Oh how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day. – Psalms 119:97

 

Happy New Year!!  Well, here we are, 2022 is around the corner! Can you believe it?  I am so thankful to God for bringing us all through 2021 up until now.  He is so good and gracious.

With a new year comes new year resolutions. I for one have stopped making resolutions, I now make just tackle things as they come. I have goals that never change ; to study my Bible more and pray more.  The rest I will tackle as they come.

Talking about reading my Bible more, it is sad to note that most Christians would say that God is the most important person in their lives and believe with all their hearts that the Bible is God’s word to man, yet they have never taken the time to read through the whole Bible. Life is busy and will always be busy till we die, we should approach Bible study the same way we approach other things that are important in our lives – make time for it.

if you have never read through the whole Bible and would like to  or perhaps through just the New Testament and you’re wondering how to do so, I plan to share a list of Bible reading plans with you courtesy of Ligonier Ministries.   Here they are:

 

52 Week Bible Reading Plan

Read through the Bible in a year with each day of the week dedicated to a different genre: epistles, the law, history, Psalms, poetry, prophecy, and Gospels.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

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5x5x5 New Testament Bible Reading Plan

Read through the New Testament in a year, reading Monday to Friday. Weekends are set aside for reflection and other reading. Especially beneficial if you’re new to a daily discipline of Bible reading.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

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A Bible Reading Chart

Read through the Bible at your own pace. Use this minimalistic yet beautifully designed chart to track your reading throughout the year.

Duration: Flexible | Download: PDF

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Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Read through the Bible in the order the events occurred chronologically.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

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The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan

Four daily readings beginning in Genesis, Psalms, Matthew and Acts.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

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The Discipleship Journal Book-at-a-Time Bible Reading Plan

Two daily readings, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. Complete an entire book in each testament before moving on.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

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ESV Daily Bible Reading Plan

Four daily readings taken from four lists: Psalms and wisdom literature, Pentateuch and history of Israel, Chronicles and prophets, and Gospels and epistles.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

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Every Word in the Bible

Read through the Bible one chapter at a time. Readings alternate between the Old and New Testaments.

Duration: Three years | Download: PDF

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Historical Bible Reading Plan

The Old Testament readings are similar to Israel’s Hebrew Bible, and the New Testament readings are an attempt to follow the order in which the books were authored.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

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An In Depth Study of Matthew

A year-long study in the Gospel of Matthew from Tabletalk magazine and R.C. Sproul.

Duration: One year | App: Accessible on YouVersion. Download the app.

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Bible In A Year

This plan takes you through the entire Bible with two readings each day: one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament.

Duration: One year | App: Accessible on YouVersion. Download the app.

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Professor Grant Horner’s Bible Reading System

Reading ten chapters a day, in the course of a year you’ll read the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters four to five times, the Old Testament wisdom literature six times, the Psalms at least twice, Proverbs and Acts a dozen times, and the Old Testament history and prophetic books about one and a half times.

Duration: Ongoing | Download: PDF

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Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan

Read the New Testament and Psalms twice and the Old Testament once.

Duration: One or two years | Download: Website

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Straight Through the Bible Reading Plan

Read straight through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

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Tabletalk Bible Reading Plan

Two readings each day, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament. You can also follow the Tabletalk reading plan through the Ligonier app.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

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The Legacy Reading Plan

This plan does not have set readings for each day. Instead, it has set books for each month and a set number of Proverbs and Psalms for each week. It aims to give you more flexibility while grounding you in specific books of the Bible.

Duration: One year | Download: PDF

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Two-Year Bible Reading Plan

Read the Old and New Testaments once and Psalms and Proverbs four times.

Duration: Two years | Download: PDF

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Bible Reading Plan Generator

Still can’t find a plan that works for you? Generate your own.

Duration: You decide | Online: Bible Reading Plan Generator

Soli Deo Gloria!

 

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  – Matthew 2:1-2

The Christmas story will not be complete without mentioning the wise men who came from East, seeking the new born King.  One of biggest myths in the Christmas story is that they were three in number.  We even have a Christmas carol that begins with the words “we three kings of orient..”.  However, the Bible never tells us how many they were. They did give three gifts – gold, frankincense & myrrh, but we don’t know if they were three or more men in the group.

Another  myth we often read or see in Christmas cards / paintings is that they went to see Jesus in the stable.  The Bible never says that either.  Matthew 2:10-11 tells us that after they left Herod, they saw the star again which led to the “house” where the child was. Matthew 2:11 – “And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (emphasis mine). Jesus was already at home when the wise men found Him.  He also was not a baby anymore, He was a “child”, not a babe. Some scholars say Jesus might have been around 2yrs old here.

The most interesting thing about the wise men is that they were not Jews.  They did not live in Jerusalem, they were not Scribes or Pharisees. Some have said they were probably astrologers, maybe so. Whoever or what ever they were, they knew something about a coming Messiah and when they got the sign that He was here, they went in search of Him.  They did not go searching to see what He might look like, they did not go to request healing for themselves or their loved ones,  they did not go to get something out of Him, but they went in search of Him to give Him gifts and to worship Him.  When they saw the child Christ, they fell down and worshiped Him.  Amazing!

One would have thought that if anyone would be eager to find the Messiah to worship Him, it would have been those Scribes and Pharisees who were so conversant with the scriptures, but not so.  Even after the wise men told them that they had seen the star of the Messiah, the Scribes and Pharisees were not in anyway curious to go find out if it was true. They did not rush to Bethlehem to go find out about this king.  How sad.  While they knew all the scriptures about the coming Christ intellectually in their heads, their hearts were far from Him.  While it is good and commendable even by scripture to study and come to the knowledge of the Truth, that knowledge should lead to a transformed heart. 

 

 They did not go searching to see what He might look like, they did not go to request healing for themselves or their loved ones,  they did not go to get something out of Him, but they went in search of Him to give Him gifts and to worship Him.  When they saw the child Christ, they fell down and worshiped Him.  Amazing!

 

From a human standpoint, the Scribes and Pharisees would seem to be the wise ones since they knew most, if not all the scriptures about Christ in their head. However, they were the foolish ones, for while they knew about Messiah intellectually, they had no relationship with Him. They did not desire to see Him, nor worship Him.  They are like the idolators in Romans 1:22 – Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

In today’s world, most have heard about Jesus and know something about Him intellectually, but most do not really know Him intimately from their heart.  It does not have to be that way.  If you don’t know Christ as your personal savior and Lord, you can today.

The reason He was born was to glorify the Father by saving His people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 – She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”.   Humble yourself today like the wise men from the East, reject your foolish ways and be wise.  Repent of your sins, ask Him to forgive you and receive you to Himself.  He has promised that He will receive you. John 1:12 – But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

 

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

 

Isaiah 2: 2-5

It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,

 

and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

 

He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.

 

O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the LORD.

December Advent is 25 day devotional in December designed to focus our heart and mind on the true meaning of Christmas.

This Advent bible reading plan kicks off on December 1 and takes you through to Christmas Eve on December 24. It also includes readings for the four Sundays of Advent. Save this picture to your phone or print it out to use as a resource throughout Advent.

Drawing from both Old and New Testaments, these readings are aimed to help us remember the promises God has made to come to his people and establish his kingdom:

• Week 1: Isaiah’s prophecies
• Week 2: The Epistles on God’s Kingdom and the return of Christ
• Week 3: Some other Old Testament prophecies
• Week 4: God’s kingdom about to arrive…!

May we cling fast to these promises this Advent!