The Bible, Life, Discipline, and Patience
Yeah… it’s been a while… again. You know the drill, Christmas craziness, travelling, and just plain forgetting about the blog (which should be ok). However, I’m amazed that there were actually people looking at this blog even when I wasn’t posting a lick. So… thanks I guess and I hope it’s been beneficial or at least lifted your spirits or something. Anywho…
So, I’ve been reading through the Bible. Big deal right? That’s what Christians are supposed to do! Well… this is kind of a big deal to me because I’m reading straight through the whole thing. Now, don’t take that as a boastful statement. If anything, it comes with a certain level of timidity, insecurity, and embarrassment. You see, the truth is that I have never actually read all the way through the Bible without stopping. I’ve started a hundred times, but usually fell off the wagon somewhere in Chronicles and just skipped back over to the New Testament. I mean sure, I’ve read a lot of the Bible in various studies, but I’m sure I’ve missed some here and there. So… as a guy who’s 28 and in full time ministry, it’s kind of embarrassing that I’m just now persevering through the Book… and let me tell you, it has been slow. To be honest, I don’t remember when I started. I decided not to rush it or give myself a lot of deadlines. However, once I got over the Chronicles hurdle and eventually found myself looking at the Prophets, I did try really hard to get to the NT before Christmas.
It’s been a tough road. I’ve missed days here and there, but fortunately, I kept going. The Prophets were particularly tough… especially for a guy that missed out on prophecy class and didn’t go to seminary! How many times can God tell these folks to get their act together or else?! But alas, I’m in Matthew and it’s like I’m reading it for the first time! The DISCIPLINE of reading through the Old Testament in it’s entirety is paying off! I mean, I knew that Jesus quoted a ton from the OT, but pretty much just grazed over it, not really knowing what it meant or where it was from. But now… wow! I’m like “I’ve seen that before!” It’s amazing how many prophecies were fulfilled when Jesus walked this earth! Even the fact that he would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey was prophesied in Zechariah! That is pretty stinking cool! Over 400 years of silence from the Lord between the Old Testament and the arrival of Jesus and these prophecies nailed it all!
Then, you’ve got these pharisees, these “teachers” of the law who know these scriptures in and out and they’re missing it all! Instead, they stand and pass judgment on those seeking Jesus and try to get in his way! Unbelievable! But then again… how often do I do the same thing?
In closing, I’d like to share an example of how this idea of scripture finally coming to life showed up in my life recently. So, I have a good friend and mentor who had fallen into a sinful situation and lost his position and income because of it. I’ve seen this kind of thing happen before. I mean, you hear about stuff on the news and it’s so easy to say horrible, judgmental things about Christian leaders who make mistakes. It’s like we just want to throw them to the dogs and write them off… but of course, we don’t know them… we just judge from afar. Well… this guy in particular means a lot to me, so I got together with him when I was home for Christmas. Let me tell you something… when you care about someone who has made a mistake and you sit down and look into their eyes and see brokenness, humility, and repentance, the whole game changes. I hurt for him. I wanted to help him… to forgive him… to pray for him and see him restored in some way. It absolutely kills me to hear about other reactions to this guy and others like him… mean, hateful, unloving, unforgiving reactions. But, we’ve all responded that way at some point, haven’t we?
Ok… so back to the scripture. I’m in Matthew now and came across a passage I’ve seen a hundred times in Matthew 7:1-5
“Do no judge or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
This dude is my brother and I have so many planks in my eyes… I can’t judge with anger or hate. I want to judge and respond in love… that’s what I’d want from others if the tables were turned. And you know what… his plank has already been removed! He’s confessed, repented, been broken… the whole nine yards. This process of judging is not necessary… only LOVE and prayer.
Praise the Lord for Scripture that comes alive when we read it and live it! Be patient with His Word! Keep at it… embrace the discipline and watch it come to life before your eyes!
Matt,
Thanks for the transparency. I had trouble trying to read through the entire Bible, too. What helped me was following a 90-Day reading plan. It involved 2-2 1/2 hours of reading a day, but what a blessing it was. I fell behind here and there, but worked hard to get back on track and finish in time.
I know systematic theology and topical studies all have their place in the life of a Christian, however, there is nothing like reading the Bible sequentially. When you get into large sections of Scripture, you see how the Holy Spirit wanted the telling of God’s history of interaction with man to be.
I started on Jan. 1 with my plan to read the Bible in 90 days. I am still on track and am now in Exodus. I love it. I wish you well.
Bobby
Hi Matt, First off it’s an intimidating pursuit but a worthy one, that book is so damn big. Secondly, on the issue of “judging” i’ve had it explained to me in this way. It’s not that we shouldn’t judge at all, but that we are called to be good judges, first judging ourselves and holding ourselves to Jesus’s standard, then we can judge others with humility and love. With Christian leaders i think we need to take a look at how highly we hold these people, we lay to much of the burden of being like jesus on them and off of ourselves, and then we feel cheated when they fail.
Love you man.
Matt-
I think you have hit on something huge. Reading the Bible. Again no brainer right? As someone in Seminary I was struck by my first day of my fifth quarter here in a synoptic gospel class. We have four books on the anthropology of the time, sociological studies of the ancient near eastern cultures, ect.. I have also taken 7 quarters of Hebrew (undergraduate and graduate) and I am in my second quarter of Greek. Now I have four books that will take me about 45-60 hours to read and my professor says “So I want you guys to read the gospels(all of them) four times in the following 10 weeks!”
At first I was like….woah come on! four times? jeez thats a lot….then I stopped and realized that regardless of where we are in life(full-time paid ministry, ministry in the workforce, ministry in the family, seminary) God has called us to be in His word daily. I was convicted that if I am spending all my time reading books and learning to conjugate a greek word but am not deep in the word I have missed the mark.
It goes beyond having more knowledge or even just knowing about the Bible. I forget where I have heard this quote but it goes something like this “We, unlike any generation before us, are the most over-informed generation. We are also maybe the most under-transformed generation.” I may have gotten that wrong…and that is mostly towards the American culture. Anyways….I think we are that way because we aren’t in the scriptures in that daily way where when we are confronted with a hard situation (your example of the friend who has fallen) we realize something about ourselves in that moment. You realized that you had a judgmental view, and instead of explaining it away, you confronted yourself in light of scripture. You were informed for the sake of transformation. You allowed the word of God to transform you.
I love your honesty Matt