Monday, July 2, 2012

July 2012 Goals

I was very pleased to meet my June goal of reading the book of Revelation thirty times in June!!! It was much harder than reading 1 John 30 days in a row! But I think it was very rewarding. And I am so glad I stuck with it--there were a few days I just didn't feel like reading it again. But I think Revelation is a GREAT big picture book. While, I wouldn't say you're guaranteed to notice something new each and every time, you'd be surprised by how much "new" you do notice. How little details come to life, perhaps, as you realize how it all fits. I love it because it is a great book showcasing God's glory and majesty. It is a book full of PROMISE and HOPE. It is a very black-and-white book, meaning, that you see there are only two divisions: the saints (overcomers, conquerers, the elect, children of God, the bride of Christ) and the unbelievers--those who persist in their sins, who choose the world and the world's pleasure over knowing and loving God, those who no matter what refuse to believe in God. We get glimpses of heaven and hell. This is a life-and-death book that demands attention and respect.

So do I have a goal for July?! Yes. My Bible-reading goal is to read 10 to 15 chapters a day--which should be about 70 chapters a week. I hope to read a balance of Old Testament and New Testament. I would love to finish the New Testament this month since I didn't finish it in June. I'm not sure which translation I'll be focusing on this month, I may have one or two that I "focus" on more than others, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a little variety.

I am also going to do something VERY SCARY. I am going to commit to reading 50 PAGES of theology a day. That is a round-figure. If I'm at the end of a chapter and lack three or four pages of reaching 50, I'm not necessarily going to start the next chapter--of course, that would depend on how long the chapters in a book were. Likewise, if I've reached my 50 page goal but my chapter only lacks five or six pages--I'm going to keep reading.

The first book I'll be reading is a newly published edition of CHARITY AND ITS FRUITS: Living in the Light of God's Love by Jonathan Edwards. It is edited by Kyle Strobel and published by Crossway. It is around 350 pages--and I'm 92 pages into it! If all goes well, I hope to finish it this week! If all doesn't go well, I really, really need to have it finished by next week!

I'm not sure the next book qualifies as theology--but, it is certainly still nonfiction, but, I NEED to read Roger Thurow's The Last Hunger Season. The due date for this one is July 20, 2012! Another nonfiction book with a due date is Linda Evans Shepherd's When You Need a Miracle: How To Ask God for the Impossible.

As for reading from my own towering stack of theology--I'd LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to read some Martyn Lloyd Jones, A.W. Pink, A.W. Tozer, Charles Spurgeon, J.C. Ryle. And maybe, maybe some John Piper and John MacArthur!!!

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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