One Day Away

We're a day away from the launch of The Challenge 2010.

So, how can you best prepare?

1) Pray. Pray for God to give you the strength to make it through one year of reading the Bible.

2) Expect. Expect that there will be distractions. Expect that there will be be days that you just don't feel like reading. Expect that you may stumble from time to time. And, expect that God is bigger than our excuses. Expect God to show up in a big way this year as you commit to learning more about Him.

3) Find a Partner. Find someone to do The Challenge with you. There are over 50 people from Woodbury Community Church that have committed to taking The Challenge. Ask one of those people to be your partner. Talk about what you are reading. E-mail each other. Encourage each other on this blog. Don't try to go this one alone.

4) Find a Quiet Place and a Time That Works for You. That might be easier said than done for some of you, because of any number of reasons. But, if you can find a time and place that works in your schedule, that would be great. If you are a better morning person than night person, start your day with The Challenge. (In fact, I think that is the best option for everyone, even if you are a night owl.) But, if you just can't function in the morning, find another time to read. Just do it. If you can find a consistent place and time, that's the best route to go. But, if your job finds you on the road constantly, maybe that time is in your hotel room after you check in.

5) Find a Good Study Bible and Journal. I'll be using the ESV Study Bible. But, you use what works best for you. One of the reasons that I enjoy the ESV Study Bible is because it has an online version that you can unlock when you purchase the Bible. There is a place to add to the study notes that are posted in the Bible with your own thoughts. You can also underline in a variety of colors. Here is an example of what I am talking about:

I like using a study Bible because it can help me see what some Christians scholars believe that the text is all about. I also like a study Bible because it can help make some of the tougher passages, like the Old Testament laws or geneaologies, come alive! There are lots of study Bibles on the market today. Some other good ones that I have used and recommend include the NIV Study Bible, The Life Appication Study Bible, The Ryrie Study Bible, The MacArthur Study Bible, The Archeological Study Bible, etc.

A journal is a great place to write down what God is teaching you. I'll be using my online study notes section to journal, but most people prefer a good old pen and notebook. Write down what God is teaching you. It's a great way to look back at how you have grown over the year.

6) Visit this Blog as Much as Possible. We'll be posting daily devotionals based upon each day's text. There are several passages to read each day. Each day's devotional will be based upon one of those texts. If you want to write your own thoughts for the day, leave them in that day's comment section. It's going to be fun to see how God speaks to each of us through the reading of His word.

READINGS FOR WEEK ONE

January 1 Ecclesiastes 3:1‐8, Genesis 1, 1 Chronicles 1, Luke 1:1‐25
January 2 Psalms 1, Genesis 2, 1 Chronicles 2, Luke 1:26‐56
January 3 Psalms 2, Genesis 3, 1 Chronicles 3, Luke 1:57‐80
January 4 Psalms 3, Genesis 4, 1 Chronicles 4, Luke 2:1‐21
January 5 Psalms 4, Genesis 5, 1 Chronicles 5, Luke 2:22‐52
January 6 Psalms 5, Genesis 6, 1 Chronicles 6, Luke 3:1‐22
January 7 Psalms 6, Genesis 7, 1 Chronicles 7, Luke 3:23‐4:13

The Challenge Is Coming!

Woodbury Community Church, located at 2975 Pioneer Drive in Woodbury, MN is excited about The Challenge, a churchwide initiative to read through the Bible in a year.

In a recent sermon, Pastor Brian Schulenburg said, ". . . when God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, 400 years prior (to speaking to Mary and Joseph through the angel Gabriel) He said the following in Jeremiah 9:23-24:

23 This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.

I believe that when God saw Mary and Joseph living righteous lives in a very wicked city, that he took delight in them! He looked for a righteous man and woman, and found extraordinary faith in them.

So, Christmas is just a few days away, and New Year’s Day comes a week later. How about this? How about if we commit to being people who know and understand God?

That happens when we spend time with him. The Challenge is something that we are encouraging our entire congregation to be a part of this year. It’s a challenge to read through the entire Bible in 2010. Why are we so passionate about this? Because when we spend time with God in His word, we begin to know and understand Him. We understand what pleases Him. We understand what breaks His heart. And, if we’ll let Him, God will change us, and mold us, and shape us through the process."

The Challenge 2010 Blog is a site where anyone who wants to join us in The Challenge can come to be encouraged along the way. We'll post the daily readings on this blog, along with a devotional based upon that days Bible reading. We want to encourage you to add your own comments to each day's blog post. It's a way to be encourage as we together take The Challenge. There are already over 40 people from Woodbury Community Church who have committed to take The Challenge. Why not join us? It's going to be a great adventure. Look for the first devotional post on January 1, 2010. Until then, start getting in the habit of spending time alone with God each day.

We will be using the daily reading plan that is in the ESV Study Bible. You can access the plan online by clicking here.