Time With God - July 9th to July 22nd - 1st Leg

Each day, challenge yourself to spend some time with God.  The Seven Minutes with God format is a fantastic start.  It is a great format for any form of personal study whether its seven minutes or seventy minutes.  Here is a short form for a reminder:

.5 Minutes:  Prepare (small prayer to ask for humility and right mind)

4 Minutes:  Listen (Scripture reading)

2.5 Minutes:  Talking (Prayer utilizing the ACTS form of prayer

    - Adoration (Praise), Confession (Bow), Thanksgiving (Marvel), Supplication (Ask)

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Links:  Blue Letter Bible    Full Table of Scriptures     Net Bible

1st Leg -  Week One

As a minimum, find a time and place to read through the following verses in this order:

Day One:  Matthew 1:1, Mark 1:1, Luke 1:1-4, John 1:1-18

Day Two:  Luke 1:5-25

Day Three:  Luke 1:26-56

Day Four:  Luke 1:57-80

Day Five:  Matthew 1:2-17,  Luke 3:23-28, John 1:1 (These are the genealogy sections)

Day Six:  Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-7

Day Seven:  Review of the Week (up to you what to read or study... Maybe quick read through Matthew 1 and Luke 1 as an example)

1st Leg - Week Two

Day One:  Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:1-7

Day Two:  Luke 2:21-38

Day Three:  Matthew 2:13-23

Day Four:  Luke 2:39-40, Luke 2:41-52

Day Five:  Matthew 2

Day Six:  Luke 2

Day Seven:  Review of the whole two weeks and prepare of our meeting on this night

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For Further Review...

If you choose to spend more time, here are some questions and resources to look at.

1.  Matthew and Luke contain genealogy information about Christ.  Does Mark?  Why or why not?  Does John?  Why or why not?

2.  What is unusual or unique about the genealogy of Matthew?

3.  Find and describe some of the prophecies fulfilled about Jesus in his birth and childhood.

4.  What was significant about the offering made by Joseph and Mary in Luke 2:24?

5.  What would be different about John (The Baptist) from his birth announcement (Luke 1:16-17)?

Introductions are necessary...

Read through the introductions and outlines of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  You can do this from your own study bible, many different online resources, or use the Blue Letter Bible Intro/Outline 

The Blue Letter Bible link contains introductions and outlines from J. Vernon McGee, John MacArthur, The ESV Study Bible, and BLB's own Introduction.  These are great resources to become familiar with the authors of the Gospel letters and sets the time and place of their writing.  Context and original intent are of the highest importance in seeing the truth in God's word and this is a great way to begin that process.

Want More? Read the whole thing!!!

The Bible is the Greatest Story Ever Told ...  From beginning to the end, it is about the life, death, and resurrection of your Son.  There is no better way to become familiar with the entire plan than to read through all of it.  This plan is not just to do it once, but can become something you do many times throughout your life.  Each time you read through the Bible, you will see something new, something deeper, something you have yet to see.  There are many Bible reading plans out there.  Blue Letter Bible has several that also will keep track of your progress.  Here is the link to them:  Blue Letter Bible Reading Plans ...  In order to track your progress, you simply need to create an account.  It is free, quick and does not require much information to do so.  I encourage you to find some spare time to do this.  I would suggest a 2 year plan to start with as the sections to read are smaller chunks.

Time with God and Time with Others

The idea of all of this is to spend time with God and time with others that seek Him as well.  Any time spent with the God of the Universe and His people will reap something.  Putting aside our pride and selfish desires for just a fraction of our days can make lasting impacts on our walk with Christ and we move toward being Lighthouses for the Gospel.