August 20, 2011
Greetings My Friend,

One of the most valuable things I have learned is to read my Bible pretty much daily. I find such wisdom and insight as I read through the Bible each year. As I read and begin to absorb God’s Word into my being I find that God will lay Scripture on my heart and many times that Scripture is what I use to make sense out of life, discern a direction I should take etc.

Through the years I have also learned that if Bible reading is not where you are at, reading the Proverbs through each month is a very good way to learn who God is, how to live my life. For me though I love to read the stories of King David. He is a man who loved God with all his being and he still made huge blunders in life. From King David I learn that God still loves me and wants me to repent and then to start my life over. I love Queen Ester too. She showed such courage and strength as she helped save the Jewish people from total destruction. There is Naomi as well. She loved her mother-in-law. She loved her mother-in-law’s God and came to follow Him. She gives me courage and insight as to what a faithful walk with the Lord looks like. For me at this point I want to read the Bible through each year. I am even looking for a Bible on CD and want to read and listen at the same time. I am told this method will allow me to read through the Bible a lot quicker and then I could read it twice a year. I like that thought a lot.

There are 31 proverbs, you can read through one each day. There is a ton of wisdom and insight in the Proverbs. I can see what is important to God and how to live my life. These Proverbs are short and in them are packed a whole lot of wisdom. For a while I read through my daily reading and read a Proverb each day. Through the years I have come to terms with my learning style. I have also learned that I am hyper and that I need to have my learning broken up in small snippets. This is what I need so I can grow and learn.

For me…I tend to read a Bible that has the daily readings broken into digestible pieces. I need to read a variety of things so I can begin to wrap my brain around the different thoughts that I find. I am also reading a Chronological Bible – in the order of the events and not in order of where the books are placed. This helps me stay focused and I read the laws once not twice like it is in the regular Bible. For me the King James Version is hard to translate into today’s thoughts so I read the NIV or the ESV version. It is what works for me. We each need to tailor our study to the way we learn.

Again for a while just reading the Proverbs each day really helped me. I also like to read the Psalms. The two are very instructive and can take you a long way in your faith journey. King David was very good at writing his feelings in the Psalms. He wrote about the struggles he faced in life and how he was able to trust God would see him through those struggles. So again if reading is a struggle I would suggest reading the Proverbs and the Psalms….they are wonderful insights to God and His wonderful love He has for each of us. King David also told God many times how scared he was, how angry he was. King David was a man after God’s own heart. King David also did some not good stuff, he got a woman pregnant who was not his wife, had her husband killed and King David admitted his wrongs when he was confronted and he continued to walk close to God. King David has taught me the importance of admitting my sin and then asking for forgiveness. I learn that God does truly forgive us. We may have to pay a price for the sin, but God is just and will forgive us.

It is important to make a commitment to God, to read His Word, to pray regularly and in that you will find yourself drawing closer to God. Going to church is good. Reading your Bible is important too. At our church in MI the minister’s often taught us to check what they were teaching against what the Bible teaches. If it did not line up then they wanted you to talk with them. The minister’s wanted to be teaching what God was teaching, not what man thinks God is teaching. They knew if you were in His Word then all would be walking forward and not falling backward. Even our Minister in VA seems to have this attitude. To me, that says a lot!

It is also very important to be with other believers. It is not to be a social club but a place to come together and share your journey. The church in MI and now in VA has stepped beside Junior and me in awesome ways. We grow in our faith and we share our faith journey. Sometimes we get insights on how to handle the path we are on whether the help is for our marriage or how to minister to those we feel led to. It is important to have a family of believers to trust in. Church is not a social place for the sake of socializing only. Being with other believers does help us reach out to those God puts in our path.

If you have not picked up a Bible and read it, I would like to encourage you to do so. It is so helpful in living life. It is helpful in raising your children, grandchildren. I remember thinking when my kids were little, “Lord when they grow up, I will begin to know you.” I sure wish I understood how important it was to take my children to God. I do now! God guides me when I have no clue as to what to say or do with them. I pray for them to have jobs, raise their children well and for their safety. Also as I read the Bible I begin to learn how to pray for what God feels is important. It is not about me at all. I do need God’s guidance to live life.

As I end this, I’d like to invite you to pick up your Bible and start reading it. I remember the first time I made it all the way through the Bible I was amazed. I thought I had to have years of training. Nope! I just ask God to open my heart to Him each time I read and God is faithful. I have learned a ton over the years. Just because I made it through one year….I find that I need to read it year after year. I plan on reading until I can’t read or I die whichever comes first. I also am looking for a Bible on CD to read along with….so if my eyes give out…I will be able to “read” the Bible anyway.

May God Bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.
Love
Janet