PRAYINGLIKE

JESUS

WHAT IS PRAYER?I grew up in a church tradition that recited the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday. I distinctly remember it: my dad, the reverend, would lead the church in prayer for any number of things, from the needs of the world to ill in our congregation, and always end his free-form prayers with, “As Jesus taught us to pray, Our Father…” At this moment the whole congregation suddenly woke up and began to recite the prayer in unison with dad. I don’t know if they were ever told to do it, or if it was ever explained. All I knew as kid was the distinct way in which my dad said it, and how the whole church seemed to know right when to jump in, and that the Lord’s Prayer was always a fitting conclusion to whatever else dad had prayed for that morning.

Unfortunately for me – unlike the saints who gathered and prayed that prayer every Sunday with dad – the Lord’s Prayer never became more than a 30-second commercial in the Sunday event. Even after being captured by Jesus, the prayer always seemed a bit “juvenile,” a bit too easy, and, if I’m honest, not really spiritual enough for me. I prayed real prayers, I thought, the kind that flowed and moved with passion, and that earned more than a few “amen’s” and head nods from those I was praying with. If I was going to pray, I was going to really pray.

On the other hand, I know many people for whom prayer is very difficult. They can’t seem to find the right words, and they are overly self-conscious of

what they’re saying. When they are able to find the words they want, those words rarely flow easily, and they end up sort of stuttering through it and cutting it short. Because of this, many people never pray out loud, paralyzed by the thought of what others (like me!) might be thinking as they try.

The simple truth is that prayer can be awkward and difficult for just about everyone. The difficulty begins the moment we ask the (seemingly) simple question, “What is prayer?” And when we are honest, most of us talk about prayer (“I’ll pray for you!”) way more than we ever actually pray.

Lord, teach us to pray!

HOW (NOT) TO PRAYIn Matthew 6.5-15, Jesus gives instructions on prayer. According to Jesus, there is a certain kind and quality of praying which is truly Christian praying. Which means, of course, that not all praying is Christian praying. Just because you’re talking or writing or thinking about God doesn’t mean you’re praying, at least not according to Jesus.

“Don’t be like the hypocrites…” If you’ve read much of the Gospels, you’ve likely noticed that Jesus reserves his strongest words for the religious elite. He calls them “white-washed tombs,” beautiful on the outside but rotting from within. In fact, most of the Sermon on the Mount – Jesus’ longest section of teaching about life in God’s Kingdom – is directed at the false religiosity of this very group.

According to Jesus, the “wide way” that leads to destruction is the way of religion, that human-centered impulse to invoke God’s name and God’s ways as a ploy for the acclaim and approval of people.

Consider these words from Tim Keller: “In short, what do we see in the Sermon on the Mount? Jesus is not contrasting people who don’t obey the law, give alms, and pray with those who do. Both groups of people in the sermon obey the law; both give to the poor and both pray--but for profoundly different reasons. The ‘works-righteousness’ group does it out of a desire to get leverage over others and over God, which leads to superiority, pride, inability to take criticism, and minimal, external obedience without inner change in holiness and character.”

Jesus calls this hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is not when we “talk the talk but don’t walk the walk” as much as when we “walk the walk” for all the wrong reasons. Hypocrisy is when we obey – or in this case, pray – in hopes of earning approval from people and from God. To pray like a hypocrite is to pray in such a way that reveals we don’t know deeply the grace of God and we aren’t deeply secure in our standing as his children.

Jesus instructs us to address God as “our Father”, inviting us to pray in response to what God has already done to justify us and adopt us into his Family. We don’t pray to earn our standing with God or with others. We pray because we are already in

the Family of God by grace, free to “pray in secret” in order to commune with our Savior. The prayers of the hypocrite are reward-seeking prayers, hoping to earn something from God and others; we want God’s stuff. The prayers of the Christian are reward-responding prayers, overflowing in joy and gratitude for what we’ve been given despite ourselves. The reward the Christian looks for in prayer is the presence of the Father; we want God Himself.

“Do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do…” There is another kind of prayer that is also sub-Christian: the prayers of the hyper-spiritual. Consider this paraphrase from Eugene Peterson: “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense.”

While some miss real prayer through religiosity and hypocrisy, others do the same through frothy passion and trendy techniques. These are those who think God will hear and listen because they pray with worked-up intensity, loudly claim God’s promises, or imitate the super-spiritual prayer-life of the latest spiritual guru. These guys write books and speak on all sorts of new and spiritual-sounding kinds of praying. This is prayer for the spiritually advanced.

But Jesus tells us very simply: “Do not be like them.” We don’t pray to a distant deity whose hand we must force and whose arm we must twist. Jesus

points us again to our new identity in Christ – that we are beloved children – and reminds us that we address “our Father” who knows all we need before we even think to ask. Our Father isn’t awed or moved by our zeal or techniques. Like all good dads, he just wants to be with his children, care for them, form them, and equip them for abundant life.

So Jesus says, “Pray then like this:

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,but deliver us from evil.”

56 simple words. 4 simple sentences. No magic formulas or incantations. This is Christian praying.

Here is the beauty of Christian praying: a small child can do it with ease, and yet the wisest and most seasoned saint never plumbs its depths. In these few words Jesus has given not only a beautiful and simply prayer but also a 4-sentence summary of the whole of the Christian life. As J.I. Packer has said, “This prayer is a pattern for all Christian praying; Jesus is teaching that prayer will be acceptable when, and only when, the attitudes, thoughts, and

desires expressed fit the pattern. That is to say: every prayer of ours should be a praying of the Lord’s Prayer in some shape or form.”

Interestingly, both the hypocrite and the hyper-spiritual share a common foundation: neither knows that God is a good Father who cares well for his kids. In other words, the solution to both religious praying that seeks rewards from people and hyper-spiritual praying that seeks to manipulate God is to come to know God as He has revealed himself in the gospel.

The gospel – the heart of the Christian message – is that God has put on flesh and come to his rebellious creation in order to rescue us from sin and self-righteousness and restore us to himself as his beloved kids. God accomplishes this in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus: Jesus lives the life I could never live and dies the death I deserve and rises from the grave to conquer death, Satan, and hell and bring me back into right relationship with God! God is pursuing rebels and sinners and making them sons.

When Jesus invites us to pray “Our Father,” he’s inviting us out of the Kingdom of Me and into the Kingdom of God, out of the orphanage and into the Family of God, out of death and into life.

This is Christian praying.

PRAYING TOGETHEROver the next few weeks, we’ll explore each phrase of this prayer. Our goal is not so much to dissect the prayer into a million manageable pieces as much as to figure out how to conform our lives to its simple but profound form.

You’ll notice as we do that the whole of the Lord’s Prayer is in first-personal plural. We are praying to our Father, asking for our daily bread and the forgiveness of our debts. We need Him to lead us and keep us. Whenever we pray as Christians, we are not alone. We may be in our closet in what seems like absolute secret, and yet we are gathered at the foot of the throne of grace, on our knees with a great multitude of brothers and sisters in Christ. Christian praying is prayer together to our Father.

It is amazing to realize the vastness of the Family we’ve been brought into, a Family that spans race, gender, time, and locale, and yet – in that very same moment of gathering with millions upon millions – we have the undivided attention of our Father! As our Father “in heaven”, he is not way off in the clouds. Rather, he is right here with us, among us, before us, attentive to us. He is outside of our space and time, and therefore is absolutely present at every single moment. Christian praying is before the attentive eyes of our Father.

So what might happen if, as a whole Family, we began to pray this prayer in secret and in

community? What if the words, thoughts, and desires expressed here became our common language? What would happen if we prayed this prayer and God answered it? What kind of people would we become? What would become of our neighborhoods and our city?

Lord, teach us to pray.

PRAYING WITH ALL OF METhis guide is designed to help stir you to prayer. Each section has a portion of the Lord’s Prayer followed by a series of Scriptures and quotes to help move you to prayer. We’ve organized the content into subheadings of Head, Heart, and Hands, acknowledging that this prayer engages us on every level.

Prayer engages the mind, helping us to think. What are we saying when we pray “Our Father?” What is the kingdom of God that we’re hoping to see come? What is the daily bread that we need? We’ll try to unpack these kinds of phrases in our Sunday dialogues, so come ready to take notes and scribble in this resource. The quotes and Scriptures in this section will bring insight and understanding to what Jesus is saying.

Prayer engages the heart, stirring us to feel. It has been said that the essence of true Christian living is the descending of Biblical truth from the mind to the heart where it catches fire within us. Once we begin to gain understanding about what Jesus is teaching,

our hope is that it catches fire in our souls. The Lord’s Prayer is so much more than a formula to recite! It is a worshipful enjoyment of God, a heart-enflamed longing for God’s presence and power in our lives, and a joyful declaration of God’s grace and leadership. The quotes and Scriptures in this section will stir your affections for the God to whom you are speaking.

Prayer engages the hands, moving us to action. If the truth of God descends from the mind to the heart but never moves out to reshape our actual lives, we’ve missed a significant part of praying. The Lord’s Prayer is sandwiched in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, a long sermon about living in the Kingdom of God. We cannot pray for this Kingdom to come and not get up from our knees ready to be about that work. We cannot pray for our Father’s leadership and not move out into the world attentive to his voice. The quotes and Scriptures in this section will help you live the prayer, taking you out of your prayer closet and into the world.

PRAYING AND THE BIBLEAt the end of this guide, we’ve included a resource to help you read through the Bible in 2012. The Bible is God’s word, the revealing of his person and work throughout history, particularly in Jesus Christ. Soaking in God’s Word is a perfect companion to prayer. As we endeavor to grow in prayer, let’s also grow in our knowledge of and love for God’s word. We want to be people of prayer and we want to be people of the Word.

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

notes

HEAD

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:15-17 ESV

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:1-7 ESV

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:1-2 ESV

Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption... If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. –J.I. Packer

Only those who look to Jesus as Mediator and sin-bearer, and go to God through him, have any right to call on God as his sons. –J.I. Packer

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17 ESV

Unless God is our Father, we are orphans. But God’s own Son has become our Older Brother. He comes through His Spirit, with his Father, to live with us. The Holy Spirit dwells in our lives, making us a suitable dwelling place to receive the Father and the Son! As a consequence, by the Spirit we learn that we are not abandoned and unloved, but rather that we are loved by the Father, by the Son, and lovingly cared for by the Holy Spirit. –Sinclair B. Ferguson

God both calls Himself our Father and would have us so address Him. By the greatness of this name He frees us from all distrust, since no greater feeling of love can be found elsewhere than in the Father. –Calvin

HEART

Christians need to hear the gospel all of their lives because it is the gospel that continues to remind us that our day-to-day acceptance with the Father

is not based on what we do for God but upon what Christ did for us in his sinless life and sin-bearing death. We stand before God today as righteous as we ever will be, even in heaven, because he has clothed us with the righteousness of his Son. Therefore, I don’t have to perform to be accepted by God. Now I am free to obey him and serve him because I am already accepted in Christ. My driving motivation now is not guilt but gratitude. –Jerry BridgesJustification is the primary & fundamental blessing of the gospel… because it meets our primary spiritual need. We all stand by nature under God’s judgment; his law condemns us; guilt gnaws at us, making us restless, miserable, and in our lucid moments afraid; we have no peace in ourselves because we have no peace with our Maker. So we need the forgiveness of our sins, and assurance of a restored relationship with God, more than we need anything else in the world; and this the gospel offers us before it offers us anything else. But contrast this, now, with adoption. Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship – he establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the

Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is greater. –J.I. Packer

This wonderful blessing is ours “because we are sons;” and it is fraught with marvelous results. Sonship sealed by the indwelling Spirit brings us peace and joy; it leads to nearness to God & fellowship with him; it excites trust, love, and vehement desire, and creates in us reverence, obedience, and actual likeness to God. All this, and much more, because the Holy Ghost has come to dwell in us. Oh, matchless mystery!

The doctrine of adoption presupposes that we are not naturally a part of God’s family, but must be adopted into that family through an action of God. This biblical teaching strongly opposes the mindset of our culture that assumes everybody is a child of God. –C.H. Spurgeon

God adopted us in our unworthiness to make his grace look great. You were adopted for the praise of the glory of his grace. God’s action in adopting us is radically God-centered and God-exalting. –John Piper

Where shall my wondering soul begin? How shall I all to heaven aspire? A slave redeemed from death and sin, A brand plucked from eternal fire, How shall I equal triumphs raise, Or sing my great Deliverer’s praise? O How shall I the goodness tell Father, which thou to me has showed? That I, a child or wrath and hell, I should be called a child of God, Should know, should feel my sins forgiven, Blest with this foretaste of heaven! –Charles Wesley (Methodist Hymnbook #361)

Life has to do with God because all the universe has to do with God, and the universe has to do with God because every atom and every emotion and every soul of every angelic, demonic, and human being belongs to God, who absolutely is. He created all that is, He sustains everything in being, He directs the course of all events, because “from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever” (Rom. 11:36). May God inflame in you a passion for His centrality and supremacy in your life. May it be so that when you are dead and gone the people you love and serve will say, “This one knew God. This one loved God and lived for the glory of God and showed us God day after day. This one, as the apostle said, was filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19).” –John Piper

HANDS

To know this truth of God’s fatherly love to us gives boundless confidence not merely for praying, but for all our living. –J.I. PackerIf the commandment be done

through fear of penalty and not through love of righteousness, it is done in the temper of servitude not freedom - and therefore it is not done at all. –Augustine

The liberty which Christ hath purchased for believers under the gospel consists in their freedom from the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, the curse of the moral law; and, in their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to Satan, and dominion of sin; from the evil of afflictions, the sting of death, the victory of the grave, and everlasting damnation; as also, in their free access to God, and their yielding obedience unto him, not out of slavish fear, but a childlike love and willing mind. (Westminster Confession of Faith)

Sonship must be the controlling thought - the normative category, if you like - at every point. This follows from the nature of the case, and is strikingly confirmed by the fact that our Lord’s teaching on Christian discipleship is cast in these terms. –J.I. Packer

Your kingdom

come, your will be done,on earth as it is

in heaven.

notes

HEAD

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the

kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33 ESV

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Matthew 23:13-15 ESV

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44 ESV

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

The kingdom of God, in the Gospels, is never a realm. It is a rule. And it is the rule of God. The primary idea in this language is that God Himself has begun to rule. It is present, but this reign still has to be concluded and consummated at some point in the future. Let us not miss an important point here. It is that this reign, this rule, is something God is doing. The reason, clearly, is that this is not something that emerges from ‘below,’ which we ourselves can get going. It must come from ‘above.’ We cannot bring it about; only God can. God’s inbreaking, saving, vanquishing rule is His from first to last. It has no human analogues, no duplicates, no parallels, and no surrogates. It allows of no human synergism. The inbreaking of the ‘age to come’ into our world is accomplished by God alone. We receive, we do not take; we enter, but we do not seize. We come as subjects in His kingdom, not as sovereigns in our own. –David F. Wells

His is the kingdom; He reigns in heaven, and He manifests His reign on earth in and through His church. When we have accomplished our mission, He will return and establish His kingdom in glory. To us it is given not only to wait for but also to hasten the coming of the day of God. This is the mission of the Gospel of the Kingdom, and this is our mission. –George Ladd

God’s plan of salvation is being carried out according to His promises through the continuing reign of the risen Lord Jesus. The inaugurated kingdom of God continues to be administered by the Lord Jesus. In this era of the kingdom of God the Lord Jesus continues to add to His church, to enable the spread of the word, to strengthen His people before the consummation of the kingdom at His return. His death and resurrection mean that the blessings of the age to come are found in Him even now. –Alan Thompson

HEART

We need a king - one who is perfectly righteous, who cannot be corrupted, who is entirely good, in whom there is never any taint of evil. He powerfully

saves and transforms His people, who come to Him and gladly acknowledge His Lordship. Hail, King Jesus. –D.A. Carson

Christ appears on the scene as a preacher and founder of the kingdom of God. That kingdom includes within itself the love of the Father, the forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and eternal life; and Jesus, in His capacity as Messiah, ascribes to Himself the power to grant all these benefits to His disciples. –Herman Bavinck

There are many principles contrary to love, that make this world like a tempestuous sea. Selfishness, and envy, and revenge, and jealousy, and kindred passions keep life on earth in a constant tumult, and make it a scene of confusion and uproar, where no quiet rest is to be enjoyed except in renouncing this world and looking to another. But oh! What rest is there in that world which the God of peace and love fills with His own gracious presence, and in which the Lamb of God lives and reigns, filling it with the brightest and sweetest beams of His love… –Jonathan Edwards

HANDS

There has been a long tradition which sees the mission of the Church primarily as obedience to a command. It has been customary to speak of “the missionary mandate.” This way of putting the matter is

certainly not without justification, and yet it seems to me that is misses the point. It tends to make mission a burden rather than a joy, to make it part of the law rather than part of the gospel. If one looks at the New Testament evidence one gets another impression. Mission begins with a kind of explosion of joy. The news that the rejected and crucified Jesus is alive is something that cannot possibly be suppressed. It must be told. Who could be silent about such a fact? –Lesslie Newbigin

The mission of the Church in the pages of the New Testament is more like the fallout from a vast explosion, a radioactive fallout which is not lethal but life-giving. One searches in vain through the letters of St. Paul to find any suggestion that he anywhere lays it on the conscience of his readers that they ought to be active in mission. –Lesslie Newbigin

If your story of redemption stops at your healing or your freedom, then you do not yet have God’s vision for redemption. If you are content to keep God’s presence all to yourself, then you haven’t been truly changed. He wants to do something in you, yes; but beyond that, he wants to do something through you. He wants to make his name known. –Mike Wilkerson

Give us this day

our daily bread, and forgive us

our debts, as we also

have forgiven our debtors.

notes

HEAD

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If

you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:1-4 ESV

Confession is all about hope. Confession unavoidably leads us to give up hoping in ourselves. It calls us to abandon our trust in our own wisdom, righteousness, and strength. It welcomes us to admit how weak, selfish, needy, fickle, and rebellious we actually are. It faces us with the reality that we are still people in deep and daily need of rescue. Yes, we have grown, but sin still lives within us, diverting our desires and distorting our actions. So, we lay down the hope that we had in ourselves, and we take up a new, brighter hope. –Paul Tripp

We are no longer afraid to look at ourselves. We are no longer surprised by our sin. We no longer have to work to present ourselves as righteous. We say good-bye to finger-pointing and self-excusing. We abandon our record of wrongs. We settle issues quickly. And we do all these things because we know that everything we need to confess has

already been forgiven, and what is needed for every new step we will take has already supplied. We can live in the liberating light of humility and honesty, a needy and tender sinner, no longer defensive and no longer afraid, together growing nearer to one another as we grow to be more like Him. –Paul Tripp

HEART

O my dear Lord Jesus Christ, you have said: Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you (Matt.

7:7). In keeping with this promise, give to me, Lord. I ask for neither gold nor silver, but for a strong and firm faith. While I search, let me find not lust and pleasure of the world, but comfort and refreshment through Your blessed and healing Word. Open to me, while I knock. I desire nothing that the world cherishes, for by it I would not be uplifted even for so much as the breadth of a hair. Grant me Your Holy Spirit, who enlightens my heart, and comforts and strengthens me in my cares and trials. He secures my right faith and trust in Your grace to the very end. Amen. –Martin Luther

Tears for sin, are blessed tears. –Thomas Watson

From Calvary’s cross wave upon wave of grace reaches me, deals with my sin, washes me clean, renews my heart, strengthens my will, draws out my affection, kindles a flame in my soul, rules throughout my inner man, consecrates my every thought, word, work, teaches me Thy immeasurable love. How great are my privileges in Christ Jesus! (Valley of Vision)

A lifestyle of unforgiveness is rooted in the sin of forgetfulness. We forget that there is not a day in our

lives that we do not need to be forgiven. We forget that we will never graduate from our need for grace. We forget that we have been loved with a love we could never earn, achieve, or deserve. We forget that God never mocks our weakness, never finds joy in throwing our failures in our face, never threatens to turn His back on us, and never makes us buy our way back into His favor. When you remember, when you carry with you a deep appreciation for the grace that you have been given, you’ll have a heart that is ready to forgive. That doesn’t mean that the process will be comfortable or easy, but it will mean that you can approach your needy spouse remembering that you are just as in need of what you’re about to give to him or her. –Paul Tripp

My sins, my sins, my Savior! They take such hold on me, I am not able to look up, Save only, Christ, on Thee; In Thee is all forgiveness, In Thee abundant grace, My shadow and my sunshine The brightness of Thy face. –John Monsell

Batter my heart, three-person’d God; for You As yet but knock; breathe, shine, and seek to mend; That I may rise, and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new. I, like an usurp’d town, to another due, Labour to admit You, but O, to no end. Reason, Your viceroy in me, me should defend, But is captived, and proves weak or untrue. Yet dearly I love You, and would be loved fain, But am betroth’d unto Your enemy; Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again, Take me to You, imprison me, for I, Except You enthrall me, never shall be free, Nor ever chaste, except You ravish me. –John Donne

HANDS

“Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7). In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship can

survive. Don’t insist on your rights, don’t blame each other, don’t judge or condemn each other, don’t find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts. –Dietrich Bonhoffer

Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and acceptance by God through obedience to God. –C. J. Mahaney

Free, full, sovereign pardon is in the hand of the great King. It is His prerogative to forgive, and He delights to exercise it. Because His nature is mercy, and because He has provided a sacrifice for sin, therefore forgiveness is with Him for all that come to Him confessing their sins. The power of pardon is permanently resident with God. He has forgiveness ready to His hand at this instant. “But there is forgiveness with Thee that Thou mayest be feared.” This is the fruitful root of piety. –C. H. Spurgeon

And lead us not into

temptation, but deliver us

from evil.

notes

HEAD

Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. Psalm 5:8 ESV

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:4-7 ESV

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 1 Peter 5:6-9 ESV

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. Psalm 25:8-10 ESV

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20 ESV

HEART

O Lord, let me not tire of thanking You for Your mercy in rescuing me from all my wicked ways, so that You may be sweeter to me than all the joys which used to tempt

me, so that I may love You most intensely and clasp Your hand with all the power of my devotion, so that You may save me from all temptation until the end of my days. –Aurelius Augustine

Thomas Watson: We should run to our Father with our temptations. A child, when another strikes him, runs to his father. So when the devil strikes us with his temptations, let us run to our Father: “Father, Satan assaults and hurls in his fiery darts at me! Father, it is Your child who is assaulted by this red dragon! Father, take off the tempter!” Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares about you!” 1 Peter 5:7. What a sweet privilege is this! When any burden lies upon our hearts—we may go to our Father and unload all our cares and griefs into His loving bosom! “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will support you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken!” Psalm 55:22

Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are Mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:1-3

HANDS

Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Psalm 25:4-5 ESV

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16 ESV Lord, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Lord, temper the wind to the shorn lamb. Put not the little boat upon the rough billows. Send not Your little ones to stern battles. And, Lord, since we are all weak, old as well as young—since the gray locks cover no more wisdom than the child’s curls, except as You give wisdom—so keep all the Church, and lead neither pastor, nor officers, nor members into temptation. But if we must be led there, we take up the latter sentence, and pray it still more passionately, ‘Deliver us from evil.’ –C.H. Spurgeon And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” means, By ourselves we are too weak to hold our own even for a moment. And our sworn enemies—the devil, the world, and our own flesh—never stop attacking us. And so, Lord, uphold us and make us strong with the strength of your Holy Spirit, so that we may not go down to defeat in this spiritual struggle, but may firmly resist our enemies until we finally win the complete victory. –Heidelberg Confession

January New Testament Old Testament 4MATTHEW 4ACTS 4PSALMS 4GENESIS 1. c 1:1-17 c 1:1-11 c 1 c 1-2 2. c 1:18-25 c 1:12-26 c 2 c 3-4 3. c 2:1-12 c 2:1-21 c 3 c 5-8 4. c 2:13-23 c 2:22-47 c 4 c 9-11 5. c 3:1-12 c 3 c 5 c 12-14 6. c 3:13-17 c 4:1-22 c 6 c 15-17 7. c 4:1-11 c 4:23-37 c 7 c 18-20 8. c 4:12-17 c 5:1-16 c 8 c 21-23 9. c 4:18-25 c 5:17-42 c 9 c 2410. c 5:1-12 c 6 c 10 c 25-2611. c 5:13-20 c 7:1-38 c 11 c 27-2812. c 5:21-32 c 7:39-60 c 12 c 29-3013. c 5:33-48 c 8:1-25 c 13 c 3114. c 6:1-15 c 8:26-40 c 14 c 32-3315. c 6:16-24 c 9:1-19 c 15 c 34-3516. c 6:25-34 c 9:20-43 c 16 c 3617. c 7:1-14 c 10:1-23 c 17 c 37-3818. c 7:15-29 c 10:24-48 c 18:1-24 c 39-4019. c 8:1-13 c 11:1-18 c 18:25-50 c 4120. c 8:14-22 c 11:19-30 c 19 c 42-4321. c 8:23-34 c 12 c 20 c 44-4522. c 9:1-13 c 13:1-25 c 21 c 46-4723. c 9:14-26 c 13:26-52 c 22:1-11 c 4824. c 9:27-38 c 14 c 22:12-31 c 4925. c 10:1-20 c 15:1-21 c 23 c 50

February New Testament Old Testament 4MATTHEW 4ACTS 4PSALMS 4EXODUS 1. c 10:21-42 c 15:22-41 c 24 c 1-3 2. c 11:1-19 c 16:1-15 c 25 c 4-6 3. c 11:20-30 c 16:16-40 c 26 c 7-9 4. c 12:1-21 c 17:1-15 c 27 c 10-12 5. c 12:22-37 c 17:16-34 c 28 c 13-15 6. c 12:38-50 c 18:1-17 c 29 c 16-18 7. c 13:1-23 c 18:18-28 c 30 c 19-20 8. c 13:24-43 c 19:1-22 c 31 c 21-23 9. c 13:44-58 c 19:23-41 c 32 c 24-2610. c 14:1-21 c 20:1-12 c 33 c 27-2911. c 14:22-36 c 20:13-38 c 34 c 30-3112. c 15:1-20 c 21:1-26 c 35 c 32-3313. c 15:21-39 c 21:27-40 c 36 c 3414. c 16:1-12 c 22 c 37:1-22 c 35-3715. c 16:13-28 c 23:1-11 c 37:23-40 c 38-40 4LEVITICUS16. c 17:1-13 c 23:12-35 c 38 c 1-4 17. c 17:14-27 c 24 c 39 c 5-718. c 18:1-14 c 25:1-12 c 40 c 8-1019. c 18:15-35 c 25:13-27 c 41 c 11-1320. c 19:1-15 c 26:1-18 c 42 c 14-1521. c 19:16-30 c 26:19-32 c 43 c 16-1722. c 20:1-16 c 27:1-26 c 44 c 18-2023. c 20:17-34 c 27:27-44 c 45 c 21-2324. c 21:1-11 c 28:1-16 c 46 c 24-2525. c 21:12-22 c 28:17-31 c 47 c 26-27

March New Testament Old Testament 4MATTHEW 4ROMANS 4PSALMS 4NUMBERS 1. c 21:23-32 c 1:1-17 c 48 c 1-2 2. c 21:33-46 c 1:18-32 c 49 c 3-4 3. c 22:1-14 c 2 c 50 c 5-6 4. c 22:15-33 c 3 c 51 c 7-8 5. c 22:34-46 c 4 c 52 c 9-11 6. c 23:1-12 c 5:1-11 c 53 c 12-14 7. c 23:13-24 c 5:12-21 c 54 c 15-17 8. c 23:25-39 c 6:1-14 c 55 c 18-20 9. c 24:1-14 c 6:15-23 c 56 c 21-2210. c 24:15-35 c 7:1-12 c 57 c 23-2511. c 24:36-51 c 7:13-25 c 58 c 26-2712. c 25:1-13 c 8:1-17 c 59 c 28-3013. c 25:14-30 c 8:18-39 c 60 c 31-3214. c 25:31-46 c 9:1-18 c 61 c 33-36 4DEUT.15. c 26:1-16 c 9:19-33 c 62 c 1-316. c 26:17-35 c 10 c 63 c 4-517. c 26:36-56 c 11:1-24 c 64 c 6-818. c 26:57-75 c 11:25-36 c 65 c 9-1219. c 27:1-10 c 12:1-8 c 66 c 13-1720. c 27:11-26 c 12:9-21 c 67 c 18-2121. c 27:27-44 c 13 c 68 c 22-2622. c 27:45-56 c 14 c 69:1-18 c 27-2823. c 27:57-66 c 15:1-13 c 69:19-36 c 29-3124. c 28:1-10 c 15:14-33 c 70 c 3225. c 28:11-20 c 16 c 71 c 33-34

April New Testament Old Testament 4MARK 41 COR. 4PSALMS 4JOSHUA 1. c 1:1-8 c 1:1-17 c 72 c 1-2 2. c 1:9-20 c 1:18-31 c 73 c 3-5 3. c 1:21-34 c 2 c 74 c 6-7 4. c 1:35-45 c 3 c 75 c 8-9 5. c 2:1-12 c 4 c 76 c 10-12 6. c 2:13-17 c 5 c 77 c 13-14 7. c 2:18-28 c 6:1-11 c 78:1-39 c 15-17 8. c 3:1-19 c 6:12-20 c 78:40-72 c 18-19 9. c 3:20-35 c 7:1-16 c 79 c 20-2110. c 4:1-20 c 7:17-40 c 80 c 22-2311. c 4:21-41 c 8 c 81 c 24 4JUDGES12. c 5:1-20 c 9:1-12 c 82 c 1-313. c 5:21-43 c 9:13-27 c 83 c 4-514. c 6:1-13 c 10:1-13 c 84 c 6-715. c 6:14-29 c 10:14-33 c 85 c 816. c 6:30-44 c 11:1-16 c 86 c 917. c 6:45-56 c 11:17-34 c 87 c 10-1218. c 7:1-23 c 12:1-13 c 88 c 13-1519. c 7:24-37 c 12:14-31 c 89:1-18 c 1620. c 8:1-13 c 13 c 89:19-52 c 17-1821. c 8:14-21 c 14:1-25 c 90 c 1922. c 8:22-30 c 14:26-40 c 91 c 20-21 4RUTH23. c 8:31-38 c 15:1-28 c 92 c 124. c 9:1-13 c 15:29-58 c 93 c 2-325. c 9:14-32 c 16 c 94 c 4

May New Testament Old Testament 4MARK 42 COR. 4PSALMS 41 SAMUEL 1. c 9:33-50 c 1:1-11 c 95 c 1-2 2. c 10:1-16 c 1:12-24 c 96 c 3-5 3. c 10:17-34 c 2 c 97 c 6-8 4. c 10:35-52 c 3 c 98 c 9-10 5. c 11:1-11 c 4 c 99 c 11-13 6. c 11:12-26 c 5 c 100 c 14 7. c 11:27-33 c 6 c 101 c 15-16 8. c 12:1-12 c 7 c 102 c 17-18 9. c 12:13-27 c 8 c 103 c 19-2010. c 12:28-34 c 9 c 104 c 21-2311. c 12:35-44 c 10 c 105 c 24-2512. c 13:1-13 c 11:1-15 c 106:1-23 c 26-2813. c 13:14-31 c 11:16-33 c 106:24-48 c 29-31 42 SAMUEL14. c 13:32-37 c 12:1-10 c 107 c 1-215. c 14:1-11 c 12:11-21 c 108 c 3-416. c 14:12-31 c 13 c 109 c 5-7 4GALATIANS17. c 14:32-42 c 1 c 110 c 8-1018. c 14:43-52 c 2 c 111 c 11-1219. c 14:53-65 c 3:1-14 c 112 c 1320. c 14:66-72 c 3:15-29 c 113 c 14-1521. c 15:1-15 c 4:1-20 c 114 c 16-17 22. c 15:16-32 c 4:21-31 c 115 c 18-1923. c 15:33-41 c 5:1-12 c 116 c 20-2124. c 15:42-47 c 5:13-26 c 117 c 2225. c 16 c 6 c 118 c 23-24

June New Testament Old Testament 4LUKE 4EPHESIANS 4PSALMS 41 KINGS 1. c 1:1-25 c 1:1-14 c 119:1-8 c 1 2. c 1:26-38 c 1:15-23 c 119:9-16 c 2-3 3. c 1:39-56 c 2:1-10 c 119:17-24 c 4-5 4. c 1:57-66 c 2:11-22 c 119:25-32 c 6-7 5. c 1:67-80 c 3:1-13 c 119:33-40 c 8 6. c 2:1-20 c 3:14-21 c 119:41-48 c 9-10 7. c 2:21-40 c 4:1-16 c 119:49-56 c 11 8. c 2:41-52 c 4:17-24 c 119:57-64 c 12 9. c 3:1-20 c 4:25-32 c 119:65-72 c 13-1410. c 3:21-38 c 5:1-21 c 119:73-80 c 15-1611. c 4:1-12 c 5:22-33 c 119:81-88 c 17-1812. c 4:13-30 c 6:1-9 c 119:89-96 c 19-2013. c 4:31-37 c 6:10-24 c 119:97-104 c 21-22 4PHILIPPIANS 42 KINGS14. c 4:38-44 c 1:1-11 c 119:105-112 c 1-315. c 5:1-11 c 1:12-20 c 119:113-120 c 4-516. c 5:12-16 c 1:21-30 c 119:121-128 c 6-717. c 5:17-26 c 2:1-11 c 119:129-136 c 8-918. c 5:27-32 c 2:12-18 c 119:137-144 c 10-1119. c 5:33-39 c 2:19-30 c 119:145-152 c 12-1320. c 6:1-16 c 3:1-9 c 119:153-160 c 14-1521. c 6:17-26 c 3:10-14 c 119:161-168 c 16-1722. c 6:27-36 c 3:15-21 c 119:169-176 c 18-1923. c 6:37-42 c 4:1-7 c 120 c 20-2124. c 6:43-49 c 4:8-13 c 121 c 22-2325. c 7:1-10 c 4:14-23 c 122 c 24-25

July New Testament Old Testament 4LUKE 4COLOSSIANS 4PSALMS 41 CHRON. 1. c 7:11-17 c 1:1-14 c 123-124 c 1-2 2. c 7:18-35 c 1:15-29 c 125 c 3-4 3. c 7:36-50 c 2:1-7 c 126 c 5-6 4. c 8:1-15 c 2:8-15 c 127 c 7-9 5. c 8:16-25 c 2:16-23 c 128 c 10-11 6. c 8:26-39 c 3:1-14 c 129 c 12-14 7. c 8:40-56 c 3:15-25 c 130-131 c 15-16 8. c 9:1-17 c 4:1-9 c 132 c 17-19 9. c 9:18-27 c 4:10-18 c 133-134 c 20-22 41 THESSALONIANS10. c 9:28-36 c 1 c 135 c 23-2511. c 9:37-50 c 2:1-9 c 136 c 26-2812. c 9:51-62 c 2:10-20 c 137 c 29 42 CHRON.13. c 10:1-16 c 3:1-6 c 138 c 1-214. c 10:17-24 c 3:7-13 c 139 c 3-515. c 10:25-37 c 4:1-10 c 140 c 6-716. c 10:38-42 c 4:11-18 c 141 c 8-917. c 11:1-13 c 5:1-11 c 142 c 10-1218. c 11:14-28 c 5:12-28 c 143 c 13-16 42 THESSALONIANS19. c 11:29-36 c 1:1-7 c 144 c 17-1920. c 11:37-54 c 1:8-12 c 145 c 20-2121. c 12:1-12 c 2:1-12 c 146 c 22-2422. c 12:13-21 c 2:13-17 c 147 c 25-2723. c 12:22-34 c 3:1-5 c 148 c 28-2924. c 12:35-48 c 3:6-13 c 149 c 30-33

25. c 12:49-59 c 3:14-18 c 150 c 34-36

August New Testament Old Testament 4LUKE 41 TIMOTHY 4PROVERBS 4EZRA 1. c 13:1-9 c 1:1-11 c 1 c 1-2 2. c 13:10-21 c 1:12-20 c 2 c 3 3. c 13:22-35 c 2 c 3 c 4-5 4. c 14:1-14 c 3:1-10 c 4 c 6 5. c 14:15-24 c 3:11-16 c 5 c 7 6. c 14:25-35 c 4 c 6 c 8 7. c 15:1-10 c 5:1-15 c 7 c 9 8. c 15:11-32 c 5:16-25 c 8 c 10 4NEH. 9. c 16:1-9 c 6:1-10 c 9 c 1-210. c 16:10-18 c 6:11-21 c 10:1-16 c 3 4 2 TIMOTHY11. c 16:19-31 c 1:1-7 c 10:17-32 c 4-512. c 17:1-10 c 1:8-18 c 11:1-15 c 613. c 17:11-19 c 2:1-13 c 11:16-31 c 714. c 17:20-37 c 2:14-26 c 12:1-14 c 815. c 18:1-8 c 3:1-9 c 12:15-28 c 916. c 18:9-17 c 3:10-17 c 13:1-12 c 1017. c 18:18-30 c 4 c 13:13-25 c 11 4TITUS18. c 18:31-43 c 1:1-9 c 14:1-18 c 1219. c 19:1-10 c 1:10-16 c 14:19-35 c 13 4ESTHER20. c 19:11-27 c 2:1-10 c 15:1-17 c 121. c 19:28-38 c 2:11-15 c 15:18-33 c 222. c 19:39-48 c 3:1-8 c 16:1-16 c 3-423. c 20:1-8 c 3:9-15 c 16:17-33 c 5-6 4 PHILEMON24. c 20:9-19 c 1-11 c 17:1-14 c 7-825. c 20:20-26 c 12-25 c 17:15-28 c 9-10

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The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan

January New Testament Old Testament 4MATTHEW 4ACTS 4PSALMS 4GENESIS 1. c 1:1-17 c 1:1-11 c 1 c 1-2 2. c 1:18-25 c 1:12-26 c 2 c 3-4 3. c 2:1-12 c 2:1-21 c 3 c 5-8 4. c 2:13-23 c 2:22-47 c 4 c 9-11 5. c 3:1-12 c 3 c 5 c 12-14 6. c 3:13-17 c 4:1-22 c 6 c 15-17 7. c 4:1-11 c 4:23-37 c 7 c 18-20 8. c 4:12-17 c 5:1-16 c 8 c 21-23 9. c 4:18-25 c 5:17-42 c 9 c 2410. c 5:1-12 c 6 c 10 c 25-2611. c 5:13-20 c 7:1-38 c 11 c 27-2812. c 5:21-32 c 7:39-60 c 12 c 29-3013. c 5:33-48 c 8:1-25 c 13 c 3114. c 6:1-15 c 8:26-40 c 14 c 32-3315. c 6:16-24 c 9:1-19 c 15 c 34-3516. c 6:25-34 c 9:20-43 c 16 c 3617. c 7:1-14 c 10:1-23 c 17 c 37-3818. c 7:15-29 c 10:24-48 c 18:1-24 c 39-4019. c 8:1-13 c 11:1-18 c 18:25-50 c 4120. c 8:14-22 c 11:19-30 c 19 c 42-4321. c 8:23-34 c 12 c 20 c 44-4522. c 9:1-13 c 13:1-25 c 21 c 46-4723. c 9:14-26 c 13:26-52 c 22:1-11 c 4824. c 9:27-38 c 14 c 22:12-31 c 4925. c 10:1-20 c 15:1-21 c 23 c 50

February New Testament Old Testament 4MATTHEW 4ACTS 4PSALMS 4EXODUS 1. c 10:21-42 c 15:22-41 c 24 c 1-3 2. c 11:1-19 c 16:1-15 c 25 c 4-6 3. c 11:20-30 c 16:16-40 c 26 c 7-9 4. c 12:1-21 c 17:1-15 c 27 c 10-12 5. c 12:22-37 c 17:16-34 c 28 c 13-15 6. c 12:38-50 c 18:1-17 c 29 c 16-18 7. c 13:1-23 c 18:18-28 c 30 c 19-20 8. c 13:24-43 c 19:1-22 c 31 c 21-23 9. c 13:44-58 c 19:23-41 c 32 c 24-2610. c 14:1-21 c 20:1-12 c 33 c 27-2911. c 14:22-36 c 20:13-38 c 34 c 30-3112. c 15:1-20 c 21:1-26 c 35 c 32-3313. c 15:21-39 c 21:27-40 c 36 c 3414. c 16:1-12 c 22 c 37:1-22 c 35-3715. c 16:13-28 c 23:1-11 c 37:23-40 c 38-40 4LEVITICUS16. c 17:1-13 c 23:12-35 c 38 c 1-4 17. c 17:14-27 c 24 c 39 c 5-718. c 18:1-14 c 25:1-12 c 40 c 8-1019. c 18:15-35 c 25:13-27 c 41 c 11-1320. c 19:1-15 c 26:1-18 c 42 c 14-1521. c 19:16-30 c 26:19-32 c 43 c 16-1722. c 20:1-16 c 27:1-26 c 44 c 18-2023. c 20:17-34 c 27:27-44 c 45 c 21-2324. c 21:1-11 c 28:1-16 c 46 c 24-2525. c 21:12-22 c 28:17-31 c 47 c 26-27

March New Testament Old Testament 4MATTHEW 4ROMANS 4PSALMS 4NUMBERS 1. c 21:23-32 c 1:1-17 c 48 c 1-2 2. c 21:33-46 c 1:18-32 c 49 c 3-4 3. c 22:1-14 c 2 c 50 c 5-6 4. c 22:15-33 c 3 c 51 c 7-8 5. c 22:34-46 c 4 c 52 c 9-11 6. c 23:1-12 c 5:1-11 c 53 c 12-14 7. c 23:13-24 c 5:12-21 c 54 c 15-17 8. c 23:25-39 c 6:1-14 c 55 c 18-20 9. c 24:1-14 c 6:15-23 c 56 c 21-2210. c 24:15-35 c 7:1-12 c 57 c 23-2511. c 24:36-51 c 7:13-25 c 58 c 26-2712. c 25:1-13 c 8:1-17 c 59 c 28-3013. c 25:14-30 c 8:18-39 c 60 c 31-3214. c 25:31-46 c 9:1-18 c 61 c 33-36 4DEUT.15. c 26:1-16 c 9:19-33 c 62 c 1-316. c 26:17-35 c 10 c 63 c 4-517. c 26:36-56 c 11:1-24 c 64 c 6-818. c 26:57-75 c 11:25-36 c 65 c 9-1219. c 27:1-10 c 12:1-8 c 66 c 13-1720. c 27:11-26 c 12:9-21 c 67 c 18-2121. c 27:27-44 c 13 c 68 c 22-2622. c 27:45-56 c 14 c 69:1-18 c 27-2823. c 27:57-66 c 15:1-13 c 69:19-36 c 29-3124. c 28:1-10 c 15:14-33 c 70 c 3225. c 28:11-20 c 16 c 71 c 33-34

April New Testament Old Testament 4MARK 41 COR. 4PSALMS 4JOSHUA 1. c 1:1-8 c 1:1-17 c 72 c 1-2 2. c 1:9-20 c 1:18-31 c 73 c 3-5 3. c 1:21-34 c 2 c 74 c 6-7 4. c 1:35-45 c 3 c 75 c 8-9 5. c 2:1-12 c 4 c 76 c 10-12 6. c 2:13-17 c 5 c 77 c 13-14 7. c 2:18-28 c 6:1-11 c 78:1-39 c 15-17 8. c 3:1-19 c 6:12-20 c 78:40-72 c 18-19 9. c 3:20-35 c 7:1-16 c 79 c 20-2110. c 4:1-20 c 7:17-40 c 80 c 22-2311. c 4:21-41 c 8 c 81 c 24 4JUDGES12. c 5:1-20 c 9:1-12 c 82 c 1-313. c 5:21-43 c 9:13-27 c 83 c 4-514. c 6:1-13 c 10:1-13 c 84 c 6-715. c 6:14-29 c 10:14-33 c 85 c 816. c 6:30-44 c 11:1-16 c 86 c 917. c 6:45-56 c 11:17-34 c 87 c 10-1218. c 7:1-23 c 12:1-13 c 88 c 13-1519. c 7:24-37 c 12:14-31 c 89:1-18 c 1620. c 8:1-13 c 13 c 89:19-52 c 17-1821. c 8:14-21 c 14:1-25 c 90 c 1922. c 8:22-30 c 14:26-40 c 91 c 20-21 4RUTH23. c 8:31-38 c 15:1-28 c 92 c 124. c 9:1-13 c 15:29-58 c 93 c 2-325. c 9:14-32 c 16 c 94 c 4

May New Testament Old Testament 4MARK 42 COR. 4PSALMS 41 SAMUEL 1. c 9:33-50 c 1:1-11 c 95 c 1-2 2. c 10:1-16 c 1:12-24 c 96 c 3-5 3. c 10:17-34 c 2 c 97 c 6-8 4. c 10:35-52 c 3 c 98 c 9-10 5. c 11:1-11 c 4 c 99 c 11-13 6. c 11:12-26 c 5 c 100 c 14 7. c 11:27-33 c 6 c 101 c 15-16 8. c 12:1-12 c 7 c 102 c 17-18 9. c 12:13-27 c 8 c 103 c 19-2010. c 12:28-34 c 9 c 104 c 21-2311. c 12:35-44 c 10 c 105 c 24-2512. c 13:1-13 c 11:1-15 c 106:1-23 c 26-2813. c 13:14-31 c 11:16-33 c 106:24-48 c 29-31 42 SAMUEL14. c 13:32-37 c 12:1-10 c 107 c 1-215. c 14:1-11 c 12:11-21 c 108 c 3-416. c 14:12-31 c 13 c 109 c 5-7 4GALATIANS17. c 14:32-42 c 1 c 110 c 8-1018. c 14:43-52 c 2 c 111 c 11-1219. c 14:53-65 c 3:1-14 c 112 c 1320. c 14:66-72 c 3:15-29 c 113 c 14-1521. c 15:1-15 c 4:1-20 c 114 c 16-17 22. c 15:16-32 c 4:21-31 c 115 c 18-1923. c 15:33-41 c 5:1-12 c 116 c 20-2124. c 15:42-47 c 5:13-26 c 117 c 2225. c 16 c 6 c 118 c 23-24

June New Testament Old Testament 4LUKE 4EPHESIANS 4PSALMS 41 KINGS 1. c 1:1-25 c 1:1-14 c 119:1-8 c 1 2. c 1:26-38 c 1:15-23 c 119:9-16 c 2-3 3. c 1:39-56 c 2:1-10 c 119:17-24 c 4-5 4. c 1:57-66 c 2:11-22 c 119:25-32 c 6-7 5. c 1:67-80 c 3:1-13 c 119:33-40 c 8 6. c 2:1-20 c 3:14-21 c 119:41-48 c 9-10 7. c 2:21-40 c 4:1-16 c 119:49-56 c 11 8. c 2:41-52 c 4:17-24 c 119:57-64 c 12 9. c 3:1-20 c 4:25-32 c 119:65-72 c 13-1410. c 3:21-38 c 5:1-21 c 119:73-80 c 15-1611. c 4:1-12 c 5:22-33 c 119:81-88 c 17-1812. c 4:13-30 c 6:1-9 c 119:89-96 c 19-2013. c 4:31-37 c 6:10-24 c 119:97-104 c 21-22 4PHILIPPIANS 42 KINGS14. c 4:38-44 c 1:1-11 c 119:105-112 c 1-315. c 5:1-11 c 1:12-20 c 119:113-120 c 4-516. c 5:12-16 c 1:21-30 c 119:121-128 c 6-717. c 5:17-26 c 2:1-11 c 119:129-136 c 8-918. c 5:27-32 c 2:12-18 c 119:137-144 c 10-1119. c 5:33-39 c 2:19-30 c 119:145-152 c 12-1320. c 6:1-16 c 3:1-9 c 119:153-160 c 14-1521. c 6:17-26 c 3:10-14 c 119:161-168 c 16-1722. c 6:27-36 c 3:15-21 c 119:169-176 c 18-1923. c 6:37-42 c 4:1-7 c 120 c 20-2124. c 6:43-49 c 4:8-13 c 121 c 22-2325. c 7:1-10 c 4:14-23 c 122 c 24-25

July New Testament Old Testament 4LUKE 4COLOSSIANS 4PSALMS 41 CHRON. 1. c 7:11-17 c 1:1-14 c 123-124 c 1-2 2. c 7:18-35 c 1:15-29 c 125 c 3-4 3. c 7:36-50 c 2:1-7 c 126 c 5-6 4. c 8:1-15 c 2:8-15 c 127 c 7-9 5. c 8:16-25 c 2:16-23 c 128 c 10-11 6. c 8:26-39 c 3:1-14 c 129 c 12-14 7. c 8:40-56 c 3:15-25 c 130-131 c 15-16 8. c 9:1-17 c 4:1-9 c 132 c 17-19 9. c 9:18-27 c 4:10-18 c 133-134 c 20-22 41 THESSALONIANS10. c 9:28-36 c 1 c 135 c 23-2511. c 9:37-50 c 2:1-9 c 136 c 26-2812. c 9:51-62 c 2:10-20 c 137 c 29 42 CHRON.13. c 10:1-16 c 3:1-6 c 138 c 1-214. c 10:17-24 c 3:7-13 c 139 c 3-515. c 10:25-37 c 4:1-10 c 140 c 6-716. c 10:38-42 c 4:11-18 c 141 c 8-917. c 11:1-13 c 5:1-11 c 142 c 10-1218. c 11:14-28 c 5:12-28 c 143 c 13-16 42 THESSALONIANS19. c 11:29-36 c 1:1-7 c 144 c 17-1920. c 11:37-54 c 1:8-12 c 145 c 20-2121. c 12:1-12 c 2:1-12 c 146 c 22-2422. c 12:13-21 c 2:13-17 c 147 c 25-2723. c 12:22-34 c 3:1-5 c 148 c 28-2924. c 12:35-48 c 3:6-13 c 149 c 30-33

25. c 12:49-59 c 3:14-18 c 150 c 34-36

August New Testament Old Testament 4LUKE 41 TIMOTHY 4PROVERBS 4EZRA 1. c 13:1-9 c 1:1-11 c 1 c 1-2 2. c 13:10-21 c 1:12-20 c 2 c 3 3. c 13:22-35 c 2 c 3 c 4-5 4. c 14:1-14 c 3:1-10 c 4 c 6 5. c 14:15-24 c 3:11-16 c 5 c 7 6. c 14:25-35 c 4 c 6 c 8 7. c 15:1-10 c 5:1-15 c 7 c 9 8. c 15:11-32 c 5:16-25 c 8 c 10 4NEH. 9. c 16:1-9 c 6:1-10 c 9 c 1-210. c 16:10-18 c 6:11-21 c 10:1-16 c 3 4 2 TIMOTHY11. c 16:19-31 c 1:1-7 c 10:17-32 c 4-512. c 17:1-10 c 1:8-18 c 11:1-15 c 613. c 17:11-19 c 2:1-13 c 11:16-31 c 714. c 17:20-37 c 2:14-26 c 12:1-14 c 815. c 18:1-8 c 3:1-9 c 12:15-28 c 916. c 18:9-17 c 3:10-17 c 13:1-12 c 1017. c 18:18-30 c 4 c 13:13-25 c 11 4TITUS18. c 18:31-43 c 1:1-9 c 14:1-18 c 1219. c 19:1-10 c 1:10-16 c 14:19-35 c 13 4ESTHER20. c 19:11-27 c 2:1-10 c 15:1-17 c 121. c 19:28-38 c 2:11-15 c 15:18-33 c 222. c 19:39-48 c 3:1-8 c 16:1-16 c 3-423. c 20:1-8 c 3:9-15 c 16:17-33 c 5-6 4 PHILEMON24. c 20:9-19 c 1-11 c 17:1-14 c 7-825. c 20:20-26 c 12-25 c 17:15-28 c 9-10©1983 by The Navigators. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved.

The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan

The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan offers special features that will aid you in your journey through the Bible.

• By reading from four separate places in the Scriptures every day, you should be able to better grasp the unity of the Scriptures, as well as enjoy the variety of four different viewpoints.

• You can begin at any point during the year.

• To prevent the frustration of falling behind, which most of us tend to do when following a Bible reading plan, each month of this plan gives you only 25 readings. Since you’ll have several “free days” each month, you could set aside Sundays either not to read at all or to catch up on any readings you may have missed in the past week.

• If you finish the month’s readings by the twenty-fifth, you could use the final days of the month to study the passages that challenged or intrigued you.

• If reading through the entire Bible in one year looms as too large a task, you can alter the plan to meet your needs. For example, you could read the gospels and the wisdom books this year, and the other two categories next year.

In the year ahead, ask God each day to speak directly to you from the Scripture portions you read. Be expectant, and let your continual exposure to God’s Word reshape your attitudes and behavior as you gain a better understanding of every part of His written testimony to us.

Bible Reading Plan

September New Testament Old Testament 4LUKE 4HEBREWS 4PROVERBS 4ISAIAH 1. c 20:27-40 c 1:1-9 c 18 c 1-2 2. c 20:41-47 c 1:10-14 c 19:1-14 c 3-5 3. c 21:1-19 c 2:1-9 c 19:15-29 c 6-8 4. c 21:20-28 c 2:10-18 c 20:1-15 c 9-10 5. c 21:29-38 c 3 c 20:16-30 c 11-13 6. c 22:1-13 c 4:1-11 c 21:1-16 c 14-16 7. c 22:14-23 c 4:12-16 c 21:17-31 c 17-20 8. c 22:24-30 c 5 c 22:1-16 c 21-23 9. c 22:31-38 c 6:1-12 c 22:17-29 c 24-2610. c 22:39:46 c 6:13-20 c 23:1-18 c 27-2811. c 22:47-53 c 7:1-10 c 23:19-35 c 29-3012. c 22:54-62 c 7:11-28 c 24:1-22 c 31-3313. c 22:63-71 c 8:1-6 c 24:23-34 c 34-3614. c 23:1-12 c 8:7-13 c 25:1-14 c 37-3915. c 23:13-25 c 9:1-10 c 25:15-28 c 40-4116. c 23:26-31 c 9:11-28 c 26:1-16 c 42-4317. c 23:32-37 c 10:1-18 c 26:17-28 c 44-4518. c 23:38-43 c 10:19-39 c 27:1-14 c 46-4819. c 23:44-49 c 11:1-16 c 27:15-27 c 49-5020. c 23:50-56 c 11:17-31 c 28:1-14 c 51-5321. c 24:1-12 c 11:32-40 c 28:15-28 c 54-5522. c 24:13-27 c 12:1-13 c 29:1-14 c 56-5823. c 24:28-35 c 12:14-29 c 29:15-27 c 59-6124. c 24:36-44 c 13:1-8 c 30 c 62-6425. c 24:45-53 c 13:9-25 c 31 c 65-66

october New Testament Old Testament 4JOHN 4JAMES 4ECCLES. 4JEREMIAH 1. c 1:1-18 c 1:1-11 c 1 c 1-2 2. c 1:19-28 c 1:12-18 c 2:1-16 c 3-4 3. c 1:29-34 c 1:19-27 c 2:17-26 c 5-6 4. c 1:35-42 c 2:1-13 c 3:1-15 c 7-9 5. c 1:43-51 c 2:14-26 c 3:16-22 c 10-11 6. c 2:1-11 c 3:1-12 c 4 c 12-13 7. c 2:12-25 c 3:13-18 c 5 c 14-15 8. c 3:1-15 c 4:1-10 c 6 c 16-18 9. c 3:16-21 c 4:11-17 c 7:1-14 c 19-2210. c 3:22-36 c 5:1-6 c 7:15-29 c 23-2511. c 4:1-14 c 5:7-12 c 8 c 26-2912. c 4:15-26 c 5:13-20 c 9 c 30-31 41 PETER13. c 4:27-42 c 1:1-9 c 10 c 32-3414. c 4:43-54 c 1:10-16 c 11 c 35-3815. c 5:1-15 c 1:17-25 c 12 c 39-43 4SONG OF SONGS16. c 5:16-30 c 2:1-8 c 1 c 44-4617. c 5:31-47 c 2:9-17 c 2 c 47-4818. c 6:1-15 c 2:18-25 c 3 c 4919. c 6:16-24 c 3:1-7 c 4:1-7 c 5020. c 6:25-40 c 3:8-12 c 4:8-16 c 5121. c 6:41-59 c 3:13-22 c 5 c 52 4LAM.22. c 6:60-71 c 4:1-11 c 6 c 123. c 7:1-13 c 4:12-19 c 7 c 224. c 7:14-24 c 5:1-7 c 8:1-7 c 325. c 7:25-36 c 5:8-14 c 8:8-14 c 4-5

November New Testament Old Testament 4JOHN 42 PETER 4JOB 4EZEKIEL 1. c 7:37-44 c 1:1-11 c 1 c 1-3 2. c 7:45-53 c 1:12-21 c 2 c 4-8 3. c 8:1-11 c 2:1-9 c 3 c 9-12 4. c 8:12-20 c 2:10-16 c 4 c 13-15 5. c 8:21-30 c 2:17-22 c 5 c 16 6. c 8:31-47 c 3:1-9 c 6 c 17-19 7. c 8:48-59 c 3:10-18 c 7 c 20-21 41 JOHN 8. c 9:1-12 c 1:1-4 c 8 c 22-23 9. c 9:13-25 c 1:5-10 c 9:1-20 c 24-2610. c 9:26-41 c 2:1-11 c 9:21-35 c 27-2811. c 10:1-10 c 2:12-17 c 10 c 29-3012. c 10:11-21 c 2:18-23 c 11 c 31-3213. c 10:22-42 c 2:24-29 c 12 c 33-3414. c 11:1-16 c 3:1-10 c 13 c 35-3715. c 11:17-37 c 3:11-18 c 14 c 38-3916. c 11:38-44 c 3:19-24 c 15:1-16 c 40-4117. c 11:45-57 c 4:1-6 c 15:17-35 c 42-4418. c 12:1-11 c 4:7-21 c 16 c 45-4719. c 12:12-19 c 5:1-12 c 17 c 48 4DANIEL20. c 12:20-36 c 5:13-21 c 18 c 1-2 42 JOHN21. c 12:37-50 c 1-13 c 19 c 3-4 43 JOHN22. c 13:1-11 c 1-14 c 20 c 5-6 4JUDE23. c 13:12-17 c 1-7 c 21:1-21 c 7-824. c 13:18-30 c 8-16 c 21:22-34 c 925. c 13:31-38 c 17-25 c 22 c 10-12

december New Testament Old Testament 4JOHN 4REVELATION 4JOB 4HOSEA 1. c 14:1-14 c 1:1-8 c 23 c 1-3 2. c 14:15-21 c 1:9-20 c 24 c 4-6 3. c 14:22-31 c 2:1-17 c 25-26 c 7-8 4. c 15:1-8 c 2:18-29 c 27 c 9-12 5. c 15:9-17 c 3:1-13 c 28 c 13-14 4JOEL 6. c 15:18-27 c 3:14-22 c 29 c 1 7. c 16:1-11 c 4 c 30 c 2-3 4AMOS 8. c 16:12-24 c 5 c 31:1-23 c 1-2 9. c 16:25-33 c 6 c 31:24-40 c 3-410. c 17:1-5 c 7 c 32 c 5-611. c 17:6-19 c 8 c 33:1-11 c 7-9 4OBADIAH12. c 17:20-26 c 9 c 33:12-33 c 1-21 4JONAH13. c 18:1-18 c 10 c 34:1-20 c 1-4 4MICAH14. c 18:19-27 c 11 c 34:21-37 c 1-315. c 18:28-40 c 12 c 35 c 4-516. c 19:1-16 c 13 c 36:1-15 c 6-7 4NAHUM17. c 19:17-27 c 14 c 36:16-33 c 1-3 4HABAKKUK18. c 19:28-37 c 15 c 37 c 1-3 4ZEPHANIAH19. c 19:38-42 c 16 c 38:1-21 c 1-220. c 20:1-9 c 17 c 38:22-41 c 3 4HAGGAI21. c 20:10-18 c 18 c 39 c 1-2 4ZECHARIAH22. c 20:19-23 c 19 c 40 c 1-523. c 20:24-31 c 20 c 41:1-11 c 6-924. c 21:1-14 c 21 c 41:12-34 c 10-14 4MALACHI25. c 21:15-25 c 22 c 42 c 1-4

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