Anyway, the girls were on a 2 hour delay this morning. Eric was so sweet to come back home and get them to take them to school. When the house was quiet, I abandoned my huge project to have my quiet time with the Lord.
I'm back to the beginning of my One Year Bible which I love. Fresh Start. For some reason, during this season (for the past few years, actually) I am enjoying the Old Testament so much. I am a student of God's Word and every chapter I read seems like the first time. I just love it. (Oh hey, I just remembered our bible study starts on Monday and we're studying The Patriarchs. Well, what about that?)
As I'm reading each day, I am remembering lessons God taught me this time last year in those very same verses as I committed to reading His Word in a year. I fought temptation this morning when I thought, "I know this already. You taught me this lesson through this Scripture last year".
After reading through the passages quickly, I recalled, " .... behold, I will do a new thing. NOW it shall spring forth! Shall ye not know it?" and I knew God had a specific and different message for me today through familiar verses. So, I read them again and got so tickled at my new discoveries.
All this sounds random, but my point to this post is to remind myself (and maybe you?) just how powerful God's Word really is. It is the 'discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart' and can turn a life around in an instant. It is alive!
Without it and the Lord speaking through it, I fall quickly and deeply into a pit of despair.
So, what about you? Are you plodding through life without the words that breathe life into us? Sustain us? Guide us? Help us to lead righteous lives?
God wants to do a new thing in each of our lives. We cannot possibly know what that is if we aren't listening to Him through His word.
Do you have a reading plan? What do you do in your quiet time? Do you use a devotion book? Bible Study book? Or, do you read the Bible in a year?
I would love to hear what others do to stay in the Word!
24 comments:
You are right altough I forget how important reading God's Word. Not because I want to. I get busy and put other things ahead of it. I am starting fresh. I use a devotion book I just purchased before the new year, my bible and my journal.
Oh and early in the morning is the time for me.
CM
YOU have GOT to go to my blog and see what I posted about today.....it answers your questions I think. =)
This is a good word from God's Word of life!! Thank you for sharing what He revealed to you this morning! I stay in a bible study or my commitment to studying falls away. Bible study keeps me focused on Him and consistently spending time learning to depend on and love Him more!
I must have a bible study to join or I fall off the quiet time wagon. ha. I also read the bible in a year but have only finished that entirely 2 times. I start again every year.
Deidre! I saw your comment and went back to check -- it was Vicki Courtney's post!
I knew it was someone who wrote books for a living but I couldn't remember who! Thanks for the reminder! =)
I am a couple of days behind but I am already loving reading the bible in a year. I don't know if they are all set up this way -- but the one I got give's me OT, Psalms, Proverbs, and NT each day! I am loving that!
Next year - I might try doing the Chronological bible in a year -- I think that would be great.
Hope you enjoy the Patriarch's! I LOVED that one....but then I have 'loved' them all.
Can't wait to see what you are making for your Mom!
love,
Mindy
oh --- and in the post before that I made a list of books that I am reading. I'm using all of those as parts of my devotion time.
Deirdre,
With every one of your posts, you make an impact on my heart, and you cause me reflect on my own relationship with God. I needed the words you posted today. I'm far from the committed, voracious Bible reader and studier that you are, but I know I need to change.
We're miles and another country apart, yet you are ministering to me and others via your blog in ways you might not even realize. Thank you for being so openly honest in sharing your thoughts.
What a beautiful post! It was such a blessing to me.Thank-u for sharing. Hope you have a great day! Blessings, Faye
My new favorite devotion book is Streams in the Desert. I am reading that along with my prayer journal. God's word is true and faithful. My 'time' with God is mid-morning after my family has left the house. I have 2 teenagers and much noise in our home. God impressed me to have a quiet time many years ago. My day would be horrible without it.
Thats the one thing I love about teaching the youth - I have to stay up on MY game so I have to study up during the week on a lesson & really dig in... I get the most benefit from it... & THEN, these smart kiddos come up with great questions, that make me dig even DEEPER sometimes!
I just stumbled onto your blog and I am blessed already! I can't wait to read more and more!
I am doing BSF for the first time this year, so we are studying a small portion of scripture in a very indepth way.
Deidre,
I LOVE the WORD and I so agree, God teaches me new things in it every time I read it. I want to know more. It is such a comfort to my heart. I love that He loves us so much that He continues to teach us, no matter how many times we have read the same verses. It is so wonderful!!!
In December I started the "read the Bible in 90 days". I saw this on another site and found the actual site and downloaded the schedule. It is so great!!! It is a lot of reading at once, but God is teaching me so much. I LOVE IT!!!
Blessings to you,
Dawn
I am so glad you've decided to join our "Read with Me" challenge! I look forward to getting to know you better in the coming months.
By the way, I LOVE your blog design! Too cute.
Hi. Love this post. God's Word is so powerful. I am also reading the One Year Bible. So exciting...I am learning to love the Old Testament. {I love the God actually dressed Adam and Eve.}
Love this post and needed it tonight....Hope your project works....
4 words!
Streams in the Desert!
On my 2nd year and that devotional is as alive as the Word! IT speaks
You can't read it like a book, you must take it one day at a time!
I plan on reading the word through this year, I have never done it before and already it has blessed in ways that only God could do!
We are beginning Daniel on the 25th. After Tx. we must get together to share! Praying for you everyday and have missed the ladies from BS. Will be praying for ya'll on Monday's and selfish me request the same for us! Couldn't do this without you sis' thanks for everything! Go get it done...looking forward to seeing it !
lb
I started a reading plan with my husband and we are using youversion.com, which we downloaded to our phone, as well. We are reading the OT and NT twice in our reading plan. I love that I am reading the same thing as he is and that we can discuss what the Lord is teaching us. Accountability helps, too!
Such good thoughts! It is so easy to feel complacent with parts of the bible that are familiar, but we won't ever exhaust Gods word!
My husband had an older but highly respected, knowledgeable, well read, and godly professor in seminary who was asked this question: If you could live your life over what would you do different?
His answer: I would read the bible more.
This from a man who had spent 60 years, studying the bible, teaching the bible, writing books about the bible. If he can't exhaust the bible, it can't be done!
May the God of Wonders open my eyes to new things in familiar places!
My husband and I are reading through the Bible in one year & are following the plan in the back of my new calendar, which is just straight through the Bible. I LOVE the OT too! Several years ago, I read 1 & 2 Samuel for the first time, and I've loved, loved, loved the OT since then! It really sparked/ignited my love for reading the entire Word. I have always loved to read, but something about the Word of God overwhelmed me... I grew up in church, but never realized until about 7-10 years ago how the Word of God is the MOST AMAZING TRUE STORY & completely readable! I'm also am using the devotional book "Springs in the Valley" this year for the first time. (I'm usually hit & miss with devotional books, but this one has a story behind it, and I feel like God has pin-pointed this one out to me for this season...) And I'm doing the Ruth study by Kelly Minter!!!
I need variety, but I also need structure. I need time where I can just meditate on my favorite Psalms. And I need and love an in-depth structured Bible study with accountability.
Hmm...good thoughts! Can't wait to see what your project was! :) Hope everything turned out good!
I studied Patriarchs - loved it! To stay in the Word? I set my Bible and journal out on the arm of the chair every night so it's right there for me to see - can't put it away til I've spent time with it. Probably a bit silly, but works for me!
About four years ago I heard Becky Tirabassi speak on "Chasing after God" She has a devotional called "Sacred Obsession" that is SO great. She also encourages reading a daily Bible (NLT)...so I started then and haven't stopped! It's amazing how every year notes I've written in the margins remind me of how faithful God is...but also how NEW His word can be.
("Sacred Obsession" follows the Daily Bible readings~ which is awesome.)
Another book I love to use in the mornings is Dear Jesus by Sarah Young. (She also wrote Jesus Calling)
And isn't this so great...
"The Bible is alive.
It speaks to me~
It has feet~
It runs after me!
It has hands~
It takes hold of me!" ~Martin Luther~
...hope you're making progress with your project. Mom's are to be honored!!! Way to go :)
Bible study keeps me focused on Him and consistently spending time learning to depend on and love Him more!
Work from home India
Just stumbled upon your blog...love the design btw. I have that one year bible. I love it. I am excited to reminded about it thru this post. It inspired me to pick it up again. My family has been going through a crisis for the past year and I so desperately need God's word. I am excited to see what new thing he wants in my heart, and in my life.
I feel like i'm not a nice person without that time in the morning.
i change up what i use, but i spend lots of time in psalms.
Your project came out great! Think yours will ever get done?
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