Still organizing

I set up my blog and designed a plan for how I would proceed. I researched online the pastor's site that suggested this process and did not find his specific reading plan that takes you through the whole bible in one year. What I've decided since I've done the full Bible and I've done the New Testament twice, I will try another reading plan from my study Bible. As I recall, there is a plan that focuses on Jesus and getting to know his life. There are others that hit every book, but not every chapter, and yet others that cover all the big stories. All of them sound good, but I think I'll focus on Jesus first - good place for Him. I have not pulled it out yet, however. I will organize this today or tomorrow so that I do not need to carry my bible with me when I travel or if I find the time, away from home, to do my study - over my lunch hour, for example. Taking action feels good.

Dear Lord, May this structure I'm applying to my Bible study glorify you and please help me to see what it is each time I study that you have for me in the Word. In Jesus' name, Amen.

SOAP

I was inspired by a pastor this past week to start studying the bible differently. He said you need 4 things: A Bible, A Pen, A Reading Plan, and a Journal. He said that in the journal one should record the Scripture read that day, Observations about the reading, Applications intended to be employed, and a Prayer to have successful internalization of the scripture.

I loved that he talked about the Holy Spirit preparing you for what you will face in upcoming weeks by what comes out of your reading now.

This is my journal. I don't need the pen so much, because I'll be typing in my blog journal. The bible I intend to use is the online NIV bible at BibleGateway.com. I hope to be able to transfer my reading selection for the day over to my blog; read it; and then journal my observations, applications, and prayers associated with it. I plan to use labels when publishing so that when I want to review areas or pull scripture resources together for a topic, I can use the labels.

This is an example of the format to be used, including the full text of the specific chapter or passage of the Bible (shown in italics).

Scripture

Matthew 1
The Genealogy of Jesus
1A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,
7Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[a] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Eliud,
15Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.[b]

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins."

22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[d]—which means, "God with us."

24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Observations

I never really understood the need for all the lists for the geneaology until recently when it was made clear to me, at Forefront, that these things were very important because Jesus fulfilled prophesy from the Old Testament associated with this particular lineage. He also fulfilled prophesy with regard to his virgin birth, etc. I understand that there are many such prophesies in the old testament and that Jesus fulfills all of them, by which God intended for people to be able to recognize His son as the Messiah.

Application

Today, I begin to journal, label, and learn about the fulfillment of Prophesy - linking the predictions from the Old Testament to the connections in the New Testament.

Prayer
Dear Lord, Help me to be a faithful follower and to develop the knowledge and the confidence to share Your Word with those who have yet to accept the gift of salvation. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.