This concludes the 2010 Bible Reading Journal. I thank all of you who have taken the journey with me, whether you have followed along since I started on February 1, or just dropped in here and there. Feel free to come back by and visit these entries anytime, or to share them with anybody that you feel might be interested in how The Bible speaks to an ordinary, everyday person.

I encourage all Christians to read all the way through The Bible at least once. You can read through it in a year if you read approximately 3 chapters a day. There are great treasures in the word of God to apply to every life situation. A good place to start is to get a translation that you can understand. You can buy Bibles at a lot of places, but a Christian bookstore will have the best variety and be able to help you find a translation that speaks to you the best.

If you are a new Christian, I encourage you to meditate on the Word daily through Bible reading and a good devotional book. I also encourage you to find a good, Bible based church to attend. It's important to be part of a Christian community and to have a place where you can learn and grow spiritually. Faith is a journey - it's never static. You're always growing and learning.

Live in truth, study the Word, and walk in faith always!

I wish you all peace, joy, and blessing.
 

The Bible is truly the living word of God, and our ultimate guide to life. In it, we find guidance, help and encouragement for everything we will face and are given the wonderful promise that if we believe and walk in faith, then God will always protect us. He loves us and will find us where we’re at. We can never get away from Him. He loves us and will never leave us.

For a long time, I was one of those people that had the misconception that the Old Testament was about God’s anger and the New Testament was about the love of Christ. Now I see that’s wrong. I see that the whole Bible is about God’s tremendous love for us, and the lengths that He will go to in order to save us. We fail over and over, but God’s love (and patience) never fail. He loved us enough to send His son to die for our sins so we can have a relationship with Him, now and always.

God never gives up on us, and we should never give up either. There are many things about life and the world that we don’t understand, but faith is about being ok with the questions because we trust that God has the answers and will work things out for our good. We have His promise that He will always love us, protect us, and bless those who love Him. And we can see in The Bible that He always keeps his promises, from the beginning of time to the end of all things. He is the Alpha and Omega.

I am so thankful for the Holy Trinity working in me, and for the word of the Lord in The Bible. It is, truly, the greatest book ever written. These words will see us through all of our days and live forever. Thanks be to God for sharing Himself with us, from the miracles, judges, and prophets in the Old Testament to Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Apostles in the New Testament. Now this lives on through the church and all who believe.

Thanks be to God for all of His wonderful gifts. We are truly blessed beyond comprehension.

Amen!

 

In some ways, I feel that the Old Testament is the “then” and the New Testament is the “now.” Here we see the scriptures fulfilled through Christ and the promises of the Old Testament come to pass. The Lord opens Himself to all people and the faith spreads to all corners of the world. It isn’t easy, but the apostles did a great job of spreading the message of Christ, starting the church, and sowing the seeds that are still producing fruit over 2,000 years later.

The New Testament gives us the wonderful gift of our salvation and shows us the ultimate love of God. Over and over, we are encouraged that all who believe in Christ will be saved, and that He is the cornerstone of our faith. Indeed, Christ is the key to all. He is our Savior, our ally, our link to the Lord, and our best friend. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Thank you God, for sending Christ to save us from a law that was too difficult to bear. Thank you Christ for bridging the gap between our sin and our Lord. Thank you for the Holy Spirit to guide us through life and to give us a living relationship with You.

Thank you God, for everything!

 

I’ll take the DVD version of this, thank you very much. Seriously, these images of the last days are frightening, and all of us hope that it will happen far in the future, or we’ll be raptured before these events take place. God doesn’t hold back with the blessings, or the curses. It’s gonna be rough for those that don’t believe in Christ in those last days.

Visions of the end times are given throughout the Bible, from Isaiah to Daniel to Christ himself and Peter. However, this is the most comprehensive look at those end days on canonized scripture.

I personally am not going to take on deciphering the images in this book. I believe it’s best left to the professionals. It’s symbolic yes, but some say it’s already come to pass (in 70 A.D.) while (most) others believe it is yet to come. I’m in the “yet to come” category.

I’ve read the “Left Behind” series and have seen and heard many interpretations of the Book of Revelations. While I can’t say whether it’s written literally or figuratively, I can say that I know the words of this book are true and that these things will come to pass.

Yes, there are scary times ahead, but like in the rest of the Bible, there is always hope for believers. All who believe in Christ will be spared. That’s the point of it all. And to that I say, Amen!

 

Jude is a brief letter that reminds us to fight hard for the faith and to stand against false teachers. In this letter, Jude reminds us that there are people that will divide believers, but we are to stand against them. He also reminds us that God is stronger than people, and that He will take care of us and keep us strong. We won’t fall as long as we believe in Christ.
 

These brief letters from Paul and John remind us of many things that Paul has already told us about faith and love for one another. Christians were coming against resistance and being made to suffer for their faith, but Peter and John reminded them to keep believing in Christ, to stand firm in the faith, to love one another, and to not give up. After all, if Christ died for us, then how can we put limits on what we will do for the faith?
 

The Book of James is a short but powerful book on how our faith should make us better people. He reminds us that we will have trouble, but we need to stand in faith and live right if we want our prayers answered. Indeed, faith should lead to good works and motivate us to help others, spread the Good News, and live right because “faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17).

James also reminds us to be mindful of what we say because the tongue is the most destructive force in the world. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true – our words are powerful, and we too often use them as weapons. We need to be sure that when we speak, we are speaking words that are true, right, inspired, and helpful. If we do this, we shut off a big way that the devil gets a foothold in us. We are to stand against the devil and he’ll flee from us, not give him an open door and invite him in by malicious words and gossip.

James seems to be harsh on the surface, but I do believe he is giving us true words in a very direct and clear way. There’s no misunderstanding that he is telling us to put our faith into action and to live accordingly.

 

Hebrews is often referred to as “the book of faith,” because Paul tells us how our faith can give us a better life. It’s a book that gives us powerful truths about the power we can have in our own souls through belief in Christ. Jesus is the greatest, the ultimate sacrifice that reconciled us with God, our “high priest” that leads us not only to righteousness, but to Heaven and the very throne of God through our prayers. He gave us a new agreement of salvation by faith and freed us from the old agreement that we weren’t able to keep.

Chapter 11 gives us the full history of our faith. Paul shows us how faith lead all of the people that we admire in Scripture, and how it made them right with God. They hoped for things that came after they left this world, and now we are fortunate to see the fulfillment of scripture through Christ.

Yes indeed, we do have one thing that the heroes of the Old Testament didn’t have – the Good News of Christ. They saw in prophesy and faith what we know to be true. Their faith in what was to come made them right with God, and now our faith in Christ, who lived, died, and lives again, is what makes us right. We see that faith from a different perspective, but it’s still the same faith that God has loved all throughout history.

 

In this very brief letter, Paul writes to a man who’s slave has run away. The slave became a Christian, and now Paul is returning him to his master, Philemon. In this letter, Paul asks Philemon to forgive the slave and to accept him back.

I believe this brief letter is a perfect example of our relationship with the Lord. We were lost, but Christ came to find us and save us from our sin. Now, through belief in Christ, we can return to the Lord and He will accept us fully, completely, and with joy.

What a wonderful parallel to our own spiritual state!

 

Paul wrote these letters to instruct and encourage others that working to spread the Good News of Christ through the world. Much of what is said in these letters has already been said in previous letters, but I believe they are repeated because they are important points: To stand strong in faith, to test things to see if they are true to the Spirit, and to live right and honest lives. We are to love one another. We are to put out willful sin but forgive if they repent. We are not to judge. We are to take care of ourselves as members of the Body of Christ and to value faith over the world.

One important thing that I believe Paul tells us through these letters is that our faith is the strongest thing in existence. He doesn’t put it like that, but he makes it clear that our faith should make us bold. After all, “God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid, but a spirit of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7). Yes, there are things that will make us fearful, but our faith makes us strong.

Another wonderful thing Paul gives us is what should be every Christians epitaph: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7). I know this is my ultimate life goal – to be all God made me to be, to stand firm, and to walk and live by faith everyday.

 

These brief books are Paul’s letters to encourage new believers and to remind them that salvation comes through Christ. In them, he reminds us that Jesus is first above all things, and that our job as believers is to spread the Good News. We will fight resistance against non-believers. Indeed, I believe these letters validate that God’s people have come against resistance since the beginning of time, but we are to stand firm in our faith. Persecution, after all, means that we’re reaching a spirit within others that’s convicting them – and a convicted person can get mean, angry, and defensive, sometimes to radical extremes (just look at how the prophets were killed, and martyrs of the faith). Paul reminds them (and us) that we are to keep learning, keep working, and keep spreading the faith, no matter what comes against us. We are to guard against those who are false or deceivers and live in the truth.

Yes, as Christians we do have to stand firm. It does take a great amount of strength to walk in faith in an unbelieving world. People may try to undermine our faith, but they can’t win unless we let them. In fact, if our faith is secure, then there’s no way then can gain any ground on us because our strength is in the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

 

Philippians is my favorite book of the Bible. If Proverbs tells us how to live our best life, then Philippians reminds us that joy is always in our reach. Even though Paul was in prison, he was still able to find joy. Paul truly understood that joy is found not through worldly circumstances, but in faith that you are obeying and walking with the Lord. Indeed, in this book he tells us that he has learned to be content with whatever state he’s in, trusting that he’s right where he belongs in the Lord.

That is the secret to joy. Not in having it all, but in realizing that you have all you need to do what you’re supposed to do for the Lord. If you need more, the Lord will provide it. We can trust in Him above and beyond all else, and indeed the most important thing in life should be in God, our faith in Christ, and our obedience to the Holy Spirit.

This book on joy also contains my favorite verse in the Bible: “I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me his. Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do. *Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.*” (Philippians 3:12-14) I love this verse because it reminds me to keep my eyes on the goal ahead; not the garbage around me. Becoming more like Christ and being who the Lord made me to be is always the goal, and I will always be striving to reach it. It’s a journey, and one that I intend to make the best it can be!

I’ve heard Philippians called “the book of joy,” and I believe this is an excellent way to describe it. Indeed, joy is always within our grasp. It’s not some distant goal or faraway dream. It’s ours right now, through faith in Christ. Thanks be to God!

 

Ephesians is a wonderful reminder of how we are able to stand in faith. Indeed, Ephesians 6:10-18 gives us the well known instructions on “putting on the full armor of God,” where we see the many facets of our faith and how we can use them to stand against the devil. We are reminded that we aren’t really fighting against people, but against the devil and his minions working against us. Sometimes this happens through other people and sometimes it happens through circumstances, but the important thing is to realize that when things come against us, the devil is at the root of it. Then we need to rely on our faith, which roots us in the Lord, and remember to never give up. Through Christ, we always have the victory.
 

In Galatians, Paul gives us the wonderful news that we are saved by faith in Christ. That’s it – no tricks, no special requirements, no ceremony or sacrifice – just faith, like the faith of Abraham. Christ died to fulfill the law and by our belief in Him, we are made right by faith, just as Abraham was made right by his faith. Our belief in Christ makes us Abraham’s spiritual heirs.

Galatians 5:22 gives us the fruits of the spirit that we should find in our soul if we really and truly believe in Christ and live by His teaching: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Of course, we will be stronger in some areas than we are in others, but I believe the point is that all of these things will grow and be perfected in us as we continue to walk by faith in Christ.

Galatians 6:7 also gives what I call a “life truth” verse – “Do not be fooled: You cannot cheat God. People harvest only what they plant.” Indeed, we do reap what we sow. We see this in gardening and it’s just as true in spirit as it is in the earth – you can only have what you grow. If you reap good things, you will have good things return to you. The Holy Spirit will see to it that your harvest will grow above and beyond. We are even reminded that “we must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9).

Galatians gives us a wonderful message that we are saved by faith, and that in faith we can have the life God wants for us and reap the blessings He intends – eternal life in His presence.

 

The books of 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians are actually letters Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, which has problems. Apparently, there were divisions in the church and people were splitting into groups based on who they attributed their faith to. In 1 Corinthians, he admonishes people to live right, put sin out of their lives, and to not judge one another. I believe the basic gist of 1 Corinthians is to get your mind and heart right in Jesus and to use the freedom that our salvation brings to share the good news with others.

One thing I really like about 1 Corinthians is when Paul tells of spiritual gifts in Chapter 12. Here he reminds us that we are all given special gifts by the Holy Spirit, and that we are to use them for spreading the Good News and for the Kingdom. Indeed, no gift is insignificant, and we should use the talents and abilities we have to serve the Lord and one another.

In 2 Corinthians Paul stand up for his work and encourages the people to live by faith. He reminds us to live with courage in the Spirit and to have a relationship with God. Indeed, God knows us better than we know ourselves, and if we believe in Christ then we are a new creation, as we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

These letters are written to a church that had problems that probably aren’t that different from what the church faces today. Even now, we still have divisions and strife. People have different interpretations of scripture and what’s right, and it divides us. Yet Paul reminds us even in this day and time to stand together, realizing that we are all working for the Lord and need to overcome our differences to achieve the same goal – His higher purpose and spreading the Good News throughout the world.

 

I’ve heard the Book of Romans called “The Handbook of Christian Living” several times, and I agree with this. Indeed, if I were to advise a new believer on what parts of the Bible to read first, I’d tell them to read the first six books of the New Testament – the 4 Gospels and the Book of Acts to see how Christ changed the world, and the Book of Romans to show what it all means.

Indeed, Paul gives us an excellent breakdown of how Christ changed the faith and how He brought God to the entire world. We see it all from the beginning, from Adam’s sin to Abraham’s tremendous faith, to Moses and the law to Christ’s perfect sacrifice that reconciles us to God and makes us perfect even while we aren’t perfect. It brings us right back to the faith that started with Abraham, which freed him and continues to free us today through faith in Christ.

It’s complicated the way I put it, but if you read Romans, Paul explains it much better. He shows how we, as imperfect beings tainted by sin, are made perfect through faith in Christ, who died one time for all.

There are a few verses in this book that tell us what this faith should mean for our day to day living. First, I would like to point out one of my favorite verses in the Bible: “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28). To confirm this, it says later that “if God is with us, no one can defeat us.” (Romans 8:31). This confirms and extends the promises that God made to His people in the Old Testament that He would protect and bless those who love Him and worship Him. Indeed, “God never changes His mind about the people He calls and the things He gives them.” We saw in the Old Testament that God did always protect and bless those who lived by Him, and He always keeps His promises throughout all of time. Indeed, now the promises are gifts given to all that believe through Christ. That’s a wonderful and exciting gift!

Romans gives us an excellent overview of how we should apply what Christ taught to our life, and how we should live as believers. It tells us how faith should lead through everything we face, and how prayer, obedience and thanksgiving to God, belief and living by Christ, and heeding the Holy Spirit can lead us to a life that is full of blessing. It might not be perfect, but if we live right then we can rest assured that God will take care of everything, always keep us safe, bless us abundantly, and lead us right where He wants us.

 

Acts is an amazing book of how the Christian church got it’s start. In it, we see how the apostles are able to carry forward the ministry that Christ brought by spreading the good news to all people. We see miracles and changed lives. And while there was resistance and punishment for standing by what they believed, they all stood by Christ, even to death. They never wavered and saw the task of getting the message spreading through.

I think it’s worth noting here that of the disciples, John was the only one that wasn’t killed for preaching in the name of Christ. Judas, of course, killed himself, but the other 10 were killed for their bold message. Yet they stood firm and showed us how to walk in faith, even if it means to death. In that day and time, being a Christian was dangerous – it lead from trouble from the Jews, trouble from the Romans – pretty much trouble everywhere! Yet they believed enough to stand by it even to the death, and their tremendous faith and refusal to submit to fear of losing their lives is the very thing that has given us a faith that has survived for two millennium and continues!

Fortunately, we aren’t living in the days or a society of martyrdom, which makes their lives an even more amazing example. Being a Christian still takes a tremendous amount of courage, but through their example we see that there are rewards to walking in faith. We see the amazing things that can happen, the great blessings, and the reward of seeing lives changed and transformed in positive ways. We know that the seeds planted on Earth will bloom even through eternity.

 

This story at the end of Acts might seem like just another miracle, but I see more in it. Here, Paul is shipwrecked on Malta while being taken to see Caeser. While making a fire, a snake bit him. Even though he should have died from the venom, he shook it off and went about his business.

Yes, it’s amazing that the bite did no harm to Paul, but I think there’s a bigger symbolic message in this story. At this time, Paul was a prisoner and had many people coming against him. Yet it didn’t scare him or slow him down. In fact, I believe the opposition strengthened his testimony. People kept firing poison against him to shut him up, but he kept shaking it off and moving on, just like he did with the snake.

We need to be like Paul. In life, the devil will plant poisonous people and situations in our way to keep us from doing what God wills and achieving the purpose He sent us for. Indeed, it’s very easy to get so caught up and distracted by our problems that we do set aside what we’re supposed to be doing “until we can get things back under control.” We need to realize two things: First, God is ultimately in control, and second, that’s exactly what the devil wants – for us to lay aside what we want or need to do! We need to trust God to deal with this poison in our lives, shake it off, and keep moving forward in faith. Look at the purpose, not the problems.

This story is an excellent example of how we should lead ourselves in spirit. We need to refuse to let doubt poison our faith, shake it off, and keep walking with the Lord!

 

Saul’s conversion is probably the best known story in Acts – and the most amazing. Despite his past, his sin, and his hardened heart, God was able to use him to reach so many people and to launch Christianity to a whole new level. I believe this story is a testament to the fact that what the world sees as “right” can be very different from what God sees as right. We only see the outside, but God sees the heart – and in Saul, He saw tremendous gifts that benefitted the Kingdom above and beyond what’s believable.

I also believe this is a story of encouragement. It shows that we can never drift too far to be found. God is always there, and He can always find us and use us, no matter who we are or what we’ve done. This story is the ultimate example of forgiveness, salvation, and the incredible power of the Holy Spirit. And through Saul, we can see that the Lord never gives up on us, or on His plan for our lives. Thanks be to God!

 

It was going well until now. The number of believers was growing each day and they were living in harmony, rejoicing in Christ. But good things don’t last, and there’s always opposition to things that are right and true. Even though the apostles had seen their share of opposition – they had already been imprisoned and beaten for teaching in the name of Christ – Stephen was the first documented martyr for Christ. And right there was Saul, the very one who later became Paul, the great evangelist and writer of two thirds of the New Testament. This was when the church in Jerusalem began to be persecuted and the believers scattered.

In life, we always face opposition. Fortunately, it doesn’t lead to being killed, as it did with Stephen. Yet we can learn from his example to stand firm in what we believe in, no matter what the cost. Christ will never fail you, and your faith will sustain you if you trust in it. The world will resist, but our job is to stand up and continue to live in faith no matter what the world says. After all, resurrection is a recurring theme with Christians. For two thousand years people have tried to put our faith down, but we keep rising. It’s what makes our faith so powerful.

Yes, there is still evil in the world and it will always resist what is good and true. But the good news is that Christ has already defeated the devil, so the victory is already ours. Our job now is to stand firm in what’s right and claim that victory through Christ – and don’t allow the world to take it away from us. Because after all – the world has already lost!