Anyway, here we go:

<you>: Dennis!  How’s it going?  Love the blog, keep up the great work!
<me>: ‘sgoing pretty good.  How ’bout you?
<you>: Fantabulous!  Hey, What did you do on your Summer vacation?
<me>: I’m glad you asked…

The Deets:

This summer, our church went through a program called The Bible in 90 Days (aka BIND, aka B90X).  It’s not a hard program with hidden details – it’s reading the Bible in 90 days (OK, actually 88…there were two “grace” days built in).  We started on June 7th and from that day until September 3 (for me), we read about 12 pages each day – straight through…Genesis to Revelation.  Our adult Sunday School class and Sunday service sermons also followed the readings, highlighting various themes or characters from the previous weeks readings.

The Story:

True confessions here – I actually saw the official BIND Bible at our local Christian bookstore over a year ago. I bought it and thought I’d give it a go.  It didn’t go…  But, when we decided to go through the program at church, I decided I was going to do it!  GULP!

I read & study the Bible daily – but I don’t generally read 12 pages.  I’m also a slow reader (I’ll admit it!), so this was especially a challenge.  [FYI - my reading speed is really a product of wanting to fully understand and I just can't get there by scanning...some can - I can't.]

In addition, having just started this blog a few months before, I decided that I would write a post about each days reading.  Yes, EACH DAY (read: Leviticus).  My decision was based on two things:

• If 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is true (and I believe it is), then I ought to be able to glean at least one nugget from each day’s reading.  Yes, even from Leviticus.
• A comment I heard from a speaker a while back.  He said that he tried to find at least one thing in every sermon or talk he heard that was applicable or edifying.  This should be true of anything read in the bible.  [BTW, I hold to this truth in any meeting, seminar, conference, presentation.  It forces me to listen!]

So I started.  I read…and I blogged, and I read…and I blogged…  Eighty-eight days of reading, too many late nights trying to stay on track, and 67 blog posts (some were catch-up days) – all in all, an incredible journey.  I am glad I stuck it out.  It was great to read the whole Bible in a concentrated time frame.  It was amazing to see the thread of God’s redemptive love and care for man (me, you!) in this life-changing, life-giving book that has been lovingly preserved.

So, there’s no badge, t-shirt, or tattoo (?!) for completing the program.  But, there is the joy in knowing that I am a little bit more “equipped“  to be a better worshiper of my awesome and amazing God!

What’s Next?

For the Christ Follower, the Bible shouldn’t be a book that is read and then put on the shelf – saved for future reading if desired.  So, for that reason, I’ll never be “finished” reading the Bible…  I think I’ll even do BIND again next year.

I am starting two new books though:

• Adopted for Life, by Dr. Russell Moore.
• Forgotten God, by Francis Chan

Both look to be GREAT reads…even blog subjects!

HEY, if you’d like to give BIND or B90X a try, here is a reading schedule that Elevation Church in North Carolina has posted.

Bible In 90 Days – Day 88

So Day 88 is the virtual Day 90 of the Bible in 90 Days program…so, this is the final day of reading!

What an amazing 88-day journey!

Reading: Revelation 18:1 – 22:21

Take Away(s):

• The one thing to know about the book of Revelation. So there are videos that go along with the readings and we have been using them in Sunday School each week.  I love the way the teacher summed up the book of Revelation last week: GOD WINS!
• Three song summary Revelation 21-22
  

Soon [Ligertwood]

First and the Last [Houston / Morgan]

Revelation Song [Riddle]

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Bible In 90 Days – Day 87

Reading: Revelation 1:1 – 17:18

Take Away(s):

Only one entry today…

• Revelation 3:15-16. Christ Follower, go to crazylovebook.com, click “Videos”, then watch the Chapter 4 and 5 videos…and be challenged.  If you haven’t read Chan’s Crazy Love – DO!  Powerful and life-changing!

If you’re not really sure what this all means, check this out:

ACK! Running behind on my posts in the Home Stretch!!!

Bible In 90 Days – Day 85

Reading: Hebrews 1:1 – James 3:12

Take Away(s):

• What Does God Look Like. Hebrews 1:3-6. These verses tell us that Jesus is the exact representation of God.  So what does God look like?  We may not have a detailed physical description or picture; but we know from scripture what His true self looks like – based on Jesus: http://tinyurl.com/kqu8of
• Under appreciated. Hebrews 4:12-13.  I fear many Christ Followers don’t grasp the power of the Bible – I know in my journey, I have neglected and under appreciated it.  The past 85 days have reaffirmed this verse – I don’t recall a single day when I didn’t glean something from my readings (even in Leviticus).
• Identification* & Access. Hebrews 4:15-16.  In light of the means by which Jews “accessed” God before Christ came, I think we too often take for granted our unlimited access to the Father…and the means by which it was gained.  God, May I never forget that my immediate access to You was gained by Your willingness to sacrifice Your Son in my place.  The curtain was torn…PRAISE GOD! [*As this verse says, we can only partly identify...we're all scummy sinners.  Christ was the only sinless human.]
• Timely.  Sad, but timely. Hebrews 5:11-14.  A by-product of the second bullet above.  Very convicting…  God, I pray that my desire for knowing more about You would never wain.  I don’t want to be a career, elementary-school Follower!
• Worship. Hebrews 10:24-25.  To me, this verse is key to our worship as Christ Followers.  I love the New Century Version translation of this verse: “Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds.  …you should meet together and encourage each other.”
• Our Perfecter. Hebrews 12:1-2. Perfect Assurance…From our Perfecter
• The Hard Road. James 1:2-4. The road to maturity in Christ isn’t easy…if it were, we wouldn’t need God.
• Get off your backside! James 1:22.  I think some would be content if a life surrendered to God involved simply reading the bible every once in a while, thinking good thoughts about our neighbors, and even helping someone in need occasionally.  We certainly read and hear about those things in church.  I think this verse makes it pretty clear: we need to quit fooling ourselves that reading and listening is all that is needed for the Believer, get off our butts, and and practice what we read and hear!
• Backside, part deux. James 2:17. Listening and reading above…faith without action here.
• Stricterer. James 3:1. As one who teaches at church from time to time (OK, I guess I kinda do on a weekly basis during portions of our Sunday service), this verse makes me nervous.

c

Bible In 90 Days – Day 86

Reading: James 3:13 – Jude

Take Away(s):

• Opposite. James 3:13.  Wisdom and understanding (and knowledge) often result in something other than humility.  Only by the Holy Spirit can we actually combine these – our natural reaction is pride.
• Hybrids are not biblical. James 4:4. This verse smacks the face of an “if it doesn’t hurt anyone else, it OK” mentality that can plague us.  God is holy (set apart) and desires that we be holy also.  One or the other – not a hybrid.
• God’s Will: submit to authorities. 1 Peter 2:13-17.  Another passage that imparts God’s will.  So many times, we ask ourselves what His will is…passages like this make it so easy.  [OK, easy to find...not easy to do!]
• How to get your prayer ignored by God. 1 Peter 3:7. Husbands (Dennis) – if you want God to ignore your prayers, be inconsiderate and disrespectful to the fellow heir in Christ who wears that ring you gave…her…
• Scary Verse. 1 Peter 3:15-16. I think this verse terrifies some…many Christ Followers.  They read it as “have complete and full knowledge of everything in the Bible and be able to answer any possible question that anyone could possibly ask you about God, Jesus, salvation, the Holy Spirit, Heaven, Hell, why bad things happen to good people, etc.” (whew!).  Think about it – it says to be able to give a reason…not fully supported theological explanation (although, as we mature in Christ, that should come.).  I take comfort in the fact that the blind man healed by Jesus, Peter & John, and Paul all basically told people in one way or another that they can’t fully explain their salvation – but Jesus changed them.
• Foundational. 1 John 4:7-12. God loved…we must also.  Impartially, just as He does.
• Saying it ain’t good enough! 1 John 5:2-3. Saying we love God without practicing it (through obeying Him) is contradictory.  This isn’t easy; but, as this passage says, His commands are not a burden…our pride makes them hard, not the command itself.
• Cults and such. Jude 18-19.  The final phrase of verse 19 is the starting point for many cults and even wrong teachings or unbiblical “rules” in the church.  When we put our own spin on God’s word…things go bad.

ACK! Running behind on my posts in the Home Stretch!!!

Bible In 90 Days – Day 82

Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1 – Galatians 3:25

Take Away(s):

• Risen = Rise. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 20-21, 56-57.

• Short, but POWERFUL. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14. A favorite verse…got it posted on my monitor at work as a reminder…it’s deep.
• Pass It On. 2 Corinthians 1:4- 6. Like many blessings and benefits from the Lord, we MUST pass on the comfort that we have so graciously been given.  FYI – the person who we think needs it LEAST, may need it MOST!
• Unveiled. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18. When I read this, I thought about lyrics from two songs:  Soon (Ligertwood) and Come For Me (Hall):

Soon
I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I’ll see Him
There my soul with be satisfied
Soon and very soon

Come For Me
Finally the voice I have followed for life
Has a glorious face that is lit up with light

• New, truly NEW! 2 Corinthians 5:17. New and different…that is what we are in Christ.  I have read this many times, but I read a blog post the other day that gave me a different perspective.  When Jesus is in our life, our natural reactions get messed up – or at least they are supposed to if He is in control and we have truly yielded our lives to Him.  Our old self says, “I want to hate, I want to get even, I want to rebut, I want to have ‘justice’, I want retribution, I want “them to hurt just as much as I do”, I want…”.  Our NEW (Christ-controlled) self says, “Christ has forgiven me and, as much as I don’t want to, I must forgive.”  This is a hard one at times…
• A New Person. Galatians 2:20.  See above.
  

c

Bible In 90 Days – Day 83

Reading: Galatians 3:26 – Colossians 4:18

Take Away(s):

• Not Optional, but… . Galatians 5:22-26.  I think many (including me) like to think that this fruits of the Spirit are a menu of optional behavior…but they are not.  The cool part is that we can’t even scratch the surface of any one of them without God’s help.  We try – even succeed at some (though not on our own) – but we can’t truly possess any of them without the Holy Spirit’s help…power with some People or in some situations!
• We all Love Gifts! Ephesians 2:8-10.  We all love gifts, but the gift of salvation is often hard for people to accept.  We all have baggage – some may be in better shape than others – but we all do.  We think we need to do stuff to make up for our nicked, scuffed, and dented life – BUT WE DON”T.  God gave us the free gift of salvation through the payment of His Son.  Sure we do “stuff” – but it is in response to the gift…not to receive it.  Praise God!
• Work Life. Ephesians 6:5-9. Great passage to ponder for work each day…
• Ill-Equipped. Ephesians 6:13-18.  I think at times I am ill-equipped for stuff.  I need to be conscious of each of these part more.
• Lose the Pedigree. Philippians 3:4-8. In Paul’s day and in his culture – his pedigree was impeccable.  But Christ changed him.  We need to lose our quest for image and status (no matter how “humble we are) and appreciate the gift we’ve received as Christ Followers.
• Timely…and hard. Philippians 4:6-8.  O, the waiting!  We’re adopting (at some point in the near future…please GOD) and are waiting for the “call” – the call that our kids have been located and we’ve been matched!  Until then – we try not to be anxious.
  
• EVERYTHING. Colossians 3:17.  Just like Romans 12:1, this is another favorite verse.  I really like the way it reads in The Message paraphrase, “Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”

x

Bible In 90 Days – Day 84

Reading: I Thessalonians 1:1 – Philemon

Take Away(s):

• God’s Will. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  I really love verses where we see what God’s will is so clearly!
• Posture. 1 Timothy 2:8.  How often is my posture inconsistent with humility in prayer?
• Youth. 1 Timothy 4:12. A call to not let people look down on one’s youth.  I think many neglect the rest of the verse – I mean the section after the “BUT”.  I know I can get an attitude in this area – desiring respect by people who are older than me.  The KEY here is setting “an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”  A tall order…
• Blog. 2 Timothy 2:15. The source for the title of my blog! From my About page: “We traditionally associate the word “workman” with someone’s job. To me, this verse really goes beyond that narrow definition and represents everything in life. My heart’s desire is to be found (most importantly by God, but also by others) as someone who is faithful to the Lord in all that I do; whether it is at home, work, church, with friends, whatever.”
• Speed Reading is NOT Enough. 2 Timothy 4:2. The Bible in 90 Days has been a great experience – I will do it again.  That said, it is not the way to be prepared in and out of season (as this verse instructs).  Purposeful study of God’s Word is the key here.  BIND does have its purpose…