Category Archives: 2 Timothy

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Bible Reading 2022: The One-Year Chronological Bible

Read the Bible in Community - It's Better That Way

SYNOPSIS: There’s no greater practice for going deep with God than through the daily practice of Bible study—reading, meditating, journaling, memorizing, and praying the Scriptures — and doing it in community with other believers. That spiritual practice will contribute to your growth as a believer and your entrance into the deep things of God like nothing else. It’s as simple as that. Here’s what regularly reading and applying God’s Word will do for you: mature your faith, morph you into greater Christlikeness, deepen your knowledge of God, insulate your life from sin, enlarge your Kingdom effectiveness, increase your spiritual power, develop life skills for the daily challenges you face, and allow you to live in the blessing zone of God’s favor. I hope you’ll join me in daily reading “The One Year Chronological Bible” in 2022 as we “go deep” with God .

Go Deep// 2 Timothy 3:14-17

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Let’s go deep with God this year! When I was growing up in a small Southern Oregon town, the kids in my neighborhood would regularly gather in the street in front of my house. There we would play some of the best football games on the planet—even better than even the Super Bowl! Street football—skinned knees, bruised elbows, bragging rights (at least for that day), and tons of fun! Man, there was nothing like it!

The favorite play called in the huddle, was, of course, “go deep! Forget about short-yardage running plays or screen passes, we wanted the glory, paydirt, “tud!”, our name for a touchdown So just about every play was “go deep!” I’m telling you, that’s the way football at every level ought to be played.

I want to go deep this year in God, don’t you? I don’t want to splash around in the shallows or wade around in the wimpy water near the shore, I want to get into the depths of God like never before. Do you want to join me?

If you do, then I know of no greater practice for going deep with God than through the daily practice of Bible study—reading, meditating, journaling, memorizing, and praying the Scriptures. That spiritual practice will contribute to your growth as a believer and your entrance into the deep things of God like nothing else. It’s as simple as that. Here’s what regularly reading and ruthlessly obeying God’s Word will do for you:

  • Mature your faith
  • Morph you into greater Christlikeness
  • Deepen your knowledge of God
  • Insulate your life from sin
  • Enlarge your Kingdom effectiveness
  • Increase your spiritual power
  • Develop life skills for the daily challenges you face
  • Allow you to live in the blessing zone of God’s favor

I hope you’ll join me in 2022 as we “go deep” in God through the daily reading of his Word. To help us along the way, I invite you to sign up for the free creative Bible reading plan called the “The One Year® Chronological Bible” (once you download it, go to the Bible Reading Plans and make sure to select The One Year® Chronological Bible). Or, you can purchase a hard or electronic copy of your preferred Bible version from your favorite bookseller. Of course, you can choose your own Bible reading plan, but no matter what you do, choose to read God’s Word in 2022 and, if at all possible, read it with others.

By the way, there is no greater act of faith, obedience and yes, even worship, than to devote yourself to “rightly dividing the Word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

Let’s go deep in God’s Word this year!

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Bible Reading Plan – 2021

Go Deep in God’s Word This Year

SYNOPSIS: I know of no greater practice for going deep with God than through the daily practice of Bible study—reading, meditating, journaling, memorizing and praying the Scriptures. That spiritual practice will contribute to your growth as a believer and your entrance into the deep things of God like nothing else. It’s as simple as that. Here’s what regularly reading and ruthlessly obeying God’s Word will do for you: mature in your faith, morph into greater Christlikeness, deepen your knowledge of God, insulate your life from sin, enlarge your Kingdom effectiveness, increase your spiritual power, develop life skills for the daily challenges you face, and live in the blessing zone of God’s favor. I hope you’ll join me in 2021 as we “go deep” in God through the daily reading of his Word.

Go Deep// 2 Timothy 3:14-17

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Let’s go deep with God this year! When I was growing up in a small Southern Oregon town, the kids in my neighborhood would regularly gather in the street in front of my house. There we would play some of the best football games on the planet—even better than even the Super Bowl! Street football—skinned knees, bruised elbows, bragging rights (at least for that day) and tons of fun! Man, there was nothing like it!

The favorite play called in the huddle, was, of course, “go deep!” Forget about short yardage running plays or screen passes, we wanted the glory, paydirt, “tud!”, our name for a touchdown So just about every play was “go deep!” I’m telling you, that’s the way football at every level ought to be played.

I want to go deep this year in God, don’t you? I don’t want to splash around in the shallows or wade around in the wimpy water near the shore, I want to get into the depths of God like never before. Do you want to join me?

If you do, then I know of no greater practice for going deep with God than through the daily practice of Bible study—reading, meditating, journaling, memorizing and praying the Scriptures. That spiritual practice will contribute to your growth as a believer and your entrance into the deep things of God like nothing else. It’s as simple as that. Here’s what regularly reading and ruthlessly obeying God’s Word will do for you:

  • Mature in your faith
  • Morph into greater Christlikeness
  • Deepen your knowledge of God
  • Insulate your life from sin
  • Enlarge your Kingdom effectiveness
  • Increase your spiritual power
  • Develop life skills for the daily challenges you face
  • Live in the blessing zone of God’s favor

I hope you’ll join me in 2021 as we “go deep” in God through the daily reading of his Word. To help us along the way, I have provided a creative reading plan called the “One Year Bible. You can purchase a hard or electronic copy of your preferred Bible version on Amazon, or you can download a free app of the same for your smartphone on YouVersion (once you download it, go to the Bible Reading Plans and make sure to select The One Year Bible plan) or use an existing Bible to follow the reading schedule on the Portland Christian Center webpage, which is also a printable PDF.

Of course, you can choose your own Bible reading plan, but no matter what you do, choose to read God’s Word in 2021. By the way, there is no greater act of faith, obedience and yes, even worship, than to devote yourself to “rightly dividing the Word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

Finally, I am also inviting you to join me in memorizing scripture this year. I have selected fifty-two verses for us to commit to memory—one for each week of the year. And I will post a devotional blog for each verse on every Monday this year. Check it out at www.raynoah.com.

Let’s go deep in God’s Word this year!

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Your Tombstone

Reflect:
II Timothy 3:10-17 & 4:1-8

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (II Timothy 4:7-8)

This is the self-summation of Paul’s life—carved in perpetuity by God’s hand in the granite of His eternal Word as a living witness to the faithful life Paul lived. This is his epitaph, if you will.

And one day you, too, will have an epitaph chiseled on a tombstone. If you doubt that, take a stroll through a cemetery and you’ll see that everyone gets one. In fact, I’d highly recommend that stroll, because what you read on the final markers tells a lot about the lives of those buried beneath them…and so it shall be for you! A New England headstone captured that sobering truth well:

As you pass by and cast an eye
As you are now so once was I

Epitaphs like that confront you with the unavoidable reality that one day you will have your entire life summed up and chiseled onto a stone for others to read. Paul got an epitaph…I will get one…you will get one, too. The only question is, what will yours say? I hope mine will be like Paul’s:

I have fought the good fight
I have finished the race
I have kept the faith

Whatever you want yours to say means that you’ve got to live your life that way between now and then—starting today!

“No man ever repented of being a Christian on his death bed.” ~Hannah More

Reflect and Apply: Write the epitaph that you would like to appear your tombstone. Now, start living that way!

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Buck Up Soldier

Reflect:
II Timothy 2:1-26

“Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” (II Timothy 2:3)

I admire Paul’s attitude toward discomfort. Whether he was being thrown in prison, beaten with rods, drifting at sea on a plank from the ship that had just wrecked, being kicked out of the city for preaching the Gospel, abandoned by his so-called friends, told he was crazy by government officials, or many of the other various things he had suffered, he treated them as just being part of the job. Suffering was just all in a days work for Paul.

Maybe those city officials were right—Paul was a little crazy. (Acts 26:24) Who in their right mind has such a lackadaisical attitude about hardship? The answer: One who sees their role in life as a soldier for Jesus Christ.

Soldiers are tough. They endure suffering. They undergo discipline to make them stronger, more battle-ready. They serve at the pleasure of their commander and fight for king and country. And those of us who are citizens of that country are glad for that.

Paul says that we, too, are soldiers. And what is true of a real soldier ought to be true of spiritual soldiers as well. We should expect discomfort—it toughens us. We should leverage hardship to make us battle-ready—we’re in a very real spiritual war, after all. We ought to embrace the suffering that comes as a part of what serving at the pleasure of the Commander means. We need to reframe our thinking so as to see all of life, including persecution, rejection, and any sort of pain, along with all the wonderful benefits and blessings that outweigh them all (II Corinthians 4:17), as the privilege of soldiers fighting for another Kingdom.

And there’s one more thing Paul understood about suffering that made it endurable: The reward at the end of the battle. He knew that he, and everyone else who suffered as a Christian, would also reign with Christ. It takes a “long view” of life to see it that way, but what a great motivation we have. If we suffer with Christ, and if we endure for Christ, if we persevere and overcome as soldiers for Christ, we will live with Christ forever and reign in his eternal kingdom.

Reframe your thinking—your suffering now will pay off later in ways that I cannot even begin to describe. It will be worth it all.

So buck up, soldier!

Carry on.

“When a man has quietly made up his mind that there is nothing he cannot endure, his fears leave him.” ~Grove Patterson

Reflect and Apply: Here is a prayer you may want to offer today: “Dear Lord, you suffered so much for me, and for that I am eternally grateful. Now Lord, strengthen me to suffer redemptively—without so much as a complaint. What a privilege to be in discomfort for your sake. It is such a small price to pay to be a good soldier for you.”