Gifts you did not earn: thoughts on Deuteronomy 6

The first chapter in my plan to meditate on scripture is Deuteronomy 6. The gist of the passage is that the people of Israel are being reminded of the law before they enter the Promised land after 40 years of wandering in the desert. For several days I read through the chapter multiple times using different versions: New Living Translation, NASB, Amplified Bible, etc.

A few years ago Larry Warner taught me to meditate on scripture by reading a passage and then identifying the portions that I felt resistance to or that I felt particularly drawn to. Through this technique, I’ve seen God use scripture to radically transform my perspective of who He is, who I am and who others are. As a teenager I was actively involved in inductive Bible studies through Precept ministries. One of my favorite techniques from those studies was (and still is) identifying keywords and themes that repeat throughout a passage. As I mentioned recently, my perspective on the Gospel has been radically changed as a result of several books written by Elise Fitzpatrick. She challenges readers to look at passages in terms of who God is instead of what we’re supposed to do. One thing she said has stuck with me. The paraphrase is: in our quest for godliness have we left God behind?

So I’ve started my reading/meditation with these 3 things in mind: looking for what a passage says about God instead of just identifying “action items,” looking for keywords, and listening for what resonated in my soul (whether positive or negative).

And what stuck out to me was the phrase “which you did not” in verses 10-12: “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you, with great and goodly cities which you did not build, And houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and cisterns hewn out which you did not hew, and vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and when you eat and are full, Then beware lest you forget the Lord, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

As the Old Testament story continues it is clear that the Israelites did in fact forget the God that gave them all these things that they did not build, fill, hew or plant. Which made me wonder why God gave them these things since they simply took for granted. Why does He graciously give any of us anything? Day after day He gives me things that I did not work for; He has graciously provided job after job that I didn’t apply for, He has brought so many mentors into my life, He has provided not one, but two families, to allow me to live with them rent-free during tough times. My life is filled with things that I have been given that I did not earn. I am afraid that I will forget the Lord. I also proudly think, “there’s no way I could forget who He is and what He’s done.”

And that’s where it became apparent how quickly I take a portion of scripture and drill straight into action items. (i.e. I need to make sure I don’t forget the Lord.) What does this say about the Lord? He gives abundantly. He fulfills His promises (Deut 6:23).

What do you think? What has God given you that you did not earn?

Bible study plan for 2013

For 2013 I’ve decided to take a different approach to Bible study and daily devotionals. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started down the “read the Bible in a year” route. I’ve read 60-80% of the Bible many times over the years. But some of those minor prophets? I’m not sure I’ve read them at all. It’s always the same story: fervent commitment for a few months (sometimes even half a year) and then somewhere something happens and I get behind. One year I think my attempt to read the whole Bible carried over to about 18-months before I started a different “system.”

I’m a system person – I’m always coming up with a better system to accomplish things. The problem is I’m not a good maintainer. I hate doing the same thing day-in and day-out. The drudgery really gets me down. I guess it makes sense that this would affect the way I do Bible study.

Now that I work at a company that creates software for Bible study, it seems fitting that I renew my commitment to the activity. But I wanted to come up with a more realistic plan/goal for myself. As I mentioned in this post, I’ve recently found that meditating on an entire chapter has been really encouraging to me. So, for 2013, I’ve done a little research and picked 38 chapters I’d like to meditate on.

Why 38? Well, I decided that 52 (a chapter per week) was not realistic. There is a 100% chance that I will fall off the wagon a few times during the year. There’s also a chance that I’ll want to meditate on a chapter for more than a week. I also didn’t want to pick anything that made it feel like the plan was set in stone (i.e. no 1 chapter every 2 weeks, or 3 chapters a month, etc.). That type of rigidity freaks me out because I feel obligated to stick with it. I’m not even committing to read all of them in a year or at all. It’s amazing how that type of freedom is so invigorating to me.

How did I pick my 38 chapters? Well, I did some Google searching and compared the results. Ultimately I chose to study all the chapters listed in the table of contents for Spurgeon’s Commentary on Great Chapters in the Bible, plus some recommendations from these blogs: Bahula.ca, Codex Markianus, and Ekklesia. I’ve really wanted to dig into some of the prophetic books, so a good chunk of what I chose came from those books.

  • Deuteronomy 6
  • Matthew 5-7
  • Isaiah 6-7
  • John 1
  • Isaiah 14
  • Psalm 23
  • Isaiah 35
  • John 14
  • Isaiah 40
  • Psalm 51
  • John 15
  • Isaiah 52
  • John 17
  • Isaiah 53
  • Acts 2
  • Isaiah 55
  • Psalm 199
  • Jeremiah 18
  • Romans 8
  • Jeremiah 31
  • 1 Corinthians 15
  • Lamentations 3
  • Psalm 139
  • Ephesians 1
  • Ezekiel 8
  • Colossians 1
  • Ezekiel 10
  • Ezekiel 33
  • Psalm 103
  • Hosea 14
  • Daniel 9
  • Psalm 22
  • Zechariah 14
  • Hebrews 11
  • Malachi 4

 

Lead me in the way everlasting

My heart cries: lead me in the way everlasting;
the everlasting way of the Lord.

You are everlasting
and your way is eternal.
The flowers may fade
but Your Word remains.
Lead me Your everlasting way;

The way of the Lord
Is illuminated by
the light of the Word.
Light of the World
Lead me in your everlasting way

You have searched me and known me;
You know me intimately.
You embroidered me together
with colors too wonderful to imagine–
with detailed thoughts of how
my way would overlap with Yours.

Lead me in the way everlasting;
the everlasting way of the Lord.

You works are wonderful.
Inspi’ring deep awe and praise.
Your ways are too much for me
to know.

How good it is to taste
the goodness of the Lord.
Like the sweetest candy
or the freshest water.

Lead me in the way everlasting;
the everlasting way of the Lord.

Inspired by: Ps 139 (Amplified version), Isaiah 40:8, Psalm 119:105, Psalm 34:8. John 8:12.