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Bible in 90 Days Reading Challenge: Resources

God wants each of us in His Word daily.

The Bible in 90 Days Challenge is a great way to purposefully read every word of Scripture from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 in a systematic way. Following the Bible in 90 Days Challenge, you'll read about 10 chapters every day for a period of 90 days. That's right, 90 days.

This is not impossible!

Let me ask you a couple of questions. How much time do you spend watching television each day? How much time do spend playing video games each day? How about those "games" on Facebook that ya'll are playing? I thought so.

Bible in 90 Days Reading Challenge

I have a challenge for you.

Most of us have been challenged by their pastor or Sunday school teacher or friend to read the Bible in a certain amount of time. The time frame is typically in the one to five year range. There are all kinds of programs and plans. Some are chronological. Some are topical. Some take a chapter from the Old Testament, a chapter from the New Testament and add a Proverb a day. There are many variations.

But, like I said, I have a challenge for you...

What would you say if I asked you to read the Bible in ninety, that's nine - zero, 90, days? Yes, 90 days. About 3 months.

And I'm not kidding.

This task is completely possible.

Modern Parables: the Prodigal Sons, Part 1

Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Sons is probably the most beloved of all.

It is endearing and, you could say that it's the one story that gets under our skin. We flinch. We remember something similar in our own life. We may even weep.

The parable of the Prodigal Sons is my favorite. As a son and older brother, then a father, and now a grandfather, this great story presented by the Lord Jesus, never grows old for me. It is always fresh. It is timeless. It is poignant in that it truly describes God's activity in redeeming His supreme creation - mankind. This is a story of true life. It is a story that many of us have either lived or are living.

Please notice that the title uses the word "Sons" as opposed to "Son". As we will see, each sons is a prodigal in his own way. Each one needs the father's love. Each one is in need of redemption. Whether we like it or not, we are all prodigals in our own way.

Modern Parables: the Sower, Part 2

Everybody tells me that the best things are "organic". Organic veggies. Organic eggs and chicken (an egg product). Organic milk.

They tell me those things are "better" for me. I really don't know about that. I just can't bring myself to pay the premium price. In my mind a tomato is a tomato. An egg is an egg. Milk is milk (except chocolate, but that's for another post).

But then there are other "organic" things. Certain chemicals are "organic". As a swimming pool professional I know that certain chlorine compounds are organic and others are inorganic. In that case it's a matter of the presence of carbon in the molecule.

In the computer and search engine marketing universe there are "organic" searches and "paid", or you could say "inorganic" searches. Organic searches are those that come up "naturally" via good and proper key-wording or meta-tagging and so forth.

Then there's God's Kingdom. God's Kingdom can and should be looked at as being "organic". Being under the control of the Trinity (God) in general and the Holy Spirit in particular, His Kingdom is growing and spreading "organically".  "Earthly" kingdoms usually come about by force and bloodshed that are rushed into existence flourish for a time and then rot from the inside and eventually die. Just look over the history of the human race and you'll see exactly that in every single circumstance.

Modern Parables: the Sower, Part 1

As modern, 21st century Americans, we don't fully understand all of this farming stuff.

I mean, where to plant, how to scatter seed, the kind of soil we ideally want or need, it can be a little confusing. I enjoy my little bit of flower gardening but I don't get the complete picture of what it takes to be a "gardener" or a "farmer". Each of them has a goal. Each understands not only his job, but the seed and the environment and all of the factors that go into "bringing in the harvest".

While watching the Modern Parable of the Sower, featuring Tennessee wheat farmer Mr. DeMint, I learned some things that I never knew about the wheat crop. For example, I never really realized that wheat is "bearded" (as in the picture) or clean (no whiskers). It also never dawned on me that wheat is not always that golden color; it's green first. Wheat also takes a fair amount of time to grow and mature - almost 8 or 9 months. That's a lot of time for a farmer to be waiting around for his crop.