25 Ways to Read Scriptures- Day 25

Conduct a "Habits of living in the Scriptures" audit

All believers are called to immerse themselves in the word, but there are hundreds of ways to do this.  What ways best resonate with your temperament, your weekly rhythms, and the season of life you are in?  Take a few minutes and scroll through the 25 ways that are in this blog.  Write down 3-5 of them that fit you the best.  

Then, picture a typical week and discern how these 3-5 might be incorporated into the flow of your week:  identify specific days and times, and write these wherever you keep track of your daily schedule.

Finally, stick to this new rhythm for the next 25 days, that is until Feb. 24.  Psychologists tell us that it takes us 25 days to truly establish a new habit.  Go for it.  Remember what God himself says about his Word:

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:   It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  You will go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."   (Isaiah 55:  10-12)

25 Ways to Read Scripture- Day 24

Match a Bible verse with a home-made tune

Do you ever get an advertising jingle or a line from a song that you hate stuck in your head all day?  (If you do, so do millions of the rest of us.)    

Well, fight fire with fire.  Take any one sentence from Scripture that serves as an anchor in your life, and play with it melodically until it settles into a singable tune.  Perhaps there's a familiar tune that fits the verse.  Then, discipline your mind to "loop" through that little tune repeatedly throughout the day.  

Some possible verses to put to a musical loop:

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want (Ps. 23.1)

The Lord is my light and my salvation (Ps. 27: 1)

Be still and know that I am God (Ps. 46: 10)

I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139: 14)

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God (I John 3: 1)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding (Prov. 3: 5)

May the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always (II Cor. 13: 14)

25 Ways to Read Scripture- Day 23

Write an epistle to a Christian community you are part of

Though most of the New Testament Bible books are epistles written to communities, one could also say that every book of the Bible is like an epistle:  every book of the Bible is addressed to a community (or the leader of a community).  Every book of the Bible serves to describe the character of God and how his character shapes us into communities of witness, that is, communities that are light in the darkness.

Skim portions of the New Testament epistles (perhaps portions that you are more familiar with), and then imagine that Paul or Peter wrote an epistle to a community that you are part of:  your home church, a faith-based group that you are part of, or Redeemer U. C.  

What might an epistle written to one of these communities in 2014 contain?

POOR IN SPIRIT

Blessed are the poor in Spirit” - Matt 5:3

The world renowned evangelist and Christian apologist Dr. Francis Schaeffer was frequently asked, “Tell me about your spirituality! What do you do?”

He refused to answer the question, but chose to reply, “My spirituality is poor”.

With his position, how could he get away with telling people he had poor spirituality?! I don’t know.

But I think he was using Jesus’ measuring stick.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit”.

What might than mean? Partly, it would suggest that....

·   it is okay to struggle with hypocrisy when claiming to follow Jesus

·   it is okay to be half hearted and sporadic with the spiritual disciplines

·  it is okay to not measure up on someone’s spiritual spectrum of holiness

·  it is okay to see the risen Lord and still doubt

·  it is okay to admit your need

But it is more than that. Your awareness of emptiness makes room for him and his coming kingdom. In being “poor in Spirit” you are powerfully blessed!

This is a dependable law. The spiritually broke tax collector “stood at a distance” and “would not even look up to heaven” (Lk 18:13). Yet Jesus said he “went home justified before God”(v.14).

As a chaplain I am afraid of breaking this law. In my department we are often approached to give supports for people struggling in different areas on their spiritual journeys. I wonder if we give the impression that we must set a standard that is not the one that Jesus uses here. I am afraid we might confuse people with our “ways to pray” and “ways to read”, so my prayer is:

“God grant us the grace to not inadvertently give people some laughable and absurd spiritual measuring stick. Use us so that we might make room for people who are standing at a distance.”

Those who are empty make room for God...and neighbour.

25 Ways to Read Scripture - Day 22

Pray the Scriptures

Any Scripture passage can be transformed into a prayer that flows from the heart of the reader.  Ponder how a major character in a Biblical story is your spiritual brother or sister, and pray about this pondering.  Ponder how the passage reveals the heart of God, and pray for wisdom and discernment to see this dimension of the heart of God more clearly, and invite the Spirit to shape you as an Image-bearer that reflects the heart of God.

For example, take Mark 3:  20-21, 31-35, a passage where Jesus' mother and brothers conclude that he is mentally ill.  Read these short verses 2-3 times.  Your prayer might take this kind of shape:

"Dear Lord Jesus, your own family questioned your sanity.  You are so far beyond our understanding!  I haven't explicitly questioned your sanity, but I'm good at ignoring those dimensions of your teaching that strike me as "over the top," a bit much.  Something in me would rather fit you into my neat and tidy boxes, as his family wanted to do.  But I do want to follow you, and therefore you declare that I am part of your family too.  Continue to shape me, refine me, as your brother or sister, and thank you for beginning a good work in me.  Amen."  

Now try it with another passage. 

25 Ways to Read Scriture - Day 21

 Sunday Psalm-ing

Today you are invited to live into the Scriptures by writing your own Psalm as part of your Sunday worship.  If guidance would help you, take note that Psalms come in about fifteen different types (for a very helpful chart, see the link below).  Here are five types with some examples of each.  If the Psalm which you compose today fits one of these five types, read 3-4 examples before you write your own.

Types and examples

Psalms of trust:    20, 23, 27, 46, 91, 121, 125

Psalms of repentance:  6, 32, 51, 102, 130

Psalms of praise and thanksgiving:  8,  100, 103, 104, 145-150

Psalms of quiet pondering and reflection:  1,  11, 131, 139 

Psalms of lament and struggle:  5, 10, 13, 42-43, 61, 64, 88

Chart of Psalms by type:  http://www.cresourcei.org/psalmtypes.html

25 Ways to Read Scriture - Day 20

 Saturday Creativity

The Bible rich and varied writings are filled with many kinds of creativity, and they evoke imaginative responses from us.  On a Saturday when it's too cold for many activities, exercise some biblical creativity by choosing from these possibilities:

• rewrite a parable using contemporary artifacts, e.g. the parable of the lost cell phone, the investment adviser who went out to "sow" his mutual funds, well, you get the idea.
• act out a biblical story with a few other folks
• re-write a biblical narrative as a children's bedtime story
• paint or colour a verse; maybe even risk some "abstract" art designs