This last week's reading is from Revelation. It is often thought of as the most difficult book of the Bible. There are many different interpretations of this book and many people are passionate about the way they interpret this book. I think this book is more than a prophecy of the end times. There is more to be gotten from this book than a timeline of the last days. It is for that reason we are going to read through this book without the emphasis being on the last days. This may be a change for some of you but it good to put aside preconceived views and ask God for a new vision on this book.
The book of Revelation is first and for most a book of worship and hope. I want you to go through this book with 6 different ways to mark your Bible. It may be with color or symbol. These are the six things I want you to mark in every chapter as you read:
1) Songs of worship
2) Forms/postures/attitudes of worship or the worshipper (such as service, kneeling, "In the Spirit," work, perservance, repentance, opening the door, etc.)
3) Actions of God which may require a worship response on our part (blessing, benediction, holding his church, speaking, knocking, etc.)
4) Attributes or descriptions of God which require a worship response on our part (Son of Man, Alpha and Omega, Living, blazing, etc)
5) Commands to worship
6) Descriptions of hope for the believer
There are a couple of questions I want you to ask at the end of each chapter. Look first at the things you just marked in the chapter than ask:
1) What songs of worship did I hear and how am I going to sing (or mediate) on it today?
2) What new form of worship could I use this week while worshipping God?
3) How did I see God in today's reading? What new insights into the character and actions of God did I find in today's reading? How does that affect me?
4) What hope or warning do I see in the reading that might pertain to me and how does that effect me?
After reading all of Revelation, ask this question: What new insights into worship and hope did I gain from my reading of the book of Revelation?
Finally, congratulations for completing the reading of the Bible in a year. You have done well! I hope you understand the character and nature of the Triune God more completely than you did before. I hope you have a better grasp of the kind of relationship that God wants to share with you and what your responsibility is in that relationship. God is a God of mystery but not of secrets and he wants to share with you his heart. I hope you felt his heart for you this year. Who are you going to invite to share this experience with you in this coming year?
God's blessings as you begin this process again this coming year! I know you will experience and learn even more! May you find great joy in your journey!
| DAY ONE | Dec-24 | REVELATION 1-3 |
| DAY TWO | Dec-25 | REVELATION 4-5 |
| DAY THREE | Dec-26 | REVELATION 6-8 |
| DAY FOUR | Dec-27 | REVELATION 9-11 |
| DAY FIVE | Dec-28 | REVELATION 12-14 |
| DAY SIX | Dec-29 | REVELATION 15-16 |
| DAY SEVEN | Dec-30 | REVELATION 17-19 |
| DAY EIGHT | Dec-31 | REVELATION 20-22 |
| DAY ONE | Dec-24 | JOHN 14 OR PROVERBS 24 |
| DAY TWO | Dec-25 | JOHN 15 OR PROVERBS 25 |
| DAY THREE | Dec-26 | JOHN 16 OR PROVERBS 26 |
| DAY FOUR | Dec-27 | JOHN 17 OR PROVERBS 27 |
| DAY FIVE | Dec-28 | JOHN 18 OR PROVERBS 28 |
| DAY SIX | Dec-29 | JOHN 19 OR PROVERBS 29 |
| DAY SEVEN | Dec-30 | JOHN 20 OR PROVERBS 30 |
| DAY EIGHT | Dec-31 | JOHN 21 OR PROVERBS 31 |
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.