Ignorant Historian

Okay, so the title sounds a little dramatic, but it’s so true.  30 days ago I started reading my Bible in a way new to me.  I’m absolutely loving it, and now I want to convert you.

Before you get all in a tizzy, I don’t think that everyone should read the Bible on a particular plan.  I’m a big fan of trying to read the Bible in a year, but how you get there (and when you need to focus on particular passages instead) I leave up to you.

My previous Bible-reading plan was to read 3 chapters of the Old Testament and 3 chapters of the New Testament.  Or at least that’s what I did the 10% of the time that I would complete it.  Usually, I’d sadly settle for reading a chapter or two.   As much as I read man’s word, I knew that this was unacceptable.  Reading the Bible is necessary and I wanted to, but books like Leviticus and Isaiah would often make it difficult.

I agree with David Platt that it’s more important for me to read even a book like Leviticus than to read the mere words of man, but it was hard to put in practice.

In my browsing Challies.com for a new book to read (yes, I see the irony), I found the post where he talked about Professor Horner’s Bible-Reading System.

I don’t like the “system” name, but for lack of a better one, I’ll go with it.

Basically, the idea is that you read 10 chapters a day.  But unlike my previous plan, each chapter comes from a different book.  Some books get read more than others (like Proverbs, Acts, the gospels, and the letters) and some get read less (like the prophets).

On any given day, you’re reading one chapter of: the gospels, the Pentateuch, 2 letters, a book of wisdom, Proverbs, Psalms, Old Testament history, a prophet, and Acts.

How does that work out in my life?  In the past 30 days I’ve read:

23 chapters of Numbers
18 chapters of Joshua
19 chapters of Job
19 Psalms
19 chapters of Proverbs
18 chapters of Isaiah
22 chapters of Matthew
18 chapters of Acts
2 chapters of 1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
2 chapters of Ephesians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus

That’s 199 chapters…more than 1/6 of the Bible.  And that’s being FAR from perfect.  In fact, if this was for a grade, I’d barely pass at reading only 2/3 of the “required” reading.

But that’s what’s awesome.  Being imperfect, I’ve only read 199 chapters.  If I had read according to my old plan, I’d have read 180 chapters…if I was perfect.   And I’ll tell you that I was far less on track in my reading before.

I still think that you should read all your Bible regularly, however you choose to do that.  But may I recommend this method?  It’s easy to tweak, and I promise, it’s easier to keep track of than it seems.

I’ll never go back.

*Note: If you start comparing what I’ve said I read to the system, you’ll notice I started lists 2 and 4 in different spots, as that was where I was already in my Bible reading, so I started there.

Photo by Josh Liba

I’m a disciplined person.  Ironically, I wrote a post on this subject with the exact same first line a year ago today, but I promise I’m going somewhere else with it today.  (Though as I re-read through that post, it’s oddly fitting.  I’d like to think that more has changed than just the disappearance of that pile of shoes!)

I like to be on top of the various parts of my life.  I like to have a neat, clean apartment.  I like to be a good curriculumer (yes, I also like to believe I can make up words) and teacher.  I like to be a good whatever-you-wanna-call-me at work.  I like to be a good friend.  I like to be a good blogger.

Yet it’s incredibly difficult, nigh impossible, to keep up with each of these things all at once.  It feels like balancing plates, or whack-a-mole, or trying to stop up a leak.  Sometimes my analytical mind wishes that I had a computer program that knew exactly the weight and timeliness of each task and would put them in order, and I could just do the the next thing on the list.  That way, even if not everything was done, the most important things would be.  I just haven’t been able to create an efficient way of knowing how to put everything exactly in it’s place.

But really, this isn’t as difficult as I make it out to be.  Though I might want to be perfect at everything, it’s likely not what God has for me.  He promises wisdom if I ask for it.  I believe that I simply take the time to ask Him for wisdom about my schedule and the tasks before me, He will grant it.

So my question (for myself): When was the last time I asked?

Photo by sunlightfoundation

I hinted at this post in the comments section a couple of weeks ago, but now I’m diving in.

I don’t like the adjective “Christian.”

[Take a deep breath.]

No, I’m not one of those who wants to throw out the term “Christian” altogether.  It’s in the Bible, and I think it’s a great term.  Sure it’s been misused, and that’s why I often identify myself as a “follower of Christ,” but I don’t think we should give it up.  After all who wouldn’t want to be called after the name of their Lord and Savior?

I just wish that we wouldn’t use it as an adjective, or at least not use it so indiscriminately.  For those who hate grammar, I’m saying that I’m fine with sentences like “He is a Christian” but don’t like phrases that begin with “Christian”: Christian music, Christian fiction, Christian bookstores, etc.

There’s two major problems I’ve seen with using “Christian” this way.  First of all–and most seriously–we risk labeling something Christian that is not godly, or at least that we haven’t taken the time to determine if it is godly.  Here are a couple quotes that I think bring this point home:

“The danger of labeling things ‘Christian’ is that it can lead to our blindly consuming things we have been told are safe and acceptable.  When we turn off this discernment radar, dangerous things can happen.” – Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, p. 86

“In short, we are easily deceived by cultural values painted in Christian veneers (or clothed in Isaiah 40:31 T-shirts).” – “The Gospel and the Gosselins” by Julie Vermeer Elliott in Christianity Today

Just because something is labeled “Christian,” does not mean it is in line with the teachings of that term’s namesake.  I’ve read many a Christian book, heard many a Christian song, watched many a Christian video (okay, only a few, because I haven’t seen that many) that has made me cringe because of the poor teaching it was presenting, everything from the misguided to the blasphemous.

As a Christian, I’m called to be discerning in every choice I make, from the type of entertainment I imbibe to the type of thoughts I intake and make my own.  In a way, God’s asking that we never turn off our brains.  Every moment requires active attention.  We should be asking questions like,

What is this author really saying?

How do these lyrics affect my view of myself, others, and God?

What view of the Word of God does this video present?

While many Christians are quick to point out that which clearly is not biblical (e.g. Playboy or Phillip Pullman’s novels), we forget that the most dangerous untruths often present themselves as half-truths.  Things that present themselves in Christian clothing often demand the most scrutiny.

So that’s the first danger, passively taking in as good that which we haven’t determined that is good.  Secondly, we risk labeling something Christian that  is simply of poor quality. 

This is clearly the less substantial danger of the two, but it’s something to consider.  Let’s face it, your average piece of “Christian fiction” is of lower quality than your average piece of fiction.  There’s a big market for things with the word “Christian” on them, and publishers and companies are more than willing to cater to the demand if it’ll gain them an extra buck or two.  Sure, there’s some good stuff out there with the “Christian” label, but it’s not all good.  By allowing this stuff to masquerade around as “Christian” we’re allowing the world to continue to view us stereotypically as uneducated simpletons.

I’m not seeking to throw out the baby with the bath water, but I am urging my fellow Christians to be discerning.  If you’d like a great resource on where to get started, I couldn’t recommend something better than Tim Challies’s The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment.  It’s not a book of rules, but rather a look at what the Bible has to say about discernment.

Before I go any further, I want to say:

Happy Birthday, Amanda!  I’m so glad that you’re joining our family.  I hope this next year will be filled with happiness and delights!

Summer may just be my favorite season.  As far as weather goes, it’s hard to beat warm weather for its flip-flop-wearing and jacket-neglecting properties.  Sure it can be sweaty too, but I don’t mind it that much, because cool showers in the summer are enjoyable, too.

The good thing about being a student? (Okay, there’s several good things.)  I can decide when summer begins.

Every year, summer beings the moment I walk out of the test or turn in the last paper or project.  Since I have no classes, papers, or projects (or at least none of the educational kind), I decide when summer begins.  Of course, I can’t make the weather cooperate (though it has…it’s been 90s for a few days now!), but I can ACT like it’s summer, right?

So, with that, I’ve decided that summer starts this week.  I’m reseting my habits and recommiting to my goals.  I’ve let good things slip and let bad habits in, so I’m working on reversing that.  I’m working on these things because they’re for my good.  When I let them slip, I become self-indulgent which is a horrible way for a Christian to live.  How can I put Christ and others before myself if I’m constantly serving myself?

And because I know you’ll ask, here’s what I’m working on:

1.  Not eating out unless my schedule absolutely dictates it.  I’ve slipped up in this area a lot recently, and it begets a pattern of laziness and self-indulgence.

2.  Getting back into my nightly reading.  I still have been reading, but it’s just been fun stuff.

3.  Putting in serious time in the Word and prayer.  Hate to say that this has been neglected lately.

4.  Watching TV less.  A friend recently fixed our Internet, and I’ve been overloading on watching TV online.  Of course, this directly leads to #2.

5.  Exercise.  I still haven’t made it back to the pool (if you look closely, my legs resemble a forest right now), but I want to at least get in a walk around our neighborhood in the evenings.

I’m hosting a giveaway over on the Book Nook Club…check it out!

I wrote this post yesterday, September 2. This will give you a hint of what I think about during class…

3:44 PM I’ve decided to paper-blog (poor man’s live-blogging) my 6 hours of class today with one professor. Because of the nature of my first class today, we only meet 4 times in the semester, but have 2 professors, so this is the only week that I have the same prof for 6 hours straight. For that I am grateful.

My prof said that spiritual formation is one of the main topics of this course. It gives me a chuckle that this subject is only now being addressed specifically, the 7th semester of my seminary career. Of course, it’s assumed that you’re plugged into a church and getting this.

4:12 PM This morning as I was driving to work, I got my breakfast on my shirt. I really should always have an extra shirt in my car as I feel very self-conscious about having a stain drawing attention to my, umm, top, when I go to my almost-all-guy-class. Fortunately, the classroom is cold enough for me to wear my woolly sweater that keeps the stain under control.

4:43 PM The topic of this lecture is spiritual disciplines. In all seriousness, there are many areas where I need to grow. The more I let myself go in one area (time, money, exercise, eating, Scripture intake) the more I struggle with others. When I step it up in one, I desire to improve in others. I’ve decided that I am fed up with my debt so I’m going to follow the advice of my personal finance textbook (for work) and Clark Howard and write down every penny I’m spending for the month of September. Spiritually, prayer is the area I’ll be focusing on right now.

5:32 PM Whoa, I’m really struggling here. I’ve doodled a bunch is [sic] the margin, but I’m still struggling.

6:43 PM First class down, one more to go. Now we’re talking about modernity (philosophically), a topic I enjoy (nerd alert!).

7:07 PM I didn’t think ahead and forgot to pack a snack. I also didn’t realize that I only had $1.30 on me (and about a dozen pennies). I had to decide between a Diet Dr. Pepper and something to eat. My tummy was rumbling, so I chose a snack: chocolate donuts. Even after that my tummy rumbles (why? I ate lunch at 3) so I’ll be breaking out leftover M&Ms here in a bit. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m available for health talks to your children.

7:46 PM My back is doing better. It aches a normal backache, not a disabling backache. I need to be careful and work on what I assume is a contributing factor (the extra weight I’m carrying around). I’ll pretend not to see the irony in that I’m chomping down on M&Ms. I’m hungry, k?

8:02 PM I tried to get a drink from the water fountain during break. It’s a difficult machine to drink from. Why? Because it’s lefty. I just can’t figure out how to put my head. I guess some things I do want right (desks are another).

8:17 PM Talking about evangelism (the subject of the class) makes me sad. There are people that I know and love that, as far as I know, are heading towards hell. Talking about the gospel isn’t always pleasant. Yes, it IS good news, but only to those who choose to trust in Jesus Christ and His work on their behalf.

8:29 PM When I see green and yellow M&Ms next to each other, I think of lemon-lime. I’m glad that they don’t taste like that.

I think I’m bleeding purple. Why is it I’m always writing on myself? The mark on my middle finger even looks like a nasty cut.

8:55 PM Class is almost over, I think. Our prof gave a hint that we’re on the last definition. Hopefully that’s the last of the night.

I’m a disciplined person. I don’t say that in a self-promoting way, as will be obvious as you continue on in this post.

I’m always the person that gets their reading done. I turn in my papers on time, if not early. If I promised to do something, I do it. I remember to follow up with someone if there was something that needs following up. I dedicate two hours of my day for reading and read across several disciplines. I’m organized and can find what I need at any given moment.

At least most of the time. While these things are mostly true, these all happen with a little bit of outside pressure, usually from school. I can be a self-motivator, but most of time without that outside pressure, I’m lazy and lose motivation. It just becomes easier to put the hard stuff aside for the pursuit of my own pleasures. Who wouldn’t rather watch a movie than read an academic book? Who wouldn’t rather sit down with a bowl of ice cream rather than finishing up the last necessary tasks for school?

That’s exactly how it’s been the last week. I’m on my break between my summer class and my fall classes (they start Thursday), and I’ve done next to nothing. The dishwasher is only half-emptied. There’s a bag of groceries still on my table. Until yesterday, a pile of shoes was growing on my floor where I slip them off when I come home. The curriculum I’m to be writing for church is barely started, and my work at work is piling up. The books I want to read sit untouched next to my reading chair. My desire to go to the pool and swim laps has increased since watching the Olympic swimmers, but that hasn’t actually motivated me enough to put in the time and effort.

Sure, it’s okay to take a break. They’re necessary. But is my I-can-do-it-later attitude during my break going to characterize my life when I no longer have the pressure of school? Does school act like a girdle, holding the body in proper shape? When I’m not a student any longer, will my life be scattered, unorganized, and unsightly? Or does school act like a jello mold, allowing life to set in an appetizing and usuable way?

This is just something I’ve noticed about me, and it’s not too pretty. While my life shouldn’t be ruled by my self-imposed regulations and goals, that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be there to guide me.