Things are starting to get smoother.

Today’s reading went very well. I woke up naturally at 4:40 AM without an alarm and was able to sit down and begin reading at 4:45 AM. As I have done the last two days, I started with prayer. I asked God to protect my mind and body from distractions and to help me engage the text with my full attention, seeking to understand what I was reading rather than merely getting through it.

Another factor that helped today go more smoothly was something I learned about my tea consumption. I realized that the iced tea I normally drink contains caffeine, and caffeine affects my sleep and waking patterns more than I had recognized. Providentially—and completely by accident—I recently purchased both caffeinated and decaffeinated tea.

After waking up late yesterday and struggling with focus, I decided to make two separate gallons of tea: one caffeinated and one decaffeinated. My plan now is to drink caffeinated tea only during the morning hours. After noon, I switch exclusively to decaffeinated tea. It is a small adjustment, but I suspect it contributed to waking up naturally this morning and feeling more alert and focused during today’s reading.

Today I added a new challenge to the exercise: after reading, could I remember five important things from the book without looking back at the text?

I am not necessarily looking for the most interesting facts, but rather the truths that the author emphasized repeatedly. If the author of Hebrews keeps returning to a theme, then it is probably something I should remember.

My prayer lasted from 4:45 AM to 4:46 AM, and then I began reading.

There were a few verses that caused me to stop and reread them because they did not immediately make sense to me. In particular, Hebrews 3:3 and 3:19 made me pause. It was almost as if my brain said, “That didn’t make sense. Go back and read that again.” When I reread those verses, I did so out loud. Hearing the words spoken helped me understand them more clearly than simply reading them silently.

I finished reading at 5:31 AM. That means I read all 13 chapters in 45 minutes, my fastest reading yet. More importantly, I felt like I understood more of what I was reading.

Here are my five key takeaways from today’s reading:

1. Jesus is superior to the angels.
2. Jesus serves as our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
3. Melchizedek was both priest and king of Salem, and Abraham gave tithes to him.
4. The Aaronic priesthood was temporary and served as a shadow pointing forward to the greater priesthood represented by Melchizedek.
5. Our redemption is secured by our great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

One thing I am beginning to notice is that repeated reading helps connect ideas that seemed disconnected before. Themes that felt scattered on Day 1 are starting to come together into a larger picture. I am still very early in this challenge, but I can already see why meditation requires repetition. The more I read Hebrews, the more the author’s argument begins to unfold.

Goal for Tomorrow

Tomorrow I plan to read the entire book again. In addition, I want to begin outlining Chapter 1 and identifying its major themes and arguments. My goal is not only to read Hebrews repeatedly, but to begin understanding how the author builds his case from chapter to chapter.