Get Ready....Get Set...

So I've updated a couple things for the blog in preparation for the new reading plan.  For those who want to continue, or those who will be joining us for the first time (I have invited friends along this journey, please feel free to invite anyone you would like to as well!), we're going to try something a little different for 2013.  It's call the Discipleship Journal's 5x5x5 plan.  It takes you through the New Testament in a year, reading Monday through Friday and then taking a couple days of reflection on the weekend.  So, even though it's not technically "next year", let's just start today since it's Monday!  We have two ways of accessing the reading plan from the blog.  1.  Print off the PDF file and keep a copy in your Bible.  2. Go online to YouVersion and create an account to have the reading plan sent to you every day.  Just figure out what works best for you and see how it goes.

The other portion of our reading plan this year is going to focus on Scripture memorization.  I got a really cool book called The Joshua Code that I'll be using for this. 

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.  For then you will make your way prosperous , and then you will have good success."
Joshua 1:8

The introduction to the book explains that "Many consistent Bible readers today seem to think it is the volume of Scripture they can devour daily that is most important".  However, when we memorize it, and meditate on it "it is incarnated within and becomes a living part of our very being......It enables us to receive the Word with our hearts, retain it in our minds, and recite it with our mouths that we might speak it with power".

I'll be posting more on the blog, and will post the weekly verses to memorize.  If you want, you can get the Kindle version, or the hard cover book online.  It's a pretty cool book that goes through 52 verses every believer should know.  So we're talking one verse a week, and with two days off of reading, I think it should be pretty do-able...not to mention how it may impact your personally in your relationship with God. 

I wish you all a very Happy New Year!!

Love,
Hollie

Making plans...

Sorry, this post isn't related to our reading.  But I see the dates ticking away for the month of December, and I wanted to run an idea past everyone for what to do in January.  Most of us have made it through two years of reading together, which (humbly speaking) I think is quite amazing!!  SO, now that we've been through the New and the Old Testament...we can say that we've actually read the whole Bible (in a couple weeks we can, anyways). 

For January, I kinda wanted to keep things going, but change things up a bit at the same time.  Going along with our ability to say we have read the whole Bible...how many of us can remember much of what we've read?  Scripture memorization has been a struggle for me, mainly because I don't devote any time to it.  Put it to music and I fair much better, but I'm talking about really taking a verse and knowing it by heart...something we should all do if we're to wear the full armor of God.

I found a really nice reading plan that takes you through the year reading the New Testament.  There are "days off" of reading that are marked for 'reflection'.  It would make a nice opportunity to not only reflect on what we've read but to also allow for time to study a particular verse.  I was thinking that there could be a verse for the week that we have on our blog, but you could use your own verse if you find something that applied to anything you're going through or you find more meaningful.  And, if that were the case, I'd hope you'd write on the blog to share the story behind it. 

Ok...I realize I've written most of this under the assumption that you would all like this idea, and maybe you don't!  Please comment and share your thoughts.  I am happy to look for more reading plans, or if you have one you've been wanting to try let's look at our options!!

Once Upon A Time

Reading Esther will always make me bring out my study book from Beth Moore, "Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman".  If you ever get the opportunity to take this bible study, don't miss it!  After having done that...it seems so incredibly rushed to read two whole chapters of Ruth in one day!  There is so much detail in this book...it's so different from any other book, I wish we could take it more slowly.  So, if you're able to...read it slow!!  Look at the words, imagine the scenery, pretend you're part of the story.  It's not just history...  In the Beth Moore study she asks the reader to consider Romans 15:4  "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

12, 22, and 8

So did you go into today's reading a little differently?  Did you first consider:

1. What truth stands out from these passages?
2. What do I need to do/apply?

I was amazed today when I saw the age at which these boys became kings!  Manasseh was only 12, Amon was 22, and Josiah was practically a baby, in our eyes, at 8 years old.  If you didn't read anything in Chapters 33-34 yet - take a guess at who you think would be the most wise and faithful leader. 

There were a couple of truths that stood out to me today.  First, was Manasseh's vast amounts of blatant sinning against the Lord (including pagan sacrifices of his own sons)...and then his repentance and the forgiveness he received from God.  The truth here being that while we can't be "good enough" for God...we also cannot be "bad enough" for him to leave us when we call out to him in true repentance.  (Manasseh, like Saul/Paul, didn't just say sorry - he turned from his sin and drew himself close to the Lord and worked to live in obedience after he was forgiven.)  What I need to apply from this is that I can be judgemental and it's not my right to do that.  I read about crimes and people in prison, and I think there's no way to forgive what they've done.  But, in reality, a sin is a sin...and ANY sin breaks relationship with our Saviour.

Now back to our young kings...the other truth that stood out to me is that Josiah was the youngest when he became king, and yet he was the one who did right in the eyes of the Lord even after succeeding his father Amon who did quite the opposite.  It reminded me of 1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity".  For me, sometimes I still look at myself as a "young" believer because I didn't grow up having a relationship with Jesus.  But regardless of this, I have seen God use me in big and little ways...and, although sometimes I need encouragement, I need to stop being afraid.

"...And so he prospered."

I know many of you are feeling what I am.  Bored.  Reading the Old Testament has been a challenge to stay motivated to continue the reading each day (or to catch up when you miss one or two).  But I want you to do something.  Humor me.  Open your Bible up to today's reading (2 Chronicles 31-32).  Now, hold that page, and find the end of the book of Malachi and take a look at how much we have left to read!  Please don't think I am trying to discourage you...what I was thinking is "Holy crap, we only have two and a half months left and look at everything we're going to cover!!".  That's a lot of reading, and I know that things are going to start getting more interesting.

That said...I wanted to tell you about the new bible study we're doing at church (we call them "Journey" classes).  We are starting to read the Old Testament!  LOL...so yep, I get to do this all over again.  Ha ha...awesome.

So for this Journey class, we have a journal.  For each reading there are two questions:

1. What truth stands out from these passages?
2. What do I need to do/apply?

Yesterday we had to read Genesis 1-2...and I was surprised to see that I didn't even blog about these two chapters in the beginning of the year!  But when confronted with two simple questions,  the Scripture really opened up new meaning and relevance to me.  I thought it would make a lot of sense to apply these two questions when we're doing this challenge as well?  Maybe answer them literally or just pray over them before you read so that you are open to seeing more than just words on the page.

That is how I came to highlight the verse in Chapter 31:21 "...And so he prospered."  It was a truth that stood out to me.  For me, it was because (until the very end) in all things Hezekiah served the Lord, trusted the Lord, and relied on the Lord's strength.  And so he prospered.  Reading and focusing on this brought me to the answer for question 2.  What I need to do is keep trusting God.  I am going through a trial of waiting (my job search).  Like Hezekiah preparing for the Assyrian invasion, I need to do everything I can to apply for jobs...but in the end I have to commit this situation to the Lord who is the only one who is in control over it.  Sometimes I get very sad/depressed because nothing seems to be happening, almost like all the doors are locked.  But at the same time I am well aware that God is using this time to bring me closer to Him, and to study His Word for strength and reassurance...and so I remind myself (sometimes every five minutes) that He is my strong foundation, that He will set me on solid ground and when I do get a new job I will be able to praise God for the work he's done (and will have to remember not to be prideful like Hezekiah was at the end).

What's in a Name?

Just thought I'd share this list of names with you...ha ha ha, just what you needed right!?! 

Explaination needed - confused

<sup>In yesterdays reading I was confused at this part.  Why was he "conscience-stricken" for counting men?  And why such a harsh punishment from the Lord? 

10</sup> David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.

Thanks for any insight.  Maybe I read over something too fast...

Don't Shoot the Messenger

So the past few people bringing news to David didn't exactly get the warm welcome they were hoping for, did they?  In Chapter 1 the guy was a liar (he didn't really kill Saul)...and the guys in Chapter 4 snuck into an innocent man's bedroom and killed him in his sleep.  Each time someone brought news to David that his enemy was dead, they didn't live much longer.  I was talking to my Dad yesterday and he wondered if the phrase "don't shoot the messenger" came from this story. 

I looked it up, and the phrase came from Shakespeare in Henry IV... "No one loves the messenger who brings bad news".  Although it doesn't originate from our readings the past couple days, it certainly fits the theme!

So many around David were worried about personal gain and selfish ambition.  David was patiently waiting for God to fulfill His promise.  He wasn't afraid like many of the leaders, and he didn't rely on the strength of other men to assure his control or position.  He boldly trusted in God.

Self Reliance

There is a common  thread woven into our reading today, found in Jeremiah 50:32 and Proverbs 28:26.  Self reliance...AKA pride.  Pride brought down Babylon just as easily as it can bring down any individual.  The arrogance to think we can handle it all on our own without a need for God.  Not just God's help...but His power and ultimate control over our circumstances.  Verse 26 tells us "He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe".

So how do I walk in wisdom?  Wisdom is defined in my Bible as 'the ability to make good use of knowledge; ability to recognize right from wrong; good judgement'.  Wisdom is gained by seeking the knowledge provided in the Word.  If I'm not in the Word, I cannot be walking in wisdom.  So it's hard when I'm reading every day...and yet so often it's just getting through it (not getting through to me).  I was thankful today when the two books on our list had a message that tied them together, and made me think about my own pride/self reliance.

Too often my attitude is "I can handle it".  How foolish I can be, and how easily I forget who I am and who I AM is.

Ruth!

I love it when God pulls things together in a visual way.  I just started a new Bible study yesterday on the book of Ruth...and today our reading plan falls right in line.  (I guess He knew I'd only have so much time when Bill's out of town.)  My Bible study breaks things down piece by piece, and on day 2 we've only gotten to verse 7...but I am looking forward to learning more than I would by just reading through Ruth's four short chapters.

One thing that stood out from my book was about the famine.  Verse 1 says "In the days when the Judges ruled, there was famine in the land..."  Elimelech took his family from Bethlehem to live in Moab, which was outside of the promised land, because of the famine.  According to my book "Bethlehem means 'House of Bread', and there hadn't been much of that.....So perhaps you're thinking,  If God had given the Israelites a permanent place to live where He promised to take care of them, why the famine?"

The book then said to read Judges 2:11-19 to find the evidence for why there was a famine in the land.  If you'd like to do the same, it is interesting to read.  My book then brought up the question "Does God still work like this today?"  It was a great question, and asked for Scripture to support your answer.  My opinion is that I think sometimes it might feel like it, especially if our lives aren't going so easily.  I found quite a few verses to go along with this.  Wondering if you wanted to do this exercise as well and post your thoughts and any verses you find.

The Fall of Jericho

Reading Joshua 6 is one of those energy boosts I needed...it's one of the many Old Testament stories that made me want to do this year's reading challenge!!  I'm sure that, long ago, our church had some felt cut-out banner on our Sunday school wall picturing the event.  But studying it...that's what I've been waiting for.

The coolest thing I realized what that it wasn't so much about the walls of Jericho falling down...but how that came to happen.  The battle victory was handed to Joshua BEFORE they marched.  They took their forces, and were led by the ark of the covenant.  They had instructions never used by an army before, yet they followed and by their faith in what God said to do the walls fell down before them and they took the city.  It wasn't by the vast numbers or brute strength of their soldiers...it was already decided by God, and they just had to listen and obey.

So they took the city.  But they killed everyone and everything, and were to keep nothing for themselves.  Seems pretty harsh, and hard to understand why God would take life with such clear instructions to leave no man, woman, or child alive.  But if you think about it in a Revelation kind of way...when Jesus returns the same thing will happen.  The people of the city were a stronghold of rebellion against God and He knew that, if they were allowed to live, they would bring their sin to the people of Israel and corrupt his chosen people.

The study notes in my Bible had this to say near the end of this chapter: "We must not let the desire for personal gain distract us from our spiritual purpose".  Something about that spoke to me, so I wanted to write it down.  :)

A Blessing and a Curse

"See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse - the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known"  (Deuteronomy 12:26-28)

It's ALWAYS a choice.  It was a choice back then for the Israelites and it is a choice for us today.  Not just a choice for our eternal life in a long-term spiritual sense, but it is a very real choice every day as we choose to either live in obedience or turn away in defiance of God's plan for us.  We can easily wander in the desert, or be delivered to the valley that drinks rain from heaven.

I have to choose every day...will I read my latest e-book or favorite blog (or will I dive into the Word and learn the truth)...will I forgive (because He has forgiven me for so much more)...will I be humble (how much more did He humble himself for me)...will I love (because He first loved me)?

Yesterday I heard the whispering of the Holy Spirit asking me to repay a hurt with a kindness.  I was still mad and upset when that small voice said what I should do.  I literally rolled my eyes and said (out loud) "Are you serious"?!?  The small voice just repeated what I was being asked to do...and I whined and complained as I prepared to do what I needed to.  "Where is my apology?  Why do I always have to be the one to make things better...can't I just be angry for a while"??  SO, after I was working on what I was asked to do for a little while...I took a little break - and saw I had an email message from the other person in this scenario.  It was the most beautiful heart-felt apology, opening up communication about things I was unaware of that they were dealing with.  I immediately said (out loud) "Thank You for asking me to do this".  Not only did I get to experience the blessing of obedience...I was able to be a conduit for God's grace and love to this person in a real and meaningful way.

I'm still riding high off this choice...but today I'll be making some more.  Hope I get it right again!  :)


IMPORTANT NOTE:  Please don't read this and think you have to earn God's blessings or salvation.  A review of Ephesians 2:8-9 should clear this up "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."  I've accepted what God's already given me through Jesus.  Any time I choose to act in these ways, it is a response of gratitude.  I cannot choose to study the Bible, forgive, be humble, or love others so that I can earn what God freely gives.

Numbers 11-14

I was reading through the last two sections in Numbers that we have, and something wasn't making sense to me.  When the people complained about not having meat...weren't they shepherds??  Where did they get all the animals for sacrifices, but then had no meat to eat?  Weren't the priests in the temple provided for with meat when they did a wave offering (I believe the wave offering was symbolic of offering the meat to the Lord, and then He gave it back for the men to eat).  I know it wasn't just meat they were complaining about, they were whining because there wasn't much variety in what they ate.  So my confusion is really whether they had meat and were they just complaining because they were growing restless?  Is this why God reacted to harshly to them?

Come With Us

Ahhh, Numbers.  Just like a different book I recently read, you're finally starting to get interesting now that we're like 1/4 of the way through!

Joking aside, I did actually get something out of today's reading that made me take action.  In chapter 10:29-32 we read that Moses' father-in-law was with them, and was about to leave.  But Moses said "Please do not leave us" because he needed him.  Unless Moses had said something, maybe he would never have known!

I'm guessing you have people in your life like this, who are important to you and maybe always seem to be there for you cheering you on from the sidelines.  I have someone like that.  She was my Mentor when I first started to go to Mothers Of PreSchoolers (MOPS) a few years ago.  She was there when I started to learn about God and who Christ is, and she was there the day I became a believer.  Even though neither one of us is in that group anymore, she always writes to me...and being the forgetful person I am, I usually don't write back.  I always mean to, and I save her letters to remind me.  I have had one in my kitchen drawer since after Christmas.  And today I finally got up and wrote her a letter, just to catch up with things going on with my family, and to tell her I miss her and I love her.

Do you have someone important to you who needs to know how much they are valued and appreciated?

May be a stupid question

Let me preface this by saying I am not a biblical scholar! ;0)

I always assumed that the reason certain religions didn't allow priests to marry was because it was in the bible (somewhere) that they can't/shouldn't. But yesterday's reading in Lev 21 it does state that they are allowed to marry (with rules of course). I guess I just found that interesting and curious... got me thinking. Where in the bible does it say priests can't marry, or does it? And if it doesn't specify they can't marry, why then would the Catholic Church not allow it?

Just curious
Jessica

We Have it SO Easy

I have a dog.  I do not, however, have any sheep, goats, doves, pigeons, and I don't even buy the nicer flour from the store when I bake.  So, if God asked me to offer an animal sacrifice to atone for my sins, I'd be going straight to Hell in a hand basket.  As I'm reading Leviticus, and all of these details about how the offering is supposed to be sacrificed, I need to keep in mind how serious sin is.  I'm starting to feel like we have it too easy.  Consider this:

*   Israelites had to provide a sin offering ......................We have Jesus
     (sacrifice a young bull)

*   Israelites had to provide a guilt offering....................We have Jesus
     (sacrifice a lamb or goat)
*   Israelites could make a burnt offering.......................We have Jesus

     (sacrifice a male animal without defect)

*   Israelites could offer a grain offering........................We have Jesus
     (without yeast, which symbolized sin)

*   Israelites could offer a fellowship offering................We have Jesus
     (sacrifice an animal without defect)

If we had to do all these things to be restored with God, maybe we'd take our sin more seriously.  I know I would.  I know being a Christian is not easy...but when I look at all these things that the Israelites had to do, I just feel like having Jesus bridge the gap is so easy.  But do I take it as seriously as I should??



Details

Today we read that the tabernacle and all of the priestly garments are complete.  Multiple chapters of the most specific of details from the larger pieces of gold to be shaped, down to the color of the yarn to use for a vest.  The fact that all of the instructions came from God through Moses seems astounding and sometimes a little unreasonably difficult.  But then I consider the creator of the universe.  I cannot even comprehend the details involved in that! 

When reading through the details involved in the building of the ark and the tabernacle, it's obvious that Moses could not, and did not, do everything on his own.  God used his chosen people, and equipped them for his purpose.  To the craftsmen, designers, and weavers God specifically gave the skills they needed to do the work as He intended. 

If the Lord paid attention in such close detail back then, He surely does so now.  All of the details in my life...and He is equipping me to serve in specific ways so I can further His purpose.  Now if only I had the Urim and Thummim in my back pocket to consult and figure out where that leads!

Show Me Your Glory

I don't know about you, but I thought Moses was rather bold in asking God to show Himself.  The Creator of heaven and earth basically just got done saying He might completely destroy all of the people he led out of Egypt...and now Moses wants to see His Glory!?!  Even my youngest knows - when Mom or Dad are mad, you leave them alone till they calm down.  :-)

But God doesn't say no.  And then we see God revealed for who He really is...vengeful, full of wrath, a presence to be feared.  Right?  That's what everyone thinks about God when you mention the Old Testament.  No...the Lord said "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you...I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."  (Ex33:19)  Moses saw God...who is slow to anger, merciful, compassionate, forgiving.  When Moses would go to the Tent of Meeting, "The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend". (Ex 33:11)  Friendship with God wasn't possible for anyone else during this time.  But thankfully Jesus changed that for us (John 15:15)...and we can freely communicate with Him.

Through prayer, worship, and studying the Bible, we can keep an open line of communication so that, like Moses' radiant face, people will see the change in our lives because of what the Lord has done in us.  My question for you...as you've been reading the Old Testament...is it a struggle to read it every day?  Does it speak to you as you were hoping it would?  Maybe it feels like homework sometimes?  It's possible I'm alone in thinking and feeling this way...but in case I'm not, I wanted to encourage you to keep up with the reading - it's important to know our history as God's people.  But don't stop there.  Find a book in the New Testament to study (not just read, but dig deep into it).  Try one of those small books that nobody ever remembers how to find when you open the pages of the Bible...1 Peter, 2 John, James, Titus, Jude, etc.  Pray about it, look them over - maybe you have something going on and one of these books has something to teach you.  I found that Titus was where I needed to be studying, so I've been going through small chunks each day, and even journaling.  It's really been helping me see that the Word is alive and active in my life each day, which (for me) is harder to remember when I'm only reading the Old Testament.

This song goes along with our reading. :-)
Third Day, "Show Me Your Glory"

Handling it Alone

Did you ever try to do it all?  Figuring nobody else could handle it as well as you, or that they weren't trustworthy?  Maybe you didn't realize you were doing this until it was too late and you were completely worn out and left useless.  It's so much more difficult to catch up than it is to maintain...

I took the story of Moses and Jethro as a reflection of how we sometimes handle our work, or our relationships, or our roles as a spouse and/or parent.  "The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone" (Ex 19:18)  God didn't intend for any of us to do this life alone!  Even if we are surrounded by people all day long - when we try to do it all, we kid ourselves into thinking we don't need/want anyone else.  But how much more are we blessed when we reach out to others, including our children...trusting them, teaching them, and equipping them to serve.  Relationships bloom... gifts are grown and realized... wisdom is gained... God's kingdom expands.  Or, more practically speaking, the dishes get done, the laundry gets put away, the dog gets fed, and maybe at the end of the day you won't fall asleep in your chair when you have a few minutes of free time to relax. 

Parallels of Joseph and Jesus

I thought this was rather interesting, and I'd never read about this before.  I don't know if there's any deeper connection other than Joseph is a prime example of someone who lived their life trusting the Lord.  So here you go...

"Get rid of the foreign gods..."

I mentioned this in a Facebook comment, but I'll say it again...this reading challenge seems much harder than last year!  I had a lot going on the past few days, and I let my daily reading slide.  So when I set to catch up yesterday I realized how much I had missed!  It took me a while to get through everything, and that was the problem.  I was just "getting through" everything...nothing was getting through to me!!

So today I was refocused and, even though I have a mountain of stuff to get done, I decided to put my reading first.  Then when I read in Gen 35:2 "So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes." I knew that God was trying to get through to me.  All of the foreign gods/idols I have with me have been doing nothing for me except keeping my focus away from God and worried about everything else.

So today I'm starting with a new perspective, and praying that I keep it new each day (more often than not)...that my day begins with something focused on God.  Some days it might start with prayer, because let's face it, kids are a hard idol to get rid of.  But I hope that I stick with it and make my bible reading or my bible study homework a focus early in my day.  I think if I do that, the rest of my day will fall into place much better.

You Can't Earn What's Already Yours

A friend of mine posted a quote on Facebook recently:

"The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel."~Steven Furtick

I can totally identify with that personally, and our reading today seemed to say the same thing when we look at the rivalry between Leah and Rachel.  Jacob loved Rachel so much that he worked seven years to earn the right to marry her.  Then, after all his work, her father tricked Jacob into marrying her older sister Leah.  (Jacob, the deceiver, finally got a taste of his own medicine.)  But, because he loved Rachel, he agreed to work another 7 years for her.  She had his love...he was willing to work 14 years for her.  Yet, when Leah was having all those kids, Rachel got jealous and started handing off her servant to have children with Jacob for her!  She didn't have to earn his love that way...she already had it!  She was so worried about all the sons that Leah was having, instead of focusing on her husband who loved her regardless.

My study notes brought up a great point about all this...Rachel was trying to earn the unearnable.  Many times we try to do the same with God's love.  God already loves us, and there's nothing we can do to earn it.

Days of Our Lives

These last few chapters read like a soap opera!  Drama drama drama...Battle scenes, kidnapping, rescue missions, adultery, abuse, and unwed mothers.  Most, if not all, of the drama in Chapters 15-16 stems from lack of faith in God's timing and trusting in His plan. 

I hate waiting.  It's frustrating, and when I have to wait too long I will, more often than not, take matters into my own hands.  There's quite a few things...spiritually speaking...that I am waiting for.  It's hard to maintain trust in God's plans, to remember that He who has started a good work in me will see it through to completion (Phil 1:6).

I am thankful that I don't have to wait for visions, or to sacrifice animals and wait for fire and smoke to prove to me that God is there.  I am thankful that I have my Bible, and that God has given me eyes to see and ears to hear His Word, like what we are reading now...which shows me that God's plans always take into account my mistakes.

Sarai (His Princess)

Reading today was much different for me than most days.  For once I didn't like, agree with, or understand the study notes for Chapter 12.  The whole section about Abram in Egypt bothered me.  That Abram would convince his wife (who technically was his half-sister), to tell the Pharaoh she was actually his sister and not his wife...so that they wouldn't kill Abram because of her beauty.  I'm sure a lot of you have the Life Application study Bible, so I'm not going to copy over everything they have...but it's ALL about Abram's point of view and what his actions were, and what application we can take from his doubt in God's ability to provide.  Nothing about Sarai...who just got traded to a bunch of men for a few farm animals.

Now, I understand, we're looking at a different time...a different society, where much of what happened would have been very common.  So I decided to do some looking around online to find out more.  I wanted to understand and know more.  I came across a lot of information, different versions of this story and most of what I found still had a very Abram centered view. 

But then I found it.  Sarai, a name meaning "princess".  Her husband might have handed her over to Pharaoh, however God had something else to say about this.  "But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household, because of Abram's wife Sarai" (vs 17).  The Lord showed how he valued Sarai - His Princess - and returned her to Abram.  The promise that He made to Abram back in verses 2-3 is hers too!  (Remember Ch. 2:24 "...and they will be one flesh".)

As this story unfolds, I know we will see that neither Sarai or Abram are perfect followers of God's plan for them.  Who really is, though?

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2012, a new year and a new reading plan!  I created a link to the right with the new list of what to read each day, but I left up the link from our 2011 reading just in case anyone wanted to reference back to it.

I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to start today with Genesis, and go from "Amen" to "In the beginning"...however after reading Isaiah 1, I was interested to see how it connected some parts back to what we finished reading in Revelation. 

Overall, I think it's a great chapter to read on New Years Day...a time to reflect on the year that's past and the one to come.  To take stock in who we are, where we've been, and where we need/want to go.  To "return, repent, and be renewed", as it was described in the preface to Isaiah in my study Bible. 

I also liked reading Proverbs 1 today, for much of the same reason.  It was a great reminder, and reinforced (to me) how important studying my Bible is. 

¹ The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

² for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
³ for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
⁴ for giving prudence to those who are simple,
   knowledge and discretion to the young—
⁵ let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
⁶ for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise,

⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.