Welcome to the 2018-2019 Daily Bible Reading Journal!
This year's journal begins on October 6th, 2018. If you are interested, we welcome you to join our Facebook group - click here. (Please note, you will need a Facebook account to join this group.)
The daily readings in this Bible reading journal are scheduled to coincide with:
1) The Torah Portions read each Sabbath. The first five books of the Bible are known as the Torah. The Torah is traditionally divided into 54 portions. When you read the Torah Portion in this schedule, you participate with multitudes of people throughout the world in reading that same passage. The Torah Portions are read over the course of a year, beginning just after Sukkot (also known as the Feast of Tabernacles) and are read each Sabbath until completed one year later.
2) The rest of the Bible on the days remaining in the week, beginning with the book of Joshua. This schedule strives for a flow of thought and context while accenting the important Biblical events and days:
• Proverbs at the start of the Gregorian New Year
• Esther at Purim
• Matthew, Mark, Luke and John at the approach of Passover
• Song of Songs on the Sabbath during the Feast of Passover
• Psalms during the 50 days between Passover and Pentecost (the counting of the Omer)
• Ruth on the Day of Pentecost
• Acts after the Day of Pentecost, continuing with the writings of the apostles
• Jonah on the Day of Atonement
• The Later Prophets as the Feast of Ingathering approaches
• Ecclesiastes during Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles)
It is written in Scripture that if we seek the LORD - if we search for Him with all our heart, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:23). We are instructed to trust in the LORD with all our heart and not lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). We are exhorted to love the LORD with all our heart, soul and might (Deuteronomy 6:5), which is the greatest commandment; and to love others as ourselves, which is the second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36-40).
The intent of this Daily Bible Reading Journal is first of all to provide us a tool for seeking the LORD so that we can come to know and trust and love Him and so that we might write His Words on our hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10) as we read and journal the Scripture each year. And secondly, it is to assist us in partaking of daily spiritual bread - the sustenance for eternal life (Matthew 4:4, 1 Peter 3:25).
May this Daily Bible Reading Journal be a blessing to you. And as you journal each day, may you be blessed with eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart that understands.
The LORD bless you, and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26).
*New American Standard Bible* used in text of Daily Bible Reading Journal
2018-2019 Daily Bible Reading Journal DOWNLOAD
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The beauty of journaling the Scripture and meditating on it is that there is no set agenda for a correct answer. We are all individuals and I believe that our experiences and stories are unique. So also, is our journey and the way that God works with each one of us.
ReplyDeleteI do pray and ask that God open my eyes to what He wants me to see from the passage I am reading. Sometimes, as I journal, my thoughts center around lessons I am currently learning, sometimes they center around world events, sometimes they center around other passages in the Bible that may come to mind, and sometimes they are stimulated by new concepts I hadn’t considered before. And very often each year reveals something that is quite different from previous years.
If you care to share your meditation, feel free to comment below. It may be very stimulating to see how differently God speaks to each of us when we read the same text. I try to keep my meditations brief and to the point as well as my prayers so that I don’t become overwhelmed in my effort to read and journal every day. Likewise, out of consideration for others, I suggest that if you wish to share your meditation with the group that you keep your comments brief and to the point so as not to overwhelm others with an extensive comment.
To get you started, I thought it might be helpful to share my meditations and prayers with you. Sometimes our meditations and prayers will be very simple… but sometimes you will find them to be quite profound.
I truly find this tool a wonderful way to commune with our Father. I hope you do too!