I love making New Year’s resolutions, but was unable to do so this year. It’s February now and messages about love—love for spouses, family, and one another—are popping up all over our social networking sites, reminding us all that life is short so do what makes you happy. One thing I enjoy (along with caring for family, home, quilting, and gardening) is studying the New Testament in Greek. Hours pass and I have forgotten to eat. There’s a verse in the Bible about that, right!
The other day I was challenged to spend time each day reading the Greek New Testament devotionally. We had a friend from our early days in college who could do that—simply open his Greek text and quietly study it each morning. I was impressed.
That was my original goal when I decided to study Hebrew and Greek in my academic journey—to have time alone in the Word, using only the Greek. Yes, I know that sounds an awful lot like the Quiet Times we practiced decades ago when discipleship courses were popular in the church.
The approach used back then will be the approach I will follow now, except this time I will be reading in Greek. We may be able to “Read Through the Bible in a Year” in our mother tongue. I doubt that will be the case for me! This approach will be like, “Read Through the Bible in a Lifetime!”
I’m beginning with 1 John, because those who know better say this is the easiest book to start with. There are five different approaches to tackling this goal (reading the NT in Greek) and I chose one developed by Dr. Darryl Burling from Master NT Greek.
Right off the bat, I found myself wanting to tweak the order so I could read the books that would help me tackle the doctrinal issues in our times. I’m committing to following this order, to sit back and soak in what God has to say, not what I want to say. The challenge will be to keep this time shorter, to read in order to hear what God has to say to me.
Years ago Micheal and I led Navigator 2:7 Discipleship groups in Denver. The groups consisted of ten to twelve participants committed to meeting together in each other’s home for two years where we shared life, birthed our babies, grew our families, and studied God’s word to grow in our faith as disciples of Christ. Throughout the week at home each member read from the Bible, asked God to speak through that Word, journaled about they learned, and then came ready to share with the group how the Holy Spirit was working out in their life.
We live in this remarkable digital age. Virtual spaces allow folks from near and far to come together. I welcome you to my virtual space where I will share brief (honest!) reflections from my time spent in God’s word.
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