Yesterday I finished my first-ever journey through the Bible. On January 15, 2008 I began reading through the Bible chronologically, and yesterday I came to the end.
And guess what?
GOD WINS!!!!!
God bestowed so many blessings on me over the past year as I have been following this reading program.
I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again anyway. If you have never read through the Bible, you really ought to do it! I'm sure there are lots of great reading programs, but I am particularly fond of this one because it lets you pick your start date (the first or fifteenth of any month) and the way you want to read. (Genesis to Revelation, chronologically, historically, etc.) You can even set your homepage to be your reading schedule. It's very cool.
Now that I have completed my first journey, I am going to take some time in the Psalms - going through them slowly: one verse at a time, one day at a time. I started this morning on Psalm 121.
I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from?I know where my help is supposed to come from, but that's in verse two and I didn't want to jump ahead. So this morning I spent time asking God to show me the "other" places I am looking for help. I considered the hills to which I lift up my eyes.
Psalm 121:1
*ADHD medicine
*Lists and schedules
*Words of affirmation
I know each of these things can be used by God for good - and I believe He is using them for good in my life. But I also knew I needed to spend time confessing that sometimes I loose sight of Him and lift my eyes up to these "hills" for help, rather than to Him, alone.
So that's what I did. I confessed.
Then I simply sat quietly in His presence - so I could just "be" with Him. Like Jenni encouraged me to do last week.
And that's my new reading plan. I'm going to go through Psalm 121 - and a couple others, I think, because 121 is very short. I will ask Him to speak to me through His word, and I know I am going to delight in what He says because His words are like honey. Each day I'm going to spend time being with God, and I look forward to receiving His love.
And in another month or so I am going to begin my second journey through the Bible. I can't wait to be reminded of God's glory and goodness and power, and to find treasures I missed the first time through.
How about you? How are you finding fellowship with God today?
8 comments:
Good morning Karen,
I started my day reading the story of Dinah.. very short but good. I am also reading Next Door Savior a few pages at a time. But more imporatantly I am trying to remind myself before I speak to anyone today that they are a child of God just like me and they are growing, too. I think sometimes okay maybe always I want people to be like me and think like me because then I would never deal with strife. The real thing for me to remember is that I too am a work in progress and I need to give everyone my patience just like God gives me.
Not sure if that was what you were asking but I thought I would share because maybe it would make it easier for me to do...lol!!
I hope you have a warm day!!
Ronel
That was really inspirationsl! I have started reading the Bible in a year for the first time this year and I was getting discouraged because I have already fallen behind :(
Your post has inspired me to keep going!
Thanks!
Awesome! Hubby and I are doing a read through the Bible in a year together this year. I have read through it before without a program. But I like doing it with hubby this time around. I love your Psalm focus...today...I forgot to look up and got more than overwhelmed by my sons' learning disabilities...discouragement set it. Finally I remembered to stop looking at the problem and look at my Savior!
This is a really good way to "test" yourself. I've got some testing to do of my own. Thanks Karen!
smooches,
Larie
GOD WINS
Ha ha NOt I have to admit, I laughed out loud at that one! lol
Still makes me chuckle.
lol
Many blessings!
Amanda
Excellent words here Karen. I love how you take time to really reflect on the word...digest it...comprehend it...so different and better than simply reading the words
I started reading through the Bible recently too. I'm in Numbers right now. I'm trying to take it slowly and really listen to God's word. And for the first time in my life I've started praying before I read for God to speak to me through his word. Little by little I'm learning to hear God speak :)
I just finished reading the entire Bible on Dec. 31st...never did it before & it was the BEST experience!! I miss it now, so I'm trying to figure out if I should do it all over again this time with my journal beside me, or focus on my favorite passages.
Great post!
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