations, and we even compared what we’ve found to other teachers.  Now, we’re ready for the true pay-off of Bible study: the Application.

If you don’t apply what you’ve learned, then all you’ve really done is spent time collecting facts.  And facts are useless things unless they are put into practice.  I have 9 excellent questions for you to ask in order to find the best application from what you’ve learned…but before we get to them, we need to do a quick assessment of what we know:

If you want to apply the Bible, you need to know two things.

First off, you need to know the text.  You have to know the interpretation of the biblical text.  Your application is based on your interpretation, so if your interpretation of a passage is incorrect…then your application will likely be incorrect – even if you feel really good about it.  If your interpretation is correct, you have a good possibility that your application will be correct.

Like we said before, there is only one correct interpretation of a passage of Scripture (hint: it’s what the original author meant to say).  The text doesn’t mean one thing today and something else tomorrow.  Whatever it means, it means for eternity.  But you will never cease the process of applying that truth to your life.  Therefore: Be careful how you interpret.  You will only multiply error if you start with a faulty interpretation.

While there is only one correct interpretation, there are numerous ways to apply the truth that we find.  And how Biblical truth is applied can vary person to person, largely depending on the individual’s circumstances, stage in life, or surrounding culture.  However, to get the best application possible, there is a second thing you need to know:

You must know yourself.  Be honest with where you are in life.  What are your strengths?  What still needs work?  Where do you struggle?  In one of his last letters, Paul cautioned Timothy:

Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

Notice the order listed:
First, pay attention to yourself…then communicate that truth to others.  Why?  Because if you don’t know yourself, if you’re not honest about who you are…it’s difficult to help other people apply the Bible to their lives.  (Side note: this is another one of those times in the NT that the word ‘save’ does not refer to being “saved from hell”.  You’ll have to read the context to find out what Timothy will potentially ‘save’ himself and his hearers from.)

Now that we know the text and ourselves, it’s time to put what we’ve learned into practice, because the ultimate goal of Bible study is to practice the truth.  Scripture was written not to fatten geese but to train athletes and equip soldiers for the realities of life.  “Run to win.”  “Fight to win.”  That’s the message of the Word.

To be fair, you can’t consciously apply every truth you find in your study, and you shouldn’t feel pressured to do so.  You can, however, consistently be applying something.  So you always want to ask yourself, ‘Is there some area of my life for which this truth is needed?’  After you think about this question, ask God for His opinion on the matter.  Pray that He will show you what you need to apply and where you can best utilize the truth you have discovered in His Word.

A verse we taught our boys when they were quite little (and made them repeat often) was Philippians 2:14, which reads Do everything without grumbling and arguing.  The application of the verse may seem inconsequential in and of itself, and the boys certainly became tired of reciting it…but, once the command is put within context – the unnatural (i.e. – SUPERnatural) consequence for a believer is discovered:

Philippians 2:14-16
Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life.

We stand at the crossroads of life with others every day.  When we hold on to God’s Word and do not complain our way through our day, we shine like stars and uniquely display God’s beauty in a thoroughly messed up world.  BUT, if we’re grousing about everything…then those who don’t know God won’t see God in us.  Small application, with a HUGE consequence!

That’s just one instance of one application from that one verse.  On the surface, a single command may seem like an inconsequential thing, but there’s nothing inconsequential about the changes that God wants to bring about in your life and mine.  He’s given the Word to transform your experience. 

In the end, you’ll always find two sides to Christian living: you need food, and you need exercise.  Too much food leads to obesity (spiritually obese Christians are quite unattractive – they claim to know Christ well, but look nothing like Him b/c there are no actions to back up their boasts).  Too little food develops anemia (i.e. – weak-willed, ineffective, unfocused, and cloudy-minded).  But food is transformed into energy, and energy enables you to do that which God wants you to do.  But as you do what God wants you to do, you become exhausted and tired.  You lose your perspective.  So you have to come back to the Word of God for refreshment, for nourishment, for fuel. 

So how do you bring out applications from all the data you’ve collected and understanding you’ve gained during your study?  This set of nine questions will help you identify numerous applications of the text.  As before, don’t feel like you have to come up with an answer for every question.  Due to the genre of the biblical text you are studying at the time, some questions will be more pertinent than others. 

1.       Is there an example for me to follow? 
2.      Is there a sin to avoid? 
3.      Is there a promise to claim?  Be aware: Some promises in the Bible are for specific people or groups, not for us in the present age.  If you have observed and interpreted well, then you will know if you can claim a particular promise made in the passage.  If the promise is not specifically made for you, then you may be able to glean general principles from promises that God makes to others – namely His ability to follow through with what He says He will do.
4.      Is there a prayer to repeat? 
5.      Is there a command to obey? 
6.      Is there a condition to meet?  If/then statements are cues that there is a condition to meet before a blessing from God will be given.
7.       Is there a verse to memorize?  Obviously, any verse of Scripture can be memorized, but some will carry more weight than others.  I mean, you could memorize Leviticus 11:30, but I’m not sure how helpful it will be for you.
8.      Is there an error to mark?  What kind of mistake did a character make in his or her particular circumstance?  What doctrines and truths is this passage teaching?  What theological errors is it exposing?  Is there something you thought was true that needs to be corrected, based upon what you have learned from your study?
9.      Is there a challenge to face?  Perhaps after studying a section of Scripture, God is bringing to mind a relationship needs healed, an apology needs to be made, that you need to get out of something that is keeping you from God, or you recognize a good habit that needs to be cultivated.  Whatever it is, the Spirit uses Scripture to promote changes in your life.

A true application comes down to two deep questions: Are you open to real change?  Are you prepared to take on the challenges that will be brought to your attention by the Holy Spirit?  I guarantee that if you approach God’s Word with any degree of honesty and teachability, the Spirit won’t let you go away disappointed.  Now, let’s find some ways to apply what we’ve learned in our Joshua passage:

KNOW:
You must know the text.  Go back and read though your observation and interpretation notes.  Refresh your mind with what you’ve written down.

You must know yourself.  Ask God to help you be honest and open to the applications you find.

ASK QUESTIONS:
Go through the 9 questions listed above.  If there is an answer to the question, write it down.  If not, move on to the next one.  Don’t force an answer.  After you have listed all the application options, choose one…and then put it into action within the next 24 hours. 

Joshua 1:6-9
“Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance.  Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you.  Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.

This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it.  For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.  Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous?  Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Keep Pressing,
Ken