Sorry, I had to use the title to get the Barry Manilow song in your head, but I DID IT! Cover to cover, I read the Bible in a year. Well, it took me a little over two years to actually do it and I started over at the beginning of the year and did it in less than a year, but I did it. My Bible and I did it. We made it. WOW, it is pretty cool.

It is all pretty summed up for me in the last day of reading of Revelation:

“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed are those who obey the words of prophecy written in this book.” Revelation 22:7 (NLT)

What’s next. To read it again. It’s funny and I am embarrassed to say it, but when I first starting reading the Bible, I did it almost as a “bucket-list” type thing. To say that I had read the entire Bible. And I am excited about the accomplishment, but it did something to me. This has begun a lifelong habit of reading the Word and applying it. So now I start the new year with a telephone book sized Study Bible that I got for Christmas to dive in even deeper. I am fired up and I am excited about sharing in the next year with tools to help my friends do the same.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward. Psalm 19:7-11 (ESV)

Thank you again for joining me on the journey. We’ve only just begun (yet another cheezy 70′s song reference). Get ready because we are only getting started! Here we go…

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Wow, the calendar in the right hand column sure looks lonely. Almost a month and a half of no blogging and it is about time I got back to it. A bit of history about this:

As I mentioned in the last post, Palm Valley Church began the Route 66 series with the church body reading the One Year Bible. I have joined in and been lost in the Word through the first month and a half of the year. Along with that, I have been working on the devotionals that have come along with it (more on SOAP later) and my written journal is filling up. So it is time for me to start sharing once again online all those thoughts.

This really came back to me when I read the story of Bezalel, the craftsman who went to work on the Tabernacle from the visions that God had given Moses. God empowered Bezalel with the knowledge and skills to get it done to His specifications. This spoke to me because, like Bezalel, I believe that God has given these same gifts to me with this blog. But unlike Bezalel, instead of using acacia wood and fine linens, I use a keyboard and a bunch of code to share the Good News!

So I am back at it and they will be coming fast and furious. I could share the amount of events, church service, soccer volunteering and work that I have had in the last month, but I am just going to concentrate on getting back at it. If you have been checking back, thank you for sticking around. There is more on the way and I can’t wait. Read on…

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, obstacles always get in the way of daily study. Today I had my first, but very fun, obstacle to overcome: the Fiesta Bowl football game. It’s not all work and family obligations that get in the way, but the enjoyable stuff too. I was blessed to get the tickets and enjoy the game with my best friend, Michael, but I have to say that I am pooped! On with the post…

While many will point out the recurring theme of sin in these reads, another observation came to me during this read: parenting. In todays read, Adam and Eve along with their descendants and their descendants have children (Gen. 4:1-26). Joseph takes Mary and Jesus back to Israel, but does what is right for his family and takes them to Nazareth (Matt. 2:23). Seth, the child of Adam and Eve has a son Enosh and they begin to worship the Lord by name (Gen. 4:26).

These actions are all summed up in the Psalms and Proverbs passages of today. These parents did what they could to keep their children safe and raise them well, the most important of which is to teach their children to be God fearing individuals.

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck. Proverbs 1:7-9 (NLT)

If there is anything that I can take out of today’s read, it’s that. I try hard to do this and I so happy to have it here for me in this read. Good stuff coming out of Scripture in this read already in day two! Read on…

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With the One Year Bible containing portions of the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs, my posts for reading are now going to be a bit different. In fact, they will be different everyday depending on the read. Some days I will focus on one portion or, like today, I will be able to tie them all together:

Have you ever noticed that we like to create things? Whether it be a business, a schedule, a theory or a new way of doing our daily routine, we create each day. Why? Because God created us in his own image.

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 (NLT)

He created everything that we know (Genesis 1:1-2:25), a Saviour (Matthew 1:21), laws for living right (Psalm 1:1-6) and direction for living right (Proverbs 1:1-6). A lot of times, we feel unsuccessful when we create things, but can we not learn from God in this.

When God created humans, they made it unsuccessful for Him, so he came back with Jesus who would save us from our sins. Just because we are unsuccessful in our first try, it doesn’t mean that we aren’t finished. Usually the second, third or eighth try is the one that works for us. I have to say that I am glad that God gave us humans another try with His Son. It is awesome to know that when I try to create something, it is a splinter of Him living in me.

Finally, being the first post, I have to point out why the Bible is called the Living Word. Everybody reads differently every time they read it. Click here for my friend Ryan’s post. Read on…

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While the One Year Bible has been around for some time, when I started reading the Bible I chose a more linear approach of reading through Scripture. But starting today, our church is beginning the initiative of reading the Bible together as a church body. This has been very exciting for me, as this is why I began this site: to be a support system for reading through the Word together. Titled “Route 66″, referencing the 66 books of the Bible, Palm Valley Church is providing some great assistance and a blog of their own to help create the habit of reading Scripture daily.

It was after watching the television program The Biggest Loser tonight that I realized how much it takes to create this habit. Like losing weight, as they do on the show, reading the Bible takes support and hard work to create this good habit. The folks on the show eventually go home and it is there that they face the temptations of easy food and the obstacles of work and other obligations that lead to obesity. The same roadblocks face us in creating a system of studying the Word. It’s a lot easier to turn on the TV after a long day at work than to open the Bible. Soccer games and work commitments keep us from the Good News. But, we must find a way to make it a daily priority.

So, today with the day off and my studying under my belt, I commit to joining my church body in studying Scripture each day. That’s easy, but is it going to be easy to continue to study and journal/blog every day? Absolutely not. When I started this blog, I did so for several months, but the obstacles became to great. I believe that with the help of my church and our body I will be able to get back on track with this. Even after the day off of work which begins with so much promise. It’s in the spring when there are two soccer practices and a weekend full of games that it will become difficult. But together we can get each other over that hump.

Finally, I am not abandoning my linear read of the Bible. I will be finishing off Revelation shortly and possibly expediting the reading tract with more reading and fewer posts. I am just so excited that more people are going to get into the Word and pray that they will be doing so seven months from now. Good habits are hard to start, but once you have the support and see the progress, they hard to break. Read on…

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