1
I've always gotten lost in the sea of names that is the first 7 or 8 books that are in the Bible. So, with some lunacy, I decided to write out every genealogy I came across, and write down every name. That's right. Ishban, Shuah, Jokshan in Genesis 25? Got 'em. Uzzi, Ahitub, and Zadok from 1 Chronicles 6? Got those too. The name of every person in the Pentateuch, 1 Samuel, and 1 Chronicles, and as far as I could tell, who they are related to and where they're from. At the time, this seemed like a good way to try to nail them all down. Fast forward a few months and almost an entire journal of just names, and most of them blended together. Was it worth it? Yes! It really did help me figure out who all of those people were, especially once I got into tribes. However, it was a ridiculously tedious undertaking. One big take-away: Each time I read the Bible through from here on out, I'm going to pick one big thing I want to understand better and absurdly commit to writing it all out. I think next time it's going to be geography. *Enter maps and atlases, stage left.
2
I'm trucking my way through the beginning of Genesis. La-ti-di. La-ti-da. And wham! I have to stop and read all of Job after Genesis 11. I didn't know Job lived before Abraham! I didn't know he wasn't an Israelite. I didn't know he hadn't received the Mosaic law. This rocked my world for a little, but once everything stopped spinning, I realized I had a lot to learn still about the Bible. (duh. But seriously...)
3
I felt so hopeless once the exiles started. The people's promise of a Savior was tied to the land. As the feeble Israelites were carried off into exile, they must have felt like they left the very promises of God behind with the land. Even the line of David was almost broken, saved through God's preservation of a wicked Israelite king in a foreign court. Hope seemed to hang by a thread. Oh, the drama of the Old Testament, that God brought back a people that were altogether impotent on the world stage. Which leads me to...
4
Ezra and Nehemiah were studs. The people responded to their calls for prayer and fasting as to no one else's. The more I read about them, the more I wanted to learn. *Note to self: Study the exile and Ezra and Nehemiah further.
5
While reading through the Old Testament, when I would be driving my car, where most of my serious musings take place, I would always find myself thinking about God and his interaction with mankind. How much he's done. How sovereign, independent, powerful, and altogether superior he is. Fear of God just took on a whole new level of meaning. My sin is petty. My pride is foolish at best, if not asinine. Why even begin to resist him? He is worthy of, deserving of, and certain to have my submission in the end.
6
On to the New Testament: The gospels. Most convicting thing I've ever read. Always have been. Probably always will be. I wrote one day, "Every word out of Jesus' mouth reads me as I read it." I approach these books with fear and trembling. And when I don't read them, I miss them, and him.
7
The early church served each other and the Lord in a way that defies modern expectations. We can have such a reasonable Christian life now. Reasonable work hours. Reasonably nice house and income. Reasonable amount of sacrifice. Not true then. They gave and lived sacrificially, not self-protectively. Refreshing! I don't want a reasonable Christian life. Never have. Hopefully never will.
8
Paul looked for every stinkin' opportunity to share the gospel. Always. No matter what was happening around him, he was trying to tell people about God's desire for them. Adrift at sea and bitten by a snake? Tell 'em about Jesus. On trail (again), and then flogged (again)? That clearly means your are supposed to share your testimony. In jail? I'm sure the guard and his whole family would accept Christ if you would share about the resurrection. He was just like Jesus. I want to be like that.
9
The Book of Hebrews= the grace and peace of Jesus Christ
10
The church just cannot compromise or be lax about the gospel and its doctrine, especially in leaders. We must fight for it and protect it, for to stray from it is to stray from Christ, and he is our first love.
Bam. Those are only 10, but I'll stop there. Otherwise, I might as well post my whole journal, and no one wants to read that.
Bam. Those are only 10, but I'll stop there. Otherwise, I might as well post my whole journal, and no one wants to read that.
I leave you with this thought, compliments of Tommy Nelson: "You read the Bible, but do you let the Bible read you?" I did learn a lot about the Bible this past year, but I learned just as much about myself. I almost didn't type this list, and instead did a list of things I learned about myself this past year, and maybe that's a post for another day... Yet, at the end of the day, the Bible is living and active, and God wants to interact with you and your heart, and not just be the object of your study.
Keep your eyes peeled for a special hymn tomorrow. :o)
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