So, Here's What Happened...

I am trying to remember exactly how I find myself in 2 Chronicles, Lamentations, Acts and Revelation. At the beginning of 2009, I made a commitment to to be more devoted to my daily Bible reading and prayer life. Somewhere in January, I decided that a fresh journey through the entire Bible was in order. That went fine for a couple of months, but then I got sidetracked. It wasn't that I stopped reading the Bible everyday, I just diverted from the systematic journey through the Bible I had planned. That was fine for a while. Then, at some point in the fall (I can't remember exactly when) it became clear that I was going to need to get back to reading all the way through. And I was pretty clear that it needed to get it done by the end of the year, which was a little scary because I had not gotten very far by then. I got back on the system that I had devised at the beginning of the year. I find the Bible a little overwhelming just going front to back, so I split it up and read some from multiple sections every day (for instance: Torah, Psalms, Prophets, Gospels, Letters.) Doing this in nearly every free moment throughout the fall, I almost made it. I was on track to get it all done by December 31st... and then... we got two new foster kids. If you are a parent, you will fully understand how that sort of thing can get in the way of well-laid plans.

So, I slowed down but I didn't stop and I have not given up. If you look on the right side of the blog, you will see where I am. Here are the books of the Bible I need to cover to finish this journey:

2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (fortunately the minor prophets are pretty short), plus the rest of Lamentations, Acts and Revelation.

A few thoughts: First, this is certainly not my first time to read the Bible but I think this will end up being the fastest. (I did actually start in January but 95% of the reading has happened in just a few months.) Second, it never ceases to amaze my the new things I find every time. And I am just not talking about how I see things in new ways. There are whole narratives that I simply forget about and that seem brand new. It is absolutely amazing.

Theologian J.I. Packer once wrote "Every Christian worth his salt reads the Bible cover-to-cover every year." I know that for many that sounds impossible to do every year but I know that there are lots of Christians who have never read the Bible cover-to-cover ever. I know that there are lots of Christians who have never read more than small sections of the Bible. (I mean, raise your hand if you know what is in Nahum.)

Anyway, pray for me as I get through the rest of the books this time through. And keep your eyes on the blog and on the u|news, we will be focusing on Bible reading this year at University.

peace,

will