Category: Trek Prep Thoughts
Experiencing the Abundant Life in 2022
Theme for 2022: Experiencing the Abundant Life!
Key Scriptures: John 10:10-11 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
Psalm 16:5-6, 11 “The Lord is my chosen Portion and my Cup; You hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” . . .”You make known to me the path of Life, in Your Presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Dear Friends and Lovers of God’s Holy Word,
Shalom! Greetings and a blessed and abundant New Year to each one of you! As we embark on a new journey into the future in 2022, we don’t know what this year holds, but we do know the One Who holds on to us and promises an abundant life. It is on the Word of Jesus Christ that we victoriously proclaim a thriving and prosperous new year.
Mary has already and I will soon join her to begin walking through the 75th year of our lives. We are committing to each other and the Lord to live our life fully in His Presence this year. We want the abundant Life promised by our Lord and provided by His life laid down for us, His sheep. Even though we have lived a long and blessed life, we know that God has more for us to learn and do, to enjoy and to experience until He takes us home. Join us as we journey through our 75th year seeking to know Jesus more fully and to increasingly enjoy His peace and Presence. We are going to thrive, not just survive, as we live in His Presence and are filled with His Holy Spirit! Onward and upward, all to His glory!
In His love, John and Mary Morse
Philippians 3:8, 12-13 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, . . .” Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Invitation to weekly zoom!
Dear friends and fellow Bible Students,
Greetings and blessed New Year! This year I will be doing devotions each week through books of the Bible. Our goal is a deeper walk of discipleship with Jesus Christ, our Master. Each person who participates in these devotions should read one chapter of the book of the Bible we are studying each day, five days a week. We will begin with 1st and 2nd Timothy, taking the first two weeks, beginning on January 4th. We will study the Gospel of Mark and then Romans after this. I will choose the books as led by the Holy Spirit following this.
For those interested, I plan on sending weekly links to a zoom call scheduled for 7:00 pm on Thursday evening central time. For those who would like to participate, I would ask you to email me at pastorjem@aol.com and let me know your email and preference of time. I will try and limit each group to 12-14 on a first-come basis. I will email you a link to the zoom session the day before each gathering. At this writing, there are already 9 people who have expressed interest in this journey. The final places will be filled on a first come basis. If more are interested, I might offer a different time. I want to have interaction, not just a lecture.
This trek and weekly zoom are intended to supplement or complement your regular participation in a local church family. This should not be a substitute for regular church attendance.
I look forward to personal sharing and interaction around study of Scripture. I would recommend a good study Bible for your reading. I am currently using the English Standard Version of the “Fire” Bible. It’s notes are designed to equip disciples of Jesus Christ to share the Word of God as Christian workers, teachers, ministers or missionaries. I have used many different study Bibles and versions over the years and am comfortable with most.
Let’s journey together through God’s Holy Word and share insights together. God bless you and may Jesus Christ be glorified! Pastor John Morse
Preparations for 2021 Trek!
Dear friends and fellow-followers of Jesus Christ,
As we end this chronological journey through the entire Bible in 2020, I am humbled to have completed ten years of daily devotions. Five years were New Testament readings and five years were through the whole Bible in various reading patterns. Thank you for those who have joined me as you could.
As I prayed about this coming year, 2021, I felt that the Lord was directing me to book studies reading a chapter a day five days a week and then writing a daily devotion on these chapters. Once a week, I will do a short teaching on these chapters for the week on video. I would like to know if anyone would be interested in joining me on a weekly zoom call to have interaction on the week’s Bible reading. If you are interested would you please email me at pastorjem@aol.com or private message me on Facebook what time of the week would be good for you. I am thinking about a Thursday evening about 7:00 pm central time and possibly a morning at 10:00 am for an hour. I would limit the zoom calls to 10-12 people and an hour or less. I would send out a link each week to join in. Please let me know if you are interested in this approach and would commit for at least the first sessions.
The first books we would study are 1st and 2nd Timothy. These would take two weeks, beginning Monday, January 4th. We can read together and then meet together online to interact and share our thoughts and questions. The Gospel of Mark will be our next book, taking about three weeks. I have these all laid out and have started on Romans as the next book.
This will be a new adventure for me in online technology. My sons will have to assist me in these details, but I am excited at this prospect to share a journey through books of Scripture! In Christ’s Love, Pastor John Morse
2020 Vision for Bibletrektoday.com
Beloved friends and family,
As we journey onward and upward to the heavenly city, a new year awaits us. Our Heavenly Father already knows the end from the beginning (He has 2020 vision!) and has declared our victory in His unchanging Word! He delights in His people and is abounding in compassion towards all, even the lost. His promises are all “Yes!” and “Amen!” and sealed with the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus Christ He waits in anticipation to see His children walking in faith and loves it when we give Him no rest in declaring His promises and asking for fulfillment in our time and our day.
Isaiah 62:6-7 “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.”
3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that My children are walking in the Truth.”
Revelation 22:12-14 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing My recompense with Me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.”
Revelation 22:17 “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”
This year I have chosen the 5-day reading plan located at www.BibleClassMaterial.com. I will select a key passage from Old and New Testaments each day that will take us chronologically through the whole Bible. Please read with me five days and rest or catch up on weekends. Apply the Word by declaring your faith in His unchanging promises. Allow your robes to be washed and made clean. Join the Bride, filled with the Holy Spirit, in calling to the lost, “Come.” Prepare for the sudden arrival of the Lord! Onward to the gates of the heavenly city, our eternal home and great reward!
In His Love and Compassion, John Morse
P.S. Have a blessed New Year and join me in reading chronologically through the whole Bible in this coming year. (260 readings in Old and New Testaments reading five days a week.) We start January 2nd!
Summary of 2019 Bibletrektoday. com journey!
Beloved friends and family,
I am humbled to have finished another year of journey through Scripture. Thank you for joining me in the greatest joy of reading God’s Word and hearing His voice. It is an amazing gift and blessing of grace to know the God who created us and all of life and to think His thoughts.
This year I feel that God has strengthened my faith and washed me with the living water of His Holy Word. My unbelief was exposed in the light of truth. I realize my utter dependence on Him for every grace of life on this journey through earth’s wilderness to the fullness of His Holy City. I have been encouraged to greater boldness to share God’s Word and to look daily for direction and opportunities to glorify my Lord through praying for the needs of hurting people.
I thank God for the call to follow Jesus and to teach and preach His eternal Word. My prayer for each of you is that you will find joy and fulfillment in Jesus Christ and His Word and you will fulfill the purpose that He created you for, bringing glory to His Name! Let the journey continue!
In His Love, John Morse
Faith’s Confessions–2019 BibleTrekToday.Com
December 31st, 2018
Dear Friends and Family,
2019 will mark my 11th year for reading through the Bible and writing devotions on each day’s reading. I have used a five-day reading plan for the last several years. This year, I will use one chapter of the New Testament plus daily reading of one chapter of Psalms and one chapter of Proverbs. This takes us through the entire New Testament once, Psalms nearly twice, and Proverbs over eleven times. .
The focus theme will be “Faith’s Confessions” where verses from that day’s New Testament reading will be developed into a faith confession to be spoken over the day. Jesus asked Peter in Matthew 16:15 “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered with a faith confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” I will also occasionally suggest faith “actions” as well.
Please join me reading through the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs and confessing our belief in God’s Word for 2019. Pause each day to read a chapter of each and listen for God’s voice. Faith comes by hearing His Word and leads us to confess the truth we believe. Confession naturally leads us to obedience that will be pleasing our Lord Jesus, who pleased His Own Father by His complete obedience! This is what becoming a disciple of Jesus is all about!
My own written devotions are meant to encourage you to personally read and listen to our Lord each day and apply His truth to your life as you become the disciple He is forming you to be. Your can learn from my walk as well! Please feel free to comment or share your faith confessions and actions as God works, helping me and others who are trekking through the Bible this year.
In His Amazing Love and Grace, Pastor John Morse
2018 BibleTrekToday.com Theme: Prayer and walking with God!
The Trek: Reading both Old Testament and New Testament from January 1st, 2018- December 31st, 2018
The goal: Read about 3 chapters of Old Testament and 1 chapter of the New Testament each day for five days each week–Monday through Friday. The challenge is to read the Scripture and the notes as well if you have a study Bible. I will be using the English Standard Version (ESV) in the Fire Bible Global Study Edition. I purchase a new Bible each year and try a different version or different study notes. This year, I will be focusing on prayer and a daily walk. Prayer is a neglected practice of many Christians and is a spiritual discipline we can all grow in, myself included.
I will write a short devotion from a passage in the reading relating to prayer each day and conclude it with a short prayer. My prayer is to see God develop my capacity to walk with Him, hear His voice and become intimate with His heart and desires. Our prayer life will bless our families, ministries, workplaces and the nation and world. We can truly become “world-changers” through listening and obeying and asking and knocking! Through prayer, God will release His power and Spirit to bring revival and transformation. God bless you as you join in this journey!
In His Love, Pastor John Morse
Thankful for a Great Year of Rejoicing!
December 30, 2017
Dear fellow Bible readers,
Thank you for joining me during this past years journey through the entire Bible. We read on a 5 day per week rotation of about 4 chapters each day. In each reading, I wrote a short devotion on verses from that day’s reading that brought to mind something to rejoice about or be thankful for. I tied each verse in the Old Testament with a counter-part in the New and vice-versa. I never ran out! This helped me to stay positive and keep a thankful heart in a world saturated with negativity and fear. I pray that you were encouraged with the overflow!
In 2018, we will begin another journey (my tenth year of writing) through the entire Bible with an emphasis on prayer and walking with God. Jesus encouraged His followers to “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.” (Matthew 7:7-8) Paul taught , “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6) Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:24) We will embark on this Bible Trek beginning Monday, January 1st reading 5 days each week with 3-4 Old Testament chapters and one chapter from the New Testament each day. My goal is to inspire prayer and faith that we might walk closely with our Lord each day. In His Love, Pastor John Morse
Happy New Year! 2011 is here!
Scripture reading for January 1st: Matthew 1, Psalms 1 Proverbs 1:1-7
Welcome to BibleTrekToday.com, a blog that comments on a personal journey through the Scriptures in 2011! I would like to invite you to read the Bible along with me and participate in the journey for yourself.
This year I want to focus on the New Testament and plan to write 2-3 days a week so that I can do more reading and spend time in worship and prayer. I will post the readings for each day from the New Testament and Psalms and Proverbs. This will allow a more leisurely reading of Scripture and should allow for a deeper understanding of what we are reading.
Our theme for 2011 at Good Shepherd Church is “By His Spirit”. Key scriptures for this theme are found in Zechariah 4:6-7 and Galatians 5:16-25. The Holy Spirit is the Father’s gift to the Church. The Spirit marks all who belong to Jesus Christ with a seal of ownership (Ephesians 1:18) and is actively involved in helping believers live a victorious life over our flesh and enemy the devil. The Spirit brings gifts to be used as He wills in bringing understanding, healing, and revelation to build up the church. (1st Corinthians 12:4) The Spirit produces fruit that is pleasing and Christ-like as we allow Him to dwell in us. (Galatians 5:22-23)
It is the Holy Spirit who initially baptizes us into the Body of Christ at our conversion. (1stCorinthians 12:13) We are all told to “be filled (and continually filled) with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). This is a continuing work of grace given to those who seek to be Christ’s witnesses. (Acts 1:8, 2:4) Those led by the Spirit of God are sons of God and without the Spirit, we do not belong to God! (Romans 8:9,14)
Many in Good Shepherd Church are filled with the Holy Spirit and learning to live by the Spirit. Others are seeking to learn more. Some are not at all acquainted with the Holy Spirit and all of us can grow in our relationship to the Holy Spirit. Being led by His Spirit is the only path to fulfilling our purpose and living by faith, which ultimately pleases God. Please join us in our passionate pursuit of living life “by His Spirit” as we read the New Testament. It is going to be an exciting year!
A special thanks to my wife and ministry partner, Mary, who has faithfully edited these blogs and offered corrections!
Without a vision–people get lost!
Greetings! How do we find our way in this world? Is it blind chance? Are there natural forces and laws that operate and bring about all that happens? Are we just a chance combination of chemicals that has resulted from years of time and chance? Were our ancestors apes or monkeys? Are we really much more developed than animals? Are our thoughts just the result of chemical reactions in our brains? Is there any real moral truth? If we were to listen to much of what our secular world is saying to us, these questions nag at us. Even as Christians, we sometimes have a very poor understanding of the answers to some basic questions concerning our identity, our purpose here, our ideas, values.
Many professing Christians live as though the moral values taught by the Bible were not true and absolute. They have many of the same attitudes and actions of the unsaved when they live among them day to day. There is a big gap between what the Bible teaches and the way Christians behave. Do they understand the Bible? Do they believe and know what God has said? Are our hearts set on God and His truth? These questions also come to me regularly.
As we trek through the Bible this year, I want to grasp God’s vision for mankind and for me in a new way. I believe that how we believe and think determines how we live. As a Christian, I should know who I am, where I came from, how I lost my vision of God and how to see Him clearly again! Let’s ask God for a fresh vision of the world. Our ‘worldview’ is one of the most important aspects of our life and determines how we live. In His Love, Pastor John
“and He told them this parable: Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?” Luke 6:39 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:18