HERE'S HOW:
Grab a Bible. If it fits your style, also grab a journal to write in.
Which Bible version is best? The one you read! If you don’t have one, let us know! Print, Online, and Apps are available.
Invite family or friends to join you.
Pray! Ask the Holy Spirit to help you as you read. HE WILL.
Check to see if there is a video to watch today
Look up and read the assigned reading for the day.
Look up the assigned Psalm that day: pray it out loud.
Pray! Ask the Father to apply those readings to your life and to help you join Jesus where He is already working. HE WILL.
Participate in Worship on Sunday!
December 16
Read 1 John 3-4, then Pray Psalm 31. These two chapters are worthy of deep study and returning to again and again. Chapter 3, verse 1!!!! “And that is what we are!” Never lose these words, and follow them through to chapter 4, verse 18! All because of 4:16! Take note, a proper translation for 3:6 is: “No one who remains in Him lives for the sake of sin,” carrying the notion that the condition of our heart is the point at issue (See Romans 7 and 8!).
December 17
Read 1 John 5 & 2 John & 3 John, then Pray Psalm 32. 1 John 5:12 is a passage we see reflected in all of John’s writings! See John 1:3-4, 5:24, 20:31, Revelation 22:1-5.
December 18
Read Jude, then Pray Psalm 33. Verse 8 and following might cause your eyebrows to raise. This is because Jude is paraphrasing from the Book of Enoch, an Old Testament era work which delves deep into workings the spiritual realm. This book didn’t make it to us fully intact and it contains some obscure language, so was not included in Scripture by the early church (and thus not authoritative for teaching). However, it is a book we read with an open mind precisely because of Jude’s reference here.
December 19
Read Revelation 1-3, then Pray Psalm 34. Chapter 1, verse 3 is the point from which we read Revelation. It carries a promise of blessing! After 1:1-5:14 (which is mediated by Jesus Himself, followed by a glimpse of heaven!), Revelation can be seen to unfold in three cycles, each with a vision that has seven parts (seals, trumpets, and bowls). These three cycles EACH show the events that take place from the time Jesus rose again to heaven (except chapter 12, which includes His birth) until His return from a different perspective or emphasis. The first vision is 6:1-8:5. The second vision is 8:6-11:19. The third vision is 15:1-16:21. Then the Second Coming of Jesus is the story from 17:1 to the end of the book.
December 20
Read Revelation 4-6, then Pray Psalm 35. In 4:1, take note of the word “looked,” and then look for “heard,” holding the contrast of those throughout the chapter and the whole book. Chapter 4 and 5 give us a rare glimpse of God’s throne and the heavenly courts! Allow the language to help you “see” what it is like rather than what it looks like.
December 21
Read Revelation 7-9, then Pray Psalm 36. In chapter 7, John HEARS the number: 144,000! But then he LOOKS and sees “a multitude that no one could count”! In 7:14, the elder tells John who these people are: those who have come out of the great tribulation made righteous by the Lamb! Translation: these are the believers from all of time and history, THIS IS THE CHURCH: TRIUMPHANT! John saw YOU there!
December 22
Read Revelation 10-11, then Pray Psalm 37. The two witnesses are the Church throughout history (“Go and measure the temple”)! Dying and rising throughout the time since Jesus Rose and Ascended until He comes back, the Church keeps pointing people to Jesus and giving them His promises in spoken, written and mysterious (read sacramental!) form. Every generation reforms God’s People and renews the emphasis upon His promises in every land, among every tribe in every language, bearing witness to the Crucified, Risen Savior of the world!