Week 1/Day 2 Luke 1:8-9: Morning
March
14, 2014, Friday, 9 Verses of 12
ETC. ETC. ETC.: AT THE START OF MOST DAYS
AND/OR AT THE END
From time to time, I will try to include
extra information, rather than just the three to four verse text reading of the
day. This is even more true since we are at the beginning of this new study of
the Book of Luke. So, let’s do some ETC. ETC. ETC. right now:
BIBLE
VS. THE HOLY BIBLE
I am not old-fashioned by any means. Nor
am I the only KJV (King James Version) reading type.[1]
I read other versions of the Bible. However, whenever possible, I will try to
call it the Holy Bible versus just the Bible throughout this text. There is a
reason for this choice.
I want to give the Holy Word of God, the
Holy Bible, as much reverence as possible. I do not want to take it lightly. I
want to give the Word of God the respect it deserves. If it makes you grind
your teeth out of annoyance, call it just the Bible if you want as you read my
text.
PRAYER
JOURNALING: A WAY TO INTERACT WITH GOD ABOUT THIS BOOK AND THE HOLY BIBLE
In order for you to get the most out of
this book, a devotional Bible study and journaling memoir, it’s important for
you to interact with God about what you read in this book and in the Holy
Bible. How do you do this? The answer is simple. It’s through prayer
journaling.
You will notice I do not have a workbook
companion to this book, and you will not throughout this “6+ Year Four Gospel Project.” I figure if you’re going to have to
purchase 40+ books, I should do my best not to give you any additional material
to purchase. That’s just not right. Forty books is already extreme.[2]
Therefore, I need to ask you to keep your own prayer journal. It will act as
your workbook and your prayer journaling to God as you interact with Him about
the text from this blog post series and book—as well as with the Holy Bible.
Needless to say, I need to ask for your
word that you will prayer journal every single time you approach the text of
the “6+ Year Four Gospel Project.”
I’m not kidding.
Do I have your word?
Before you say yes or no, let me tell
you why. There is a rule of thumb I want you to bear in mind throughout this “6+ Year Four Gospel Project.”
THE
RULE OF THUMB IS: The more you invest
into this material of “6+ Year Four
Gospel Project,” the more you’ll get out of it. The more you prayer
journal, the more you’ll get out of it. The more you review, the more you’ll
get out of it. It’s really that simple. This is exactly why it’s going to take
more than six years for this Four Gospels Project. We are going to invest heavily
into this.
Why?
Jesus sacrificed His life for our sins
and we deserve death, not life. So, how little is it for us to give the next
six plus years to getting to know Jesus and the Four Gospels as possible, apply
them to our lives, and learn to live a life of Jesus?
Now, I will ask you again… Do I have your
word that you’ll prayer journal every time you approach this text?
If so, imagine signing the blank below.
Then, make sure to write your commitment in your prayer journal.
Sign Here: ______________________________
Date: ____________________________________
I
promise to prayer journal every time I approach this text and the Holy Bible.
I realize you’re probably reading this
via e-book. That’s why I say imagine signing it and making sure to put your
pledge of commitment in your prayer journal. Now, I ask you to do the same with
the following:
WILL YOU
MAKE THE COMMITMENT TO FINISH THIS 8-WEEK STUDY, THE FIRST BOOK OF THE 6+ YEAR
FOUR GOSPEL PROJECT?
If so, sign below as well:
Sign Here: ______________________________
Date: ____________________________________
I
promise to finish this 8-week devotional Bible study and journaling memoir. It
might take a little longer, but I will work on it every day until I complete it.
Now, shall we get started?
REFLECTION OF WEEK 1/DAY 1
FORGETFULNESS
VS. INTENTIONAL REMEMBERING
I don’t know about you, but I have the
bad habit or capability to forget what I learned the day before, unless I try
to keep bringing it back to my memory, prayer journal, and review the lesson
and my prayer journal from the lesson—and do so several times. Needless to say,
I have to be absolutely intentional about remembering.
How about you? Please prayer journal
your answer and thoughts.
God tells us repeatedly in His Word, the
Holy Bible, how important it is to remember what He has done.
THE BIBLE AND REMEMBERING WHAT GOD HAS DONE
Look up each of these verses in your
favorite version of the Bible. Prayer journal:
1 What you learned,
2 Your thoughts about each of those
verses,
3 And your thoughts about remembering
what God has done in your life, in the lives of those closest to you, previous
generations in your family, and those in the Bible.
4 Also, prayer journal about how you’re
going to apply these verses to your life so you will remember all He has done
in your life today, tomorrow, and from the past.
The verses are:
Psalm 77:11
Psalm 105:5-6
Psalm 106:7
Psalm 111:4
Psalm 143:5
Then, look at this link (which is all of
those verses in the EXB):
Prayer journal about what jumped out at
you about each verse.
Then, look at this link (which is all of
those verses in the MSG):
Prayer journal about what jumped out at
you about each verse.
Then, prayer journal about each of the
following:
1 What did I learn?
2 How can I apply these verses to my
life—starting today?
3 What did I say to God?
4 What did God say to me?
5 Prayer journal a final prayer about
remembering what He has done, all the blessings in your life, and what He has
made.
Finally, print out those verses in your
favorite version regarding these verses (or, be a nut like me and print out
several versions). Carry them around with you every day. Read them and re-read
them. Read them so much you practically memorize them. Let them be a reminder
to remember what God has done and the blessings He’s given you each day, even
on the challenging days.
CARRYING
AROUND YOUR DAILY VERSES WITH YOU
I recommend printing out the verses we
study each day and carrying them with you everywhere you go. Keep all of the
verses together and re-read all of them once a day. Review yesterday’s verses
three times today at least. Today’s verses, on the other hand, re-read every
hour at least while you’re awake.
Why? Why should you do this? It’s because
the more you read these verses, the more you interact with god’s Word. The more
you interact with the Word of God, the Holy Bible, the more you will hear from
God. That’s why. (How cool is that?) And, it will help you remember.
LET’S
REVIEW YESTERDAY’S READING
Reviewing the previous day’s material will
become a norm. After all, once again, it’s important to remember what God has
done. Part of what he’s done is what we glean from our daily devotional Bible
study and prayer journaling, along with reviewing Bible verses, and applying
what we learn in our lives. Moreover, daily review is also critical, along with
weekly and monthly. Again, it helps us remember what God has done, what we’ve
said to God, and what God’s said to us, plus what we’re trying to apply to our
lives (review and self-analysis thereof).
PRAYER JOURNAL ABOUT THE FOLLOWING:
1 What verse from yesterday taught you
the most about Jesus and His life? Explain.
2 What do you think was the most important
verse from yesterday regarding your own life? Explain.
3 What did you learn yesterday?
4 What are you trying to apply to your
life from yesterday?
5 What do you say now to God about yesterday?
6 What does God say now to you about
yesterday?
WARNING: There will be times there’s just
so much to cover, the daily readings will be divided into once a day, twice a
day (morning and evening), and sometimes three times a day (morning, afternoon,
and evening) segments. Today is one of those days.
SUGGESTION: You may want to add each
additional segment as an additional day. Or, you can find the time and do each
segment during the same day. Just remember it’s expected we’ll work on this material
seven days a week. Five days per week will be the lesson, the sixth day is
catch-up, and the seventh day is review.
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