Living the Christian Life – Chapter 10: The Gospel of John

Begin by reading a chapter per day in the Gospel of John. The youngest of the original 12 disciples, John was one of Jesus’ best friends. Jesus often chose John, along with his brother James and their friend Peter, to go with Him when He left the other nine to go pray and seek His Father’s will during His earthly ministry. We see an example of this on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36), and in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46). Because they were so close, John had a unique perspective on who Jesus is. The book of John is quite different from the other Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and so it is a good place to start.

The Psalms

After you finish with the Gospel of John, read the Psalms to learn about God’s heart. You will find that the writers of the Psalms explore the full spectrum of human emotions, from the exaltation and praise of God to remorse and guilt for sin and failure as well as fear and anxiety about many troubles in the world. The Psalms are a snapshot of the human condition and our need for a relationship with a loving God.

Proverbs

Move on to read a chapter a day from the book of Proverbs—the book of wisdom—every day. Proverbs has 31 chapters in the book, so you can read one chapter for every day of the month—doubling up on shorter months. Proverbs 9:10 (NLT) declares, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.” The word “fear” in this passage means “reverential awe.” Having this kind of awe of God leads to wisdom, a valuable asset in this life. Studying the sayings from the book of Proverbs is a wise strategy for life.

The Other Gospels

• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
• John

For years, Christian leaders have admonished their followers to “read the red”—meaning the words of Jesus from the Gospels, which many Bibles have traditionally printed in red ink. When you finish Proverbs, move on to the other three Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. While they are quite different from the Gospel of John, you will notice that they are quite similar to each other. Tradition tells us that Luke, the great Christian writer and historian, interviewed Mary the mother of Jesus, the disciples, and other eyewitnesses before writing his Gospel. Many theologians believe that Peter dictated the third Gospel, and that Mark, for whom it is named, wrote it down. Matthew was another of Jesus’ disciples, and he wrote his Gospel from a very Jewish perspective.

Acts

After you’ve completed the Gospels, move on to Luke’s other masterpiece, the Acts of the Apostles (which really could be called the acts of the disciples, since the apostles weren’t the only ones that Luke wrote about). This book is a wonderful retelling of the history of the First Century Church. Since most of these people were disciples, apostles, or eyewitnesses of Christ, they would have been most familiar with His teachings. We gain much insight into the Christian lifestyle by observing the habits and behavior of these early disciples of Jesus.