As you all probably know, I love a good book on theology. I've been soaking up the teachings of Piper lately and experiencing such joy and conviction at his feet. Piper, however, is not Christ. I was reminded and somewhat convicted that I'd rather turn to a book ABOUT the Gospel than the Good News itself. This is not new, nor is it unique to me. In fact, what brought my excitement momentarily crashing down around my ears was this quote by Luther:
"The writings of all the holy fathers should be read only for a time, in order that through them we may be led to the Holy Scriptures. As it is, however, we read them only to be absorbed in them and never come to the Scriptures. We are like men who study the sign-posts and never travel the road. The dear fathers wished by their writing, to lead us to the Scriptures, but we so use them as to be led away from the Scriptures, though the Scriptures alone are our vineyard in which we ought all to work and toil"
Even Luther, whom I consider one of the fathers of the church said that we should not dwell too deeply nor too often on the works of mortal man. Instead we must turn our greatest, dearest, most driven, seeking and passionate focus to the inspired word of God. Lest you think I'm entirely giving up on theology books, I continued to read my lunchtime selection The Legacy of Sovereign Joy (if you haven't read it, put it at the TOP of your list -- it's excellent and it's FREE -- downloadable here: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/online-books/the-legacy-of-sovereign-joy -- you'll also find your reading list explode as mine did...but what drew me to this book was a recent conversation about sovereignty and joy with a newfound friend. More on that another day).
Luther, at another time, iterates once again that"
"In truth you cannot read too much in Scripture; and what you read you cannot read too carefully, and what you read carefully you cannot understand too well, and what you understand well you cannot teach too well, and what you teach well you cannot live too well. . . . The devil . . .the world . . . and our flesh are raging and raving against us. Therefore...pray, read, study, be diligent. . . ."
This was specifically written to pastors, but I feel this applies to every Christian, no matter how nominal in their faith. In fact, I dare you lukewarm, so-so, sometimes devotional doing Christians to follow his words for 30 days and see if you don't see an explosion of faith, hope, and joy in your life! Beware, though, when you begin to see God as sovereign you must also see yourself as the very antithesis of such power. Low, powerless, ugly, sinful, depraved, perverted...the list goes on. Our best efforts are but filthy rags, but oh there is SUCH HOPE! Dig into the Word and you will find that God, through the blood of His son, wants to graciously clothe us in pure white linen, so that we can be presented BLAMELESS AND RIGHTEOUS! Who doesn't desire these things? Only those too afraid of first seeing themselves as the sinners they are. I digress.
Back to the subject at hand and another quote, this time from John Piper: "We are not Luther and could never be, no matter how hard we tried. But the point here is: Do we work at our studies with rigor and diligence or are we slothful and casual about it, as if nothing really great is at stake?"
Wow. I am officially convicted. My action plan (and yours, should you choose to accept it) is to commit to 10 chapters a day using Professor G. Horner's reading plan. It's 10 a day, but it's 10 different books! Ten glimpses into who God is, why we are here, what the Gospel is all about. I've done this program before, but never with the commitment that comes from making a profession that I WILL follow through. It's amazing to see the intertwining and overlapping of Scripture. I won't plague you with more quotes here, but please if you think I'm nuts or you think you're interested (seriously, BOTH camps) go check out his website and his reasoning: it's solid! http://www.willowbendchurch.org/docs/ReadingPlan_HornerSystem1.pdf
So I'm taking 30 days to make a habit! My first hour of the day will be devoted to 10 chapters in the Word! If I can't get through all 10, that will be my top priority until I've completed it each day: Before tv, errands, friends, phone calls, FACEBOOK, e-mail... First priority until it's done each day.
Let me know if you're up for the challenge and we can keep each other accountable! I'll try to post here more often as I go through the 30 days and beyond! I plan to stick with this, but 30 days seems like a doable jumpstart to my system. I'd love to know I'm not alone in this journey. Love you all, dear friends!
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