When I started this blog, it was with the goal of completing a full Bible study lasting 365 days in which I would read The Bible cover to cover. However, as is known to happen, I got distracted. I did not do a great job of building time into my schedule to make sure I got in my daily reading. I could give a hundred reasons why...school work, kids, deployment, moving to Germany...blah blah blah.
However, the past few weeks, I have done a better job of making that time in my schedule. I still end up missing some days and having to do double reading, but I am trying and making improvements. What can I say? I am a work in progress for certain.
For those of you who may not have been around when I initially started this blog, I originally set out to read the Bible cover to cover in 365 days. To do that, I am following The Grand Sweep by J. Ellsworth Kalas and the accompanying study guide. It uses a combination of explaining the passages and asking short questions for you to answer to go along with the 3-4 chapters you read per day. I like the idea that for the most part, Kalas explains, without overly interpreting for you, if that makes sense. I don't feel like he is telling me that I should interpret the passages in a certain way, instead leaving me to draw my own conclusions. I doing this along with my KJV Bible and a NKJV Study Bible. I do love that the NKJV Study Bible give me history and background that I often do not know, which is very helpful. However, as with many study bibles, it does tend to have more interpretation of scripture, which I don't necessarily love.
I'm pretty sure that the last time I wrote about my study, I was still reading Exodus. Since then, I have finished reading Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. To be truthful, Leviticus and Numbers were both hard for me and I tended to get stuck. They definitely aren't the easiest reads.
While reading these books, especially Leviticus, I found myself feeling weighted down by all the rules. Some of them just didn't even make sense to a girl born in the 70s. However, I just had to remind myself of the context of the time and the myriad of the reasons these rules would be needed. However, as Kalas discusses repeatedly in reference to all the chapters I have just finished, the Israelites were to be set apart. Therefore, rules that may seem mundane to me, were very important to ensure that they did not slip into the behavior of those surrounding them.
Numbers was also difficult as it tells of the time before the Israelites entered the Promised Land. I was taken aback by how much moaning and groaning went on every single time they were met with a challenging time in their travels. Every single time, God came through and met their needs, yet that didn't stop them from complaining and losing Faith the next time. At points, I felt like I wanted to tell them to "Suck it up, buttercup" as we often say in our house. They were promised the Promised Land, but didn't hesitate to complain about the work and sacrifice that it took them to get there. However, somewhere in the midst of this reading, I had an epiphany. How often do I moan and groan myself during those challenging times? One of the verses I see most often on everything from posters to coffee mugs is pulled from Jeremiah's Letter to the Jews being held captive in Babylon. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer 29:11 (NIV). It's easy to read this verse and say, oh yeah, I believe that is true. However, it is harder during those challenging moments to keep faith that it is true. I'm not talking about just the big challenges, either, but those daily moments of challenge. I know I have something to work on when it comes to this issue.
