With my whole
heart have I sought thee: O let me not
wander from thy commandments.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
(Psalm 119:10-11 KJV, emphasis mine)
*Note:
This is an edited and revised post that I have shared the last few years
to kick off the New Year.
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| Personal Photo |
As I work on this post the New Year is
just underway—a fresh start from God. Truthfully,
each new day is a fresh start from God. The
New Year gives us the opportunity to adopt new behaviors, set new goals. Hopefully, the new behaviors will be
beneficial to us personally and to others!
The new calendars we opened four days ago are a tangible sign of this
fresh start. What will this year
hold? Only God knows for sure; whatever
it holds, we can still learn, grow, and develop in our walk with the Lord.
Open thou mine
eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
(Psalm
119:18 KJV)
The New Year also affords us
the opportunity to reflect on the past year and look forward to all the
possibilities that it holds. Now
is a wonderful time to either begin or renew or deepen our relationship with
Jesus. What can you do to grow in the
Lord this year? What is the Lord calling
you to do or to not do?
As you prayerfully discern what God is
directing you to do this year, I hope that you will commit to reading the Bible
from cover-to-cover in 2018. This is my New
Year challenge to you!
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Thy word is a
lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
(Psalm 119:105 KJV)
Any time spent in God’s Word is never wasted. God’s Word’s goes out and does not return to
Him void (see Isaiah 55:11). The
dividends are amazing! Reading the whole of God’s Word allows us to get to
know the heart of our Heavenly Father and to begin to see themes,
interconnections, and more with ease. One
of the perks to continually reading the Bible (beyond beloved passages) is it
will help you find passages with ease in a variety of settings. The more you read the Word of God, the more
you will see connections between the Old and New Testaments. Another perk to Bible reading is doing much
better in Bible trivia games!
My people are
destroyed for lack of knowledge:
because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt
be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also
forget thy children.
(Hosea 4:6 KJV, emphasis mine)
Keep in mind there are many atheists and
agnostics who have read the Bible cover-to-cover multiple times. We, His people, should hunger for the Word in such a way that we will want to read all of it!
The prophet, Hosea, in the above passage
is speaking God’s heart to his people; I believe it is applicable to God’s people
today. To not hunger for God’s Word says
much about the state of our heart—much like our bodies not wanting food when we
are ill. Sadly, I know of pastors who
see no need to read the whole of the Word of God—this grieves my heart for them
and the people in their respective churches.
Thankfully, my last pastor and current pastor read the whole of the Word
and encourage their people to do the same.
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I have gone
astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy
commandments. (Psalm 119:176 KJV)
It is my heart’s sincere desire that you are
setting time aside in your daily schedule to commune with God and that you are
growing in your relationship with Him.
God loves you so much and desires nothing more than relationship with
you. He loves you so much, in fact, He
is crazy about you! Keeping your eyes on
the goal (prize), will help you stay focused and not get off track. A word of caution: be kind to yourself,
realizing that some days or weeks will not be so great; things will go
wrong—give yourself the grace you deserve—give yourself the grace you would
give to others. Be sure to encourage
yourself over how far you have come.
Time?
Yes, this does take time.
However, if we consider the amount of time we spend on social media or
mindlessly watching television or reading books that do not edify; the cost is
minuscule. The cost is more than worth
it in the end.
If my grandma, who only had a sixth grade
education could do it; so can you!
Grandma Emma made that commitment; she lived without many of the modern
conveniences we have, therefore, nearly everything took her much longer to
accomplish. Her life was not an easy
one; she loved God and those around her.
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| Personal Photo: Grandma Emma and me--my first Christmas |
Since 2005, I have read the Bible from
cover-to-cover at least once each year, if not more! One time, I read the through the Bible in
ninety days (and even managed to read the New Testament twice in that period!).
Who will take me up on this little
challenge? I will cheer you on; you can do this! Moreover, this is where supportive
relationships (accountability) with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are
so helpful. Our relationships allow us
to lend a helping, supportive hand to a sister or brother who is hurting or
struggling; we can also be on the receiving end of the help and support of
others. How about we support and encourage
each other?
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Why not make 2018 the year that you allow Christ to change you—making
you more and more like Him? Invite the
Holy Spirit to fill you and deepen your walk with the Lord. What is holding you back? I want to encourage you to commit to opening
yourself to what God wants to give you.
You may find that you will go places and do things you never thought
that you would do! Keep on reading and studying
God’s Word and praying!
A variety of plans exist that you can
select from to guide you in this endeavor.
If you happen to fall behind, please do not get discouraged—keep on
going and get caught up when you are able.
Moreover, apps exist to help you read, study, and understand the Word of
God—one such app that is also accessible through computers is YouVersion. For
more about YouVersion see here and here.
With YouVersion you can connect with friends and others for support and
encouragement.
Here is a link that will take you to a
site that gives a variety of plans to read through the Bible in a year. Bible Reading Plans For
some other ideas please pursue the content in the right side bar of this blog,
particularly: 50 Day Spiritual Adventure 2015 and 50 Day Spiritual Adventure Fall 2016.
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| Personal Photo |
What are you looking forward to most in
reading God’s Word this year? How can I
encourage you?
Please join with me in prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You for the gift of life and for
the gift of another New Year and for all the possibilities that it holds. Help us to be always faithful to You—doing
what You would have us to do each day.
Deepen our longing for You, so that we will press in and not quit until
we have all that You have to offer us.
Instill deep within us a hunger for Your Word that is not easily
satisfied. Encourage us to commit to and
keep that commitment to read the whole of Your Word this year; we can only do
it with Your help. Come Holy Spirit;
enlighten the eyes of our understanding, as we read the Word You inspired. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
From My Heart to Yours,
Kim
Happy New Year!
May God bless you richly throughout 2018!
May 2018 be the year to give more of your
life to the Lord.
