Devotional Plan

This is Billy Graham’s Bible reading plan:
Read 5 Psalms every day.
** Multiply today’s date by times 5, and that will give you the psalm you should read today and the four previous Psalms. So if today is the 10th of the month, 10 times 5 is 50 , which means that you should be reading Psalms 46-50. So in a 30-day month one can get through the Psalms. In a 31-day month, save Psalm 119 (its that long psalm that is the longest chapter in the Bible) for the 31st day.

Read 1 chapter of Proverbs every day. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs so one can get through that book once a month too. So if today is November 10, so read Proverbs 10. Proverbs will teach you about wisdom, anger, dealing with difficult people, money, temptation, humility, God's will, and a myriad of practical things.

** The combination is wonderful. Psalms feeds one’s soul and Proverbs will feed one’s mind. Psalms speaks to us about our relationship with God and Proverbs will speak to us about our relationships with people.

Read 5 chapters in daily reading through the Bible. If one reads 5 chapters a day, a person can read through the Bible in a year this way. Try in it in a different Bible translation each year (RSV, KJV, NIV, NASB, NKJV, The Message, ESV, TEV, and many others.

Spend several minutes in prayer:
· praising God
· confessing sin
· remembering others
· giving the Lord your needs, problems, loneliness, and hurts.

Meditate on the goodness of God. Write down what you learn from God in a journal. If you journal the inspirations you get from God, you will be able to go back and re-read them for furtherstudy and your ministry.

End each devotional time with a hymn or song.

All this takes will take an hour a day. But you will more productive, more enthusiastic, more kind and loving to others, and more able to handle the daily irritations of modern life. Martin Luther once said: "I am so busy that I will have to pray an extra couple hours to get my work done." Your days and nights will seem to go better if one is drawing on the strength of God. When you get down, you might find that there is a direct correlation between neglecting your devotional time and your discouragement.

Commit to this plan and it will change your life!

2008 Weekly Bible Reading

January
1-6 Genesis 1-24; Matt 1-7
7-13 Genesis 25-50; Matt 8-12
14-20 Exodus 1-21; Matt 13-17
21-27 Exodus 22-40; Matt 18-22
28- Feb 3 Leviticus 1-14; Matt 23-28

February
4-10 Leviticus 15-27; Mark 1-3
11-17 Numbers 1-17; Mark 4-6
18-24 Numbers 18-36; Mark 7-9
25-Mar 3 Deuteronomy 1-19; Mark 10-13

March
4-10 Deuteronomy 20-34; Mark 14-16
11-17 Joshua; Luke 1-2
18-24 Judges, Ruth; Luke 3-7
25-31 1 Samuel 1-15; Luke 8-10

April
1-7 1 Samuel 16-31; Luke 11-13
8-14 2 Samuel 1-14; Luke 14-17
15-21 2 Samuel 15-24; Luke 18-21
22-28 1 Kings; Luke 22-24
29- May 5 2 Kings; John 1-3

May
6-12 1 Chronicles 1-15; John 4-7
13-19 1 Chronicles 16-29; John 8-10
20-26 2 Chronicles 1-18; John 11-14
27-June 2 2 Chronicles 19-36; John 15-18

June
3-9 Ezra; John 19-21
10-16 Nehemiah; Esther; Acts 1-5
17-23 Job 1-21; Acts 6-10
24-30 Job 22-42; Acts 11-13

July
1-7 Psalms 1-22; Acts 14-16
8-14 Psalms 23-36; Act 17-20
15-21 Psalms 37-50; Acts 21-24
22-28 Psalms 51-65; Acts 25-28
29-Au 4 Psalm 66-86; Romans 1-5

August
5-11 Psalms 87-105; Romans 6-12
12-18 Psalms 106-121; Romans 13-16
19-25 Psalms 122-150; 1Corinthians 1-9
26-Sep 1 Proverbs 1-16; 1Corinthians 10-16

September
2-8 Proverbs 17-31; 2Corinthians 1-5
9-15 Ecclesiastes; 2Corinthians 6-13
16-22 Song of Solomon; Galatians
23-29 Isaiah 1-15; Ephesians
30-Oct 6 Isaiah 16-31; Philippians

October
7-13 Isaiah 32-42; Colossians
14-20 Isaiah 43-53; 1 Thessalonians
22- 27 Isaiah 54-66; 2 Thessalonians
28-Nov 3 Jeremiah 1-21; 1 Timothy

November
4–10 Jeremiah 22-40; 2 Timothy
11-17 Jerm 41-52; Laments; Titus; Philemon
18-24 Ezekiel 1-24; Hebrews
25- Dec 1 Ezekiel 25-48; James

December
2-8 Daniel; Hosea; 1&2 Peter
9-15 Joel - Micah; 1-3 John; Jude
16-22 Nahum-Haggai; Revelation 1-10
23-31 Zech-Malachi; Revelation 11-22

30 Commitments for a New Life

1. Find your God-given mission and purpose. Set your goals, then spend your life achieving them.
2. Have a daily quiet time with God each morning (Psalm 5:3; Psalm 42:1,2). Read and meditate on the Bible (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 19:7-10). Pray for your life and the needs of others (James 5:16). Keep a packet of favorite scriptures on hand to memorize and meditate upon (Psalm 119:11,15,48,97) during the day. Carry a Bible with you to read throughout the day.
3. Pray throughout the day (Colossians 4:2). Talk to God the moment a problem comes.
4. Go to bed on time and early to be rested. Get up early and on time to start the day unrushed.
5. Take one step at a time. Pace yourself for the long-run. See life as a process. Start walking.
6. Rest in the sovereignty of God (Romans 8:28; Psalm 42:5; 46:10; 62:1,2; 68:19). If you can't do anything about a difficult situation, let it go and let God have it (Psalm 27:1,2; 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7). Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe and that He is (Isaiah 41:10: Psalm 95:1-6; 139:1-18). Trust God regardless what your emotions may tell you.
7. Develop authentic humility. Lose the need to self-aggrandize (Psalm 25:9; 36:11; 149:4; 1 Peter 5:5, 6). Don’t take yourself or your successes so seriously. Be less threatened by others.
8. Own your own faults and confess your sins (1 John 1:9; Psalm 32, 51). But don't let others put their sins and problems on you. Don’t take guilt trips. Live in the grace of God (Psalm 103:12).
9. Read devotional literature by Tozer, Nouwen, Foster, Nee, and others to help you in your walk.
10. Develop and nurture several close friendships with godly and wise people for accountability, encouragement, counsel, and fellowship (Proverbs 17:17; Ecclesiastes 4:10; Galatians 6:2).
11. Find a life’s work you can love. Work and excel at your craft and calling. (Ecclesiastes (9:10).
12. Live on less, within your means, and debt-free. Be free from the love of money (Hebrews 13:5)
13. Talk less and listen more. (Psalms 141:3; Ecclesiastes 5:2.) Listen to others with empathy.
14. Play soothing, inspirational music throughout the day (Psalm 57:7; 98:4,5; Ephesians 5:19)
15. Get exercise with aerobics and strength-training most every day (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20).
16. Live healthy. Eat smaller portions, less often, less fat, less sugar, and low carbohydrates. Get 8 hours of sleep every night; eat breakfast; drink water; use sunscreen, brush and floss your teeth: wash your hands often with soap; take vitamins. Have a yearly physical exam and take your doctor’s health advice. Your body is God’s temple so take care of it. (1 Corinthians 6:19,20
17. Give generously to your church, the needy, missions, and worthy people. (2 Corinthians 9:6, 7).
18. Live with optimism and joy. When life gives you lemons, make lemon meringue pie!
19. Develop a forgiving attitude (Ephesians 4:32) toward family, co-workers, neighbors, and everyone you meet (1 Corinthians 13:4-7; Colossians 3:13). Let go of wrongs done to you.
20. Journal your thoughts and inspirations each day. Go back and re-read them often.
21. Do something that gives you pleasure every day (Ecclesiastes 5:18-20).
22. Laugh! Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. (Proverbs 15:13, 15)
23. Become a soul environmentalist. Keep friends who are godly and cheerful (Proverbs 17:17; 27:9). Get rid of foolish and angry people (Psalm 1:1-3; Proverbs 14:7; 16:29; 29:22).
24. Simplify and un-clutter your life so your life has order and efficiency. Junk the unnecessary.
25. Be kind to difficult people (1 Thessalonians 5:15) since they probably need kindness the most.
26. Accept life’s disappointments (2 Timothy 2:3). Pain happens (Matthew 5:45). Grieve, learn, endure, and move on. (Psalm 119:72: Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; James 1:2-4).
27. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity (Proverbs 3:3; 1 Peter 4:8).
28. Deal with your issues. Own our faults. Get rid your weaknesses and faults. Change!
29. Get away frequently to see the wonder and majesty of God in creation (Psalm 19:1-6).
30. Every night before you go to sleep, take a few moments to thank God for His blessings and benefits in your life (Psalms 69:30; 98:1; 100:4; 103:1-5; 145:2).

It's not easy to confront

Confrontation is not easy to do for most people. We try very hard to avoid and pretend everything's okay. Here are the Ten Commandments of Confrontation that may help you.

1. Do it privately, not publicly.
2. Do it as soon as possible.
3. Speak to one issue at a time. Don't overload the person with a long list of issues.
4. Once you've made a point, don't keep repeating it.
5. Deal only with actions the person can change. If you ask the person to do something he or she is unable to do, frustration builds in your relationship.
6. Avoid sarcasm. Sarcasm signals that you are angry at people, not at their actions, and may cause them to resent you.
7. Avoid words like always and never. They usually detract from accuracy and make people defensive.
8. Present criticisms as suggestions or questions if possible.
9. Don't apologize for the confrontational meeting. Doing so detracts from it and may indicate you are not sure you had the right to say what you did.
10. Don't forget the compliments. Use what I call the "sandwich" in these types of meetings:
Compliment-Confront-Compliment.
--- John Maxwell, best-selling author of Developing The Leader Within You.

The Nativity Story - own it

"What the film does best is threefold: 1) It creates a believable, growing bond between Mary and Joseph. 2) It unfolds for us the trial it must have been for Mary to explain that her pregnancy wasn't manmade. In director Catherine Hardwicke's words, "I never [before] thought of who Mary and Joseph were as people, as humans, going through things that we all go through in life (self-doubt and trying to figure out what the right thing to do is; if we're ostracized, how to stand up for our beliefs and for our own faith, even if other people don't believe us and don't agree with us." 3) It confronts us with the harsh realities of living, traveling and giving birth 2,000 years ago. These were no plastic crèche figurines arranged on a mantle. These were frail, very young human beings struggling to find their way in life and discern God's will. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem becomes the symbol for that, as Mary, Joseph, donkey and in utero Baby jolt their way over hill and dale, rock and river, 100-plus miles away from home and comfort just to be told there's no room for them at the inn." - www.pluggedonline.com

Christmas Caroling- December 22nd

will be at Gateway Rest home in Hayward. Join us as we sing Christmas songs for the shut-ins and bless them with Christ's love. It'll start at 6 pm and end at 7 pm. The address is:

26660 Patrick Avenue
Hayward, CA 94544

Ruth Bell Graham TV Special

will be aired Sunday, December 9th at 8 pm on Channel 4.

Be inspired as we celebrate one of the most inspiring women of faith.

Volunteer Opportunity this Saturday, Dec. 15

at Davis St. Family Resource Center in San Leandro, from 9-12 pm. We will bag food and sort children's toys for low income families. Be blessed as you bless others.

www.davisstreet.org

3081 Teagarden Street,

San Leandro, CA 94577

Operation Christmas Child

Thanks to all who provided for the shoeboxes and contributed financially.

We collected 30 shoeboxes. Praise the Lord!

And we also want to thank Sis Jane for leading the church on our first Operation Christmas Child ministry.

Combined Adult Bible Study will be on Saturday

December 1 at 5:30 pm at the Nicolas residence.
It's an opportunity to get to know each other.