I’ve read the Bible through multiples times. Mainly, I can thank my dad for this. At the start of each year, he’d stand up in front of the congregation and offer money–$20, I think–to anyone who read the whole Bible before December 31st. Unfortunately, I don’t remember him paying many people. When I was in seventh grade, we got one of those specially-formatted Bibles with some Old Testament, some New Testament, one chapter of Psalms, and one verse of Proverbs.
I loved the accomplishment of finishing, but I still felt I lacked a good overall picture of the Scriptures because I hadn’t gone in order. Over the last decade or so, I found a system that fits my personality and lifestyle. Every night I read one chapter. I read straight through Genesis to Revelations, then repeat the New Testament before I return to Genesis.
Do you ever wonder what God really wants from you? I do. When a scripture says DO THIS, I feel like I just found a treasure. I know I’ve read the verse several times before, but it will suddenly speak to my heart. One verse I love is from James, my favorite book of the Bible.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)
A few nights ago, I watched the movie Luther. Wow! He stripped away every man-made artifice from the message of the Lord and sought out pure religion.
My husband and I have been reading and talking about this verse, which we then heard on the radio: And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8b)
Awesome, awesome verse. “To walk humbly with your God.”
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