Welcome to 2007! Yesterday I finished my “umteenth” pass through the Robert Murray M’Cheyne Bible reading schedule. I think it is a great idea to read through the Bible in a year and to do it more than once. In the past, I have used the One Year Bible and that works well too. Or you can just read three or four chapters a day and get through it. But for 2007 I’ve decided to do something different. Throughout 2006 I’ve heard professors and pastors and others say that it might be good also to slow down your reading and to read consecutively. Dr. VanGemeren this past term even suggested reading only one book of the Bible for a year. Reading it slowly, repeatedly, meditatively and allow it to soak in to you. So that’s what I’ve decided to do for 2007. I’m going to read 3 John and nothing but! :) Kidding, I am going to focus my morning quiet time on the Gospel of Luke for the year. Yes, I will be reading elsewhere in the Bible for other purposes, but for my quiet time I’m going to stick to Luke.

Why? A number of reasons, really. Luke is a gospel and I haven’t really focused on a gospel since I taught John a number of years ago. The past two years of seminary have given me a new appreciation and a new approach to reading narrative and I’d like to read a gospel with this new pair of eyes. Luke is about disciples and I know I could do better in that area of my spiritual walk. I might well be leading a church plant starting in the fall and Luke, as a handbook on disciples, might be very helpful. I might preach through it or teach through it as part of that work. Or it might prove helpful as I develop a discipleship program for the plant.

So this year it will be Luke and I every morning and I started this morning with the introductory material in my ESV Reformation Study Bible and most of chapter one. Already I have something to chew on. After Luke’s introduction (1:1-4) he introduces us to John the Baptist’s parents Elizabeth and Zachariah and John’s miraculous conception. Then we’re introduced to Mary and her even more miraculous pregnancy. What stood out about these two episodes is that they are both uniquely God’s initiative. Zachariah goes into the temple alone to perform his ecclesiastical duty and is confronted by an angel announcing the coming miraculous conception of his son. Then Mary is confronted by the same angel with a similar message. Neither were seeking the roles God chose for them. The Incarnation is God’s initiative as it could only be.

I have a feeling that this year I’ll be blogging through Luke so I even added a category for it. We’ll see how this goes, I’m positive that it cannot be a waste of time.