Day 3 of Walking Thru the Word

Today's segments were from Gen. 5-8, Psalms 3, Matt. 2:1-12 and Acts 2:1-21

I am down to the wire today with only 2 hours left but I guess better late then never!

Gen. 5: Gives us the line of Adam. I particularly like v.22 because it talks about Enoch "walking with God" The only other person that I know of that is said to "walked with God" was Noah in Gen. 6:9. When it refers to the later Patriarchs it says they "walked before" God but not with. I find that to be very interested and one day want to look into that some more!

Gen. 6: God tells Noah about the flood and in v.18 says He will establish a convent with Him.

Gen. 7: v2 "Take with you seven kind of every clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every unclean animal, a male and its mate." This is the first time that I have ever realized that he took more then 2 of some of the animals! Am I the only one who has missed this???!!!

Gen. 8: v.1 "But God remembered Noah......" Do you think that Noah thought God had forgotten all about him? I do. I have been in situations where I have felt like I was obedient but the flood waters kept coming and they did not seem to be receding. I have asked...."How long God until you come through on my behalf? How long will I feel so rocked by the waves? I have asked do you remember me Lord? I am thankful that just like Noah....God started the process of showing me the dry ground and reminding me of His covenant with me. How fitting that the next place we go is.....

Psalms 3 v.3-4 "But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from his holy hill."

Matt.2:1-12: This section is where the Magi come and present Jesus gifts and then being told in a dream do not return to Herod but go a different a route. I may be taking some liberates here but when I read this I thought how true that is today.....When we have a TRUE encounter with Christ we don't go back to what we know or what we intended. We are CHANGED! What else is there to do other then lay gifts at His feet and turn aways from what we know?

Acts. 2:1-21: Pentecost

Day 2 of Reading Thru the Word

Today's segments were Gen. 3-4, Psalms 2, Matt. 1:18-25, Acts. 1:12-26

Gen. 3:3 Satan led Eve to be careless with God's Word and she said that Christ said something He did not say. He did not say they could not look at it just that they could not eat it! This one verse really motivates me to be a true studier of God's Word so I can rightly divide the truth of God. It is one of the reasons that I am a strong believer in corporate bible study. If you do not study the word of God and are just relying on what other people tell you His Word says how can you ever rightly divide the truth? God desires to speak personally to you. Are you letting Him?

Gen. 4:7 "If you do what is right will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you but you must master it." This is a great reminder to me that sin is knocking at my door. There is an enemy and he will do WHATEVER it takes to distract me from God's purpose for me. I can not be idle in my attack. I have to live on purpose and be on guard. The only way I can master sin is through the Holy Spirit that lives inside of me. I must continue to study God's Word so that I will know what His will His for me His good and perfect pleasing will. (Romans 12:2)

Psalms 2 Great reminder that God has complete control over the "kings" we have here. It reminded me of the verse in Daniel that speaks about how God sets up kings and deposes them. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. (Dan. 2:21)

Matt. 1:18-25 Birth of Jesus Immanuel CHRIST WITH US! I love thinking about this in conjunction with John 1:14 " The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Acts. 1:12-26: This is where the disciples choose Mathis to replace Judas by casting of lots. It is the last time in NT that casting of lots is mentioned. We never hear anything else about Mathis that I know of in scripture but scholars think he took the gospel to Ethiopia.

Day 1 of Reading Thru the Word

My segments today were Gen. 1&2, Psalms 1, Matt. 1:1-17, and Acts 1:1-11

Gen. 1 Creator God
Gen 2:7 "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." I love the phrase "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." God is the life giver and has breathed life into me on more the one occasion.

Psalms 1:2-3 Is one of my favorite verses. It reminds me that when I delight in the Lord and meditate on his Word "I will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever I do will prosper." I long to be so planted in the Word of God that I can not be moved by circumstances.

Matt. 1:1-17 Genealogy of Jesus

Acts 1:1-11 Jesus ascended into heaven and told his disciples to wait on the Holy Spirit.

I am also going thru a prayer journey called Whispers of Hope by Beth Moore. I am on day 24. My reading for that was in Exodus 16. I have had a love/hate relationship with the book of Exodus over the last 2 years. I have followed closely the wilderness journey of the Israelites and have many posts below this one talking about that journey. My favorite things she said in today's segment are "We are far less likely to be obedient when we are not in need." I am very sad to say that I have seen that to be so true in my own life. The times that I have sought God with my every breath were the times that I needed Him more then that breath! It is so easy for me to overlook my time with Him when all is well in my world.

She later goes on to say that "God is so faithful. So daily." I love that! The dailyness of our God. He did not just come once and die and for our sins and now is out of the picture.
He is our DAILY God.

Happy New Year

So I am really really bad at keeping up with this blog as noted since I have not posted since July. Some of the reason is due to privacy issues but most of it has to do with documenting life other places! However, I am going to try to jump back on the bandwagon! We have had a VERY laid back last 2 days. Football has been on our TV constantly and I have only left the house once in 48 hours! Today I even took a 3 hour nap....it was pure bliss!

I have created my goals for 2010 and cleaned the house but other then that I have had a very unproductive 2 days. Here are my goals in no particular order.

1. Loose 20 pounds with 10 of those pounds gone by May for our beach trip.
2. Clean my house once a week.
3. Be a better steward of everything God has given me (family, money, body, etc.)
4. Read thru the Bible in a year. To do this I am following a plan I found on line that has you in 4 different books a day. You read 2 OT and 2 NT excerpts each day.

I think most of this blog will be about my journey through God's Word this year as I document my thoughts each day. It will give me a place to keep up and be accountable even though I don't think anyone reads this except me!

Tenderness of God

I have had few seasons in my life with Christ that He very clearly was displaying a certain characteristic of Himself to me over and over again. For example, when my dad was dying the FAITHFULNESS of God was the recurring theme in my walk with Him. The faithfulness of God is something that I have held very tightly to over the last 5 years since my dad's death. The faithfulness of God is something that I have reflected on, thanked Him for, and continued to see evidence of in my life. However, in this new season, He has sowed a new attribute of Himself deeply in my heart. When I reflect back over the last year I think the reoccurring theme for me will be the TENDERNESS of God.

God has displayed His tenderness to me in several different ways. I have been on a wilderness journey with Him over the last year. Just like the Israelites He CHOSE the wilderness for me to draw me closer to Him. He wanted me to see the Red Sea part and experience His intimacy at Mt. Sinai. I have been studying about the Israelites journey through the wilderness since last August. God has been so faithful(there is that word again!) to me to allow me to see Him and His purpose for my journey through the examples we are given in Exodus. I have written several post about how I relate to the Israelites more then I care to!

Tonight when I was in God's Word I went to Hosea 2:14-23 and fell on my face before God thanking Him for His tenderness towards me.

"Therefore I am going to allure her; I will lead her in the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of Egypt." (Hosea 2:14-15)

I know that God is a God of justice but I also know that He is a God of grace. He has brought me to the wilderness to show me His great love for me. I am so thankful for Psalms 3:3

"But You are a shield around me, O Lord. You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry out and HE answers me from His holy hill."

I begged God to remind me of these truths when I feel like I am wandering aimlessly through the wilderness. I have been reminded that God showed up in a very powerful way to all the Israelites, not just Moses, when they were at Mt. Sinai. Here is the thing....Mt. Sinai was the farthest place south of their "promised land" that they could be BUT that is where God spoke to them individually. Do you believe you are so far away from where God's "promised land" is for you that there is no hearing His voice? Be encouraged fellow traveler when we think we are at the farthest point from our destination....God's plan for us......just maybe we have a Mt. Sinai coming our way. Do you believe that God wants to speak to you? Not just your pastor or your favorite Bible Study teacher....but to YOU! His Word is living and active. Will you allow Him to speak tenderly to you...even if it means He takes you to the desert?

"Come let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us., He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds. . After two days He will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in His presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. "
Hosea 6:1-3

Lord thank you for speaking tenderly to me. Thank you for being my hope in the middle of a storm. You have indeed been the lifter of my head. You have heard my cry and have continued to prove Yourself faithful to me. I want to acknowledge You. I know that as surely as the sun sets you are coming back. I believe everything You say about who You are and who I am in You. I think you for your grace that even though I have sinned against You....even though I have acted like a harlot.....you still allure me and speak tenderly to me and long to make me like Your Son.

Reflection of my 28th year

Today I enter into the last year of my 20's! When I think over the last year my immediate response is to say "Adios 28- I will not miss you AT ALL!" But upon further reflection I think I just might miss 28. It has been by far my toughest year. I have had almost everything I hold dear ripped out from under me. My marriage took a hard hit this year, I lost the security of a comfortable ministry (is there even such a thing....and if so maybe we should double check it!), the security of a comfortable income, and the security of a familiar place with friends I love and could always count on! I have lost a lot but in the process I have gained more of Jesus. Jesus has proven Himself faithful to me time and time again. When I felt like my world was crumpling around me, which has been often this past year, His Name has been my strong tower (Proverbs 18:10).

Thank you Jesus for loving me through all of my complaints and grumblings. Thank you for choosing the wilderness for me. You wanted to take me on a journey where I would know without a doubt You are enough.Your grace is sufficient. The journey has been tough but You have been my constant guide- my ever present help in my time of need (Ps. 46:1). I am excited to continue the journey with You and know that even you if choose the wilderness it is for my greater good and Your glory will be center stage. I choose you Lord- I trust Your plan and your purpose. I rest in the fact that You do indeed make all things all new.

"I have heard of You by the hearing of my ear; but now my eyes have seen You." Job. 42:5

Want to be more like Jesus and less like the Israelites

Lord,
Thank you for Your Word and how it speaks to me through your Holy Spirit. Your Word is living and active, sharper then any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb. 4:12). You have proven Yourself faithful to me over and over again yet I look and act more like the Israelites then your Son. As much as Your discipline hurts I am thankful for it because I know Heb. 12:10 tells me it is for my good so that I can share in Your holiness. Lord forgive me for my unbelief. You have led me out of a bad situation. You have given me glimpses of refreshment and rest like you did for the Israelites at Kadesh Barnea. You have worked upstream for me and was already working things out even though I could not see it with my physical eyes like you did for the Israelites at Adam when they crossed over the Jordan. (Joshua 3). But so often, in fact more often the not, I find myself wallowing aground in Meribah and Massah (Ex. 17:1-7) grumbling against You because in a particular moment I don't see a way out. You have proven Yourself true to me over and over and over. You have shown me that indeed You do make all things new. Lord I beg of You to grow my faith- grow my belief. I don't want to doubt or question You just because my world does not align the way I think it should at any given moment. Give me more of You Jesus and so much less of me. My heart is deceitful above all things Lord and can not be trusted but You CAN. May I fix my eyes on You Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith, who for the joy set before You endured the cross, despising the shame, and set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2). You are able Lord to turn this crazy woman who falters around in unbelief into a mighty warrior of Your Word. Because of Your work on the cross I come boldly to Your throne and approach it with confidence to receive mercy and find grace. (Heb. 4:16).