It's 8:44 am, and the kids are still asleep. I hardly know what to do w/ the silence! :) Guess I'll dig into my Bible.
I heard a program on the local Christian radio station about taking a new approach to Bible reading for 2007. Instead of trying to read the Bible in one year--which I have never done b/c it never fails that I get behind, missing a day or two or three, and then catching up is impossible--this man suggested reading one book a month. Not stretching that book over one month, but rereading it for an entire month (how ever many times you make it thru) and allowing God to speak to you thru that book and work in your prayer life that way. So Hubby and I liked this idea--b/c it's a goal I can reach and b/c it gives direction to my Bible reading, which has been sadly random--and Hubby suggested the OT book of Micah for January. Like most of the prophets, it's not a "happy book" in the sense of lifting your spirits and making you feel warm and cheery. It's one of warning. This is how it starts...
Micah 1
1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, O peoples, all of you,
listen, O earth and all who are in it,
that the Sovereign LORD may witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
3 Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place;
he comes down and treads the high places of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob's transgression,
because of the sins of the house of Israel.
What is Jacob's transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah's high place?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 "Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley
and lay bare her foundations.
7 All her idols will be broken to pieces;
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used."
Doom and gloom, right? Well yah, but that's not it. There's always hope in the midst of warning, and you have to keep reading.
***** If you'd like to join our 12 books in 12 months, you're welcome to! I am thinking that maybe we'll switch from OT to NT every other month, to change it up, and I may post about it occassionally. It's nothing formal; no group meetings, no assignments, just reading the Bible, getting familiar w/ it, maybe doing a bit of research along the way to understand it more, but always allowing it to impact you, and maybe sharing that impact when the time is right. Let me know if you're joining us, and I'll keep you informed of book choices. Or if you have suggestions, email me. I am already thinking 1,2 and 3 John for February, which is really 3 books, but they are very short.
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