The Social Concerns Ministry Team invites you to join them and to continue to…
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
DAYS 361-365
Our resource is Eugene Peterson’s
THE MESSAGE//REMIX:PAUSE
DAY 361
2 Chronicles 29-31: The people of Judah and Jerusalem were eager about Hezekiah’s reforms and celebrating Passover, so why did they build all the pagan shrines in the first place? Why did they continually waffle back and forth, just as their kings did?
Revelation 20: After Jesus has reigned for a thousand years, why would the nations fall for Satan’s lies again? What assures fairness in God’s final judgment of every person who has ever lived? What’s required for a name to be written in the Book of Life?
DAY 362
2 Chronicles 32-33: Given all Hezekiah had done, why did he and the people have to be pushed to their limits by Sennacherib? If God planned on destroying the Assyrians all along, why didn’t God do it before they complicated the lives of everyone in Jerusalem?
Revelation 21: Why will God make all things new? Read through the description of heaven. Look at its building materials and its immense size. What is the best feature of the home God has prepared for those who love God?
DAY 363
2 Chronicles 34-36: In light of God’s judgment pouring down around them, how could King Zedekiah and the rest of Judah’s leaders not give God a thought? Why does this same pattern emerge every time God lets the consequences of people’s sins destroy them?
Revelation 22: Jesus’ last words (22:12) are, “I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon!” How does this promis, along with the promise of eternity with him, change your approach to life right now? How seriously do you take his words?
DAY 364
You did it! You finished reading the entire Bible. Tomorrow you will look back on your entire experience and everything God taught you on this journey. But for now, look back only on what you learned during the past six days. After the lasting effects of sin are removed once and for all, the Bible ends with an invitation. God invites anyone who is thirsty to come and drink from the Water of Life. God doesn’t discriminate. Anyone from anywhere can come and find life in God’s Son. This same invitation rings from the beginning of the Bible to the end. Why? Why does God’s offer of forgiveness and life permeate every part of the Bible? Because the Bible is God’s story, what does this invitation say about God’s essential character?
Your Old Testament readings also ended with an invitation. King Cyrus invited the Jews to return to their homeland to rebuild the Temple. Why is this invitation crucial to understanding the entire Old Testament story? The answer has rested in God’s plan for God’s people from the day God first called Abraham in Genesis. If you look carefully, you will find the heart of the Old Testament invitation in the midst of final invitation in Revelation. You’ve heard this time and again. Why? Why does God keep making this same plea? How do you respond to God’s invitation?
DAY 365
Reflect on the year: During the past year, what changed about your understanding of who God is and what God does? What did you learn about God that you never knew before? What surprised you? What troubled you? Do you understand yourself better? Differently? In what ways? Which areas of your life are most transformed? Why? What was your understanding of the God-life at the beginning of the year compared to where it is now?
Which book of the Bible was your favorite? What parts do you want to go back to and study in depth? Which character made the greatest impression on you? Which book or story encouraged you? What questions have formed in your mind that you want to find answers to?
And finally, what’s next? You have been reading the Bible every day; don’t lose that discipline. Continue to spend time in the Word every day. You may want to go back to Day 1 and read it all again. Or you may want to take one book of the Bible and spread it out over the course of a month, reading a portion each day. You may also choose to take a leisurely stroll through a particular section of the Bible, such as the four Gospels or Paul’s letters or the Minor Prophets. Whatever you do, God can’t wait to meet with you in God’s Word. Don’t give up! The results are more than worth the effort.