Psalm 119

The last couple of days have been pretty busy. I think the hardest part of this challenge will be finding the time to sit down to read and pray everyday-- not to mention blog about it! But I discovered a cool little feature that will probably help me out a lot. Turns out the YouVersion Bible app has audio recordings of all their translation available for free and with their latest update (two days ago I think) it has the ability to read all of the passages that are a part of the reading plan for the day! It's really awesome because I have a pretty long commute in to class every morning and back in the evenings. I think I'll be listening to NPR on the way in and the Bible on the way out of town!

There are a couple glitches though. I was listening and the daily reading from Psalms was chapter 119:33-48. I didn't know this as it started but as I was listening I began to realize that the Psalms passage for the day was going on for longer than I expected. I started to realize I was listening to the entire length of chapter 119... which has 176 verses! After getting over my disappointment about the app not working perfectly (lol, not a big deal.. really), I began to be amazed about how passionate this chapter is about one thing: God's laws and decrees. From start to finish, the writer(s) writes about how he loves God's instruction! He is completely and totally devoted to the words God has given. God's commands and laws, he says, are imbedded in his mind and he meditates on them everyday. He even wakes up early and stays up through the night to contemplate the character and acts of God.

Thinking about that, I realize that I have a big problem: I don't do that at all. I have trouble remembering the last thought I just had and I certainly don't remember to think about what God says in His word thoughtfully throughout the day. I don't think that I've ever made time to “meditate” on the Word. I've complained about this problem to friends a couple times before, but I just haven't seem to gotten any better about it. It is something I need to pray about and ask the Spirit for guidance and a willing mind. Hopefully I will get better at it and learn to be more like those verbose writers in Psalms.

...I think I'll ask about it now before I get some sleep!

Old = New

My first post was a bit brief (and I'm betting this one will be too), but I have a lot of things to talk about! I'm very excited about this challenge and what it might do in my life. In order to help me read through the Bible in one year I am using a Bible app available on the iPhone for free. It called "Bible" by YouVersion. It is really great! There are tons of translations, easy navigation, a search feature, and best of all for my purposes, reading plans! I have decided to read The One Year Bible reading plan. It provides a passage from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and then a passage from both Psalms and Proverbs. This is a really cool way of reading through the Bible because everyday you get to pull stories and concepts from the New and Old Testament and compare the words of the God who is, who was, and will be. 

What has been plain to me over the time that I have been reading is that the God of the old covenant and the new are the same! He is so full of LOVE and MERCY! How many times did the Israelite people turn away from God? And how many times have I done the same thing, but God is still there! His promises are true no matter how badly we've screwed up! I sometimes say that to myself and then think how absurd it is... I think, "Wow, my heart just isn't in this today so how can God's promises be true for someone who doesn't 'feel it' right now?" We know this, no, I know this because of Jesus' love and ministry here on earth. He poured out his life for us- His body and blood to win us salvation and justification before God. That story is so plainly told that it would be foolish to "forget" it and think that God's love isn't great enough for me today. Lord, I ask that you help me remember that all day today! 

Beginnings

So, here we go. This is it. My blog. I'm actually quite intimidated knowing that I will have to keep up with making posts regularly and making sure I am staying on track. On track with what you ask? Being RADICAL! The thing that prompted this post was reading David Platt's book "Radical." In it he challenges Christians to take on a radical year-long challenge to reinvigorate our spiritual lives and begin to live with a purpose greater than just for our own well-being and satisfaction. He challenges his readers to pray for the whole world, read the whole bible, donate time serving in another country, give money for a specific purpose, and commit to a community of believers that is multiplying for a year. I, and my good friend Emily, have decided we would like to give this a try! One year of holding each other and ourselves accountable to these five objectives. My hope is that my blogging about it will help me to remember the ways that God works in my life throughout this year. Also, this blog might someday be read by someone who I hope will find it useful or inspiring. 

Cheers for now!