Dear Readers,

For those reading the whole Bible, we will finish up the book of Proverbs this week. But I will encourage you to continue to reread that book every month. Look for pearls of wisdom on various subjects.

The next book during the middle of the week is Philippians. This book is an uplifting book. Paul really appreciates the Philippian church for their help and encouragement of his ministry. But Paul, being a teacher, does use this time to teach also. He encourages them to stand firm in the face of persecution, to be united, find joy in their life with God, and to keep their theology and lifestyle in line with God's will.

The end of the week we will be reading the book of Ecclesiastes in the OT. This book is written by one of the wisest men of all history. Yet he comes to the conclusion that human wisdom, even of a godly person is limited. It cannot fully know the meaning of life. A meaningful, satisfying, and purposeful life can only come from following God. A Christian should be patient, content, and enjoy the life that God gives him/her. That brings fullness and meaning to life despite varying circumstances in life.

For those reading just the NT this year, the last day of this week will begin the second time through on the gospels. If you would like to finish the year reading Psalms and Proverbs, an alternate reading plan will be given. The Psalm and Proverbs can be a great blessing. The following suggestion was given to those who are reading through the whole Bible this year to help make the Psalms a continuous source of joy and encouragement. Feel free to follow this plan if it works for you.

The book of Psalms is a book of prayer and praise. This section of Bible reading will be more experiential, than educative and thought provoking. There are a few things that you will be asked to do with each Psalm and then title each Psalm. The beauty of each psalm is that they will speak to your heart and spirit at different times. You will want to find certain psalms back when you are in various moods. These activities will help you do that.

From week 34 of the WB: In the back of your Bible or in a small notebook make a chart with three (3) columns. At the top of the first column (subject heading) write "The Number of the Psalm." At the top of the second column (subject heading) write "Emotion or Attitude I feel when I read this Psalm." At the top of the third column (subject heading) write "The Title I would give this Psalm." Under the subject heading in the first column you can number down 1-150, as there are 150 Psalms. The next two columns you will fill in as you read each Psalm. In this way you can go back and find the Psalm that fits your emotional and spiritual need at a given time. I also put the title I give the Psalm in my Bible right under the Psalm number. This helps me as I am paging through the Psalms.

Read each Psalm and fill in column two and three on the chart you have made.
Consider also any of the following with each Psalm:
Seeing most of the Psalms are prayers, you can personalize them and pray it back to God.
Write out the Psalm while personalizing it.
Turn the Psalm into a song of praise to God.
Memorize the Psalms, or parts of Psalms that really speak to you as a prayer or a praise to have on the tip of your tongue and in your mind as situations arise.

We will continue the same pattern for reading through Proverbs that we began last week. The pattern is as follows:

DAY ONE, SEPTEMBER 24 - PROVERBS 23-25

DAY TWO, SEPTEMBER 25 - PROVERBS 26-29

DAY THREE, SEPTEMBER 26 - PROVERBS 30-31

DAY FOUR, SEPTEMBER 27 - PHILIPPIANS 1-4
Chapter 1
Why does Paul give thanks for the Philippian Christians?
Is there someone who is giving thanks for you that you have partnered with in prayer, encouragement, and finance? If not, how will you change that fact?
What promise is there for "a good work that God begins" that is found in these verses?
What encouragement do you find in that promise?
What does Paul pray for and desire for the Philippian Christians?
How is that similar to what you wish and pray for others? Do you need to change your prayers for others?
What good has come out of Paul's imprisonment?
What is Paul's prayer and desire for himself?
Do you have a similar desire for yourself?
Chapter 2
How does a humble person relate to others?
How would you describe unity?
How would you describe Christ's humble attitude?
How can our attitude be like that of Christ's?
According to verse 13, why are we able to follow Christ and his example even when it seems impossible?
What additional instruction on how to live does Paul give to the church?
Which ones do you need to work at harder in your life?
Chapter 3
What can a person place his confidence in to know beyond a shadow of a doubt he/she is a Christian?
Can others see by your joy and confidence that you are a Christian?
How do we become right with God?
What do some people try to make us think is the way to become right with God?
What can we look forward to?
Chapter 4
What is Paul telling Euodia and Syntyche to do?
Is there someone with whom you have a disagreement and it is effecting the church and you witness?
What are you going to do about it?
What final instruction does Paul give the church?
What is the result of following those instructions?
What do you need to change in your life?
How does God supply your needs?

DAY FIVE, SEPTEMBER 28 - ECCLESIATES 1-4
Chapter 1
Who wrote this book?
What is the view of life in this chapter?
Can wisdom, understanding, and knowledge be enough to give purpose and meaning to life?
Solomon is said to be the wisest man who ever lived and his wisdom was a gift from God, why do you think he still couldn't find meaning?
Chapter 2
What other things did Solomon do to find meaning?
What happens to all people regardless of their wealth, pleasure, work, and wisdom?
According to verse 26, what is the writer beginning to see as the only source of meaning and satisfaction?
What things do people search for today in order to find meaning in life?
How can you identify with the writer?
How do you differ from the writer?
Chapter 3
What do you think it means that there is a time for everything?
How are we bond by time?
How is that different than God?
How has God given us a glimpse of this eternity and joy already in our lives?
What comfort do you get from that?
What injustices do you find in life?
How do you feel after reading about injustice in the world?
Chapter 4
What is the tone of this chapter?
How can you see the same attitudes in this world today?
According to this passage, what seems to motivate a lot of people? How is that like today?
What are the dangers of a person standing alone?
What are the benefits of two or more people together?
What does this say about the importance of having Christian friends in your life?
Do you need to cultivate more of those relationships?

DAY SIX, SEPTEMBER 29 - ECCLESIATES 5-8
Chapter 5
How are we to treat the wisdom that comes from God?
How should we be acting in our relationship with God? Why?
What are some of the dangers of the love of money?
Is the love of money different than wealth?
How must we look at our standing, working, and wealth in order to receive some satisfaction and joy from it?
What are you priorities?
How have you found satisfaction in your lot in life?
Chapter 6
What is this chapter saying about contentment?
How content are you in your life?
How well have you accepted and are walking in God's will for your life?
Chapter 7
What is this chapter saying about a good reputation and how does one acquire it?
What things are better and why?
According to verse 13, what is important?
How does a person of God live?
What is this chapter saying about ones ability to be upright on his/her own making?
Chapter 8
What does wisdom do for a person?
What comfort do you find in verses 12-13?
How does this chapter remind us of the limits of being human?
How unlimitless is God?

DAY SEVEN, SEPTEMBER 30 - ECCLESIATES 9-12
Chapter 9
How can you hear the unfairness and unpredictableness of life in these verses?
How is that often the same viewpoint you hear today in the world?
According to the last verse, how does sin playing to the unfairness and injustice of life?
Chapter 10
How can wise help a person?
How can a gentle heart help a person?
How does this chapter remind one that it is what is inside a person that is more important than what others see on the outside?
After all the talk on wealth being meaningless and responsibility being important what do you think verse 19 really means?
Chapter 11
What is this saying about generosity and responsibility?
How do you handle the gifts that God gives you?
As we live our life, what must we remember according to verse 9?
Chapter 12
What warning does Solomon give here for the young?
What warning is there in verse 12 about always seeking insight in other places other than God?
What is the final conclusion of this book?
How can those conclusions help us find meaning in our life?

YOU CAN ALWAYS USE THESE FOLLOWING SUGGESTIONS FOR ANY BIBLE READING:

Always begin your time of God with prayer. Ask him for understanding and insights. You can pick out a verse, thought or feeling from the passage and think on it (mediate) on it all day. Meditating on God's word means to digest it, put it into your mind, think on it, and concentrate in different ways on the passage.

Some ways you can do this is:
1. Put yourself into the scene.
2. Emphasize different words in the verse.
3. Paraphrase the passage in your own words.
4. Pray the passage back to God if it is a prayer, song, poem, etc (personalize it).
5. Use SPACE PETS acrostic to ask some standard questions.
     S - Sins to confess? Do I need to make restitution?
     P - Promises to claim? Have I met the conditions(s)?
     A - Attitudes to change? Am I willing?
     C - Commands to obey? Even if I don't feel like it?
     E - Examples to follow? One to copy or avoid?
     P - Prayers to pray? Is there something I need to tell God?
     E - Errors to avoid?
     T - Truths about God or the Bible I need to believe?
Adapted from 12 Dynamic Bible Study Methods (Chapter 1) by Richard Warren and William A. Shell.