Pause (Before we’ve even started)

As soon as I got set up to start sharing my thoughts, the Lord put it on my heart to pause. It only took me about 2.5 years to get to the point where I was “ready” to share…why start now?  He wanted “my eyes to pass over all of the words” of the Bible.  So, I searched a “bible-in-a-year” reading plan and landed on a chronological one (not Genesis-Revelation in order, but jumping around a bit based on the timeline) which was great for understanding the “when” of everything.  Reading straight through can be a bit confusing as some events happened at the same time (not again).

Being an impatient person (and based on failed past attempts) I couldn’t wait through a whole year.  Instead of following the days of the plan, I read FOUR DAYS each day (almost…I had to use some Sundays to catch up).  I wasn’t sure what I would discover, but it wasn’t meant to be a deep dive, it was simply and literally my eyes passing over all of the words.  In a graph-paper composition notebook with my previous attempt at reading the Bible in a year (begun 8.21.02- I made it through Exodus and skipped to Hosea, Joel and Amos then quit) I made notes with questions and thoughts with the intent of going back and digging deeper.  I ended with  33 pages (numbers are important) of my summary, key verses, questions and thoughts on the entirety of God’s inspired Word.

It is Finished?

In completing this pause of faithfulness, I don’t know that I feel much different about His Word.  There wasn’t anything wildly profound that I hadn’t seen before, it was mostly confirmation of things I already know, with a sprinkling of “really?!” (there are some crazy, and hilarious stories in there, especially the OT).  Mostly, what I’ve ended with is a confirmation that God’s word is all good and all points to Jesus.  His ways are not for us to figure out, but for us to trust that His will and His ways have always been and always will be what is best for us. 

Several times in Scripture there are references regarding testimony of two or more witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15, Matthew 18:16, John 8:17, 2 Corinthians 13:1, 1 Timothy 5:19, Hebrews 10:28) .  God’s word is a witness, His Spirit is a witness, my thoughts in relation to Him are a witness.  When at least two of these things align, there is Truth and that is exactly what He wanted me to see in His Word.

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.

James 1:22-25

I truly believe that if more Christians would simply open their Bibles and let God’s Word speak to them, and do what it says, the Church would have a much greater impact on the world (being prepared for “every good work” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17).  What is stopping us from this simple practice?  If I, with a full-time job, husband, kids, dogs, home, etc. can find time to do this, anyone can.  I often tell my daughter, if you want something badly enough, you will make a way.  What better investment is there than to make time to deepen your knowledge of the author and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:2)?

A New Reading Plan…already?

I knew this calling was of the Lord because, the thing is, I HATE READING.  Inspired by the Spirit the more I read, the more I wanted to read and now that I’ve read it all, I want to do it again!  I want to know the Bible more and to know it better.  My plan was for there to be a break from the book-by-book study and just do She Reads Truth for a bit, but I couldn’t wait to start on my next study adventure.

For this next season, I will be “casting lots” to go through each book with my Charles Spurgeon Study Bible.  So moving forward, I will be using a random number generator to pick the book and reading as much or as little as I can each day (including all footnotes, quotes and sermons, and the background of the books).  We’ll see how long this takes, but I’m looking forward to God guiding me through the the study and seeing what Spurgeon has to say about everything.

If anything is keeping you from jumping into His Word, please contact me. I’d love to provide anything you need to overcome any hurdle.