Growing My Faith

At the end of last year, just before Thanksgiving, I felt a strong desire to begin reading the Bible all the way through. In my mind, there are "avid Bible readers (my husband, a few friends perhaps and of course preachers and teachers of the word)," notice, you didn't see my name or any pronoun referencing me in that list.

courtesy of Google Images

I mean, I love God, I am ever grateful for the sacrifice of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I just never thought that I'd be diligent enough to read the Bible through from beginning to end. So, I enlisted my husband to assist me since he's already done it, twice! When that didn't work, because of our schedules, I decided to let the idea go altogether. Well, the idea, didn't let me go. Instead, the desire grew stronger and stronger within me. Until late last year when I decided to just "start".

It was either just before Christmas or right after that I picked up my Bible and for the first time, began to read with the intent of just simply reading every night until I was done (whatever "done" meant).

To my surprise, Genesis was the most epic set of chapters I'd ever read anytime, ever  in all my life! That is no exaggeration and is not due to a lack of reading over my lifetime. It's just that the Bible is FASCINATING among life-changing and faith-feeding. Halfway  through the book, and almost purely on an entertainment level, it was over, I was sucked in, there was no looking back.

I feel that I was supposed to read the Bible through. I feel in no small part, that the desire didn't originate with me. I didn't even believe in myself enough to set such a lofty goal. I'd heard that reading through the Bible, on average, could take up to a year or more! Who'd do that? Certainly not me was my answer.

Well I'm so glad that God sees us differently than how we see ourselves because, today, I am still reading through, still being entertained, changed and fed (spiritually) and am currently reading in 2nd Chronicles. And yes, I've finished every book up to that point. I am in love all over again with an awesome God who had an awesome plan of love for ALL men everywhere!

 It feels as if I'm getting to know Him like I've never known Him before. For instance, we all know that the Jewish people (as we know them now) were chosen by God to be different from all other nations of people living during the time that He called Abraham away from everything he'd ever known. But did you know, that God, from the very beginning, never ever turned away the "stranger" (or non-Jew) from dwelling with and/or adopting the lifestyle that He'd called His chosen people to live?  And that they (the stranger) were recipients of the same blessings in most cases?? I didn't, I always had it in the back of my mind that Israel (the Jewish people) were God's chosen people and the rest of us were kind of a second thought, so to speak. But you know, because of my own reading, I've discovered, that God has ALWAYS loved and accepted all people. Check it out:

Exodus 12:48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. 

Leviticus 19:33-34 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. [But] the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I [am] the LORD your God.

One final thought, I've felt more aware of and in tuned with my life's purpose since I began this journey of reading the Bible for myself (and I've been born again for almost 20 years). If you feel lost or purposeless in this life (as a believer or non-believer)...just pick up a Bible and begin reading...you will be glad you did!

With Love,
Stephanie

Thank you for reading.
Linking up at Wifey Wednesday and here.