God’s essence is majestic. His essence is above what our language can even describe. It is greater than the highest mountain or the deepest ocean or the vastest desert.
But for some of you, prayer is already a developed discipline. You pray for your family. You pray for yourself. When someone lets you know about a prayer need, you at least pray at that time for that need. But do the people you pray for know it?
There is no better way to know God and His plan for you than by studying His word. The Bible even says so!
If you know me at all, you know that I love studying the Bible. It is probably my top hobby - if it is appropriate to call it that.
So in 2021 I was determined to read through the Bible. I’ve done this before - multiple times, several years ago - and found it somewhat dissatisfying.
I mean…I learned. I definitely learned.
But most days I was rushing to get all the verses read and not really STUDYING the Bible. I was
- Not really focused on learning what God wanted me to know…
- Not desiring to know Him or Christ better
- And back then I had no idea that the Bible had one central theme that leads us to Jesus
And if I stopped to do some extra study I used up my prayer time, too.
So in 2021, I was retired with more free time in the morning (when studying is best for me). But I also made up my mind that when I read through the Bible the goal was less about finishing in 365 days than learning from every single passage…every day.
I found a great plan available in YouVersion that I highly recommend! The BibleProject | One Story that Leads to Jesus
Here’s what I love about this plan:
- The goal is to teach you how all of the Bible leads to Jesus
- Video overviews of every book
- Videos on the various types of literature
- Videos on key terms used in scripture
- A Psalm every day
I definitely encourage you to read THROUGH THE BIBLE. Definitely make it a priority, but don’t be discouraged or overwhelmed by the year time-line.
Pray before you start each day asking the Lord to reveal Himself to you in His word.
As you go, share what you learn with someone else and be a blessing to them.
Have you ever read through the whole Bible? What plan did you use?
Do you find it difficult to believe that He could love and/or forgive someone with your “status”?
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Whatever you’re doing to prepare for Christmas, I pray that it includes spending time with the giver of Christmas.
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