Christian Living

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Now I’m not normally one to make a New Years resolution. In fact…I’d say I’m an anti resolution person. Why? Because…I don’t like setting myself up for failure. Think about it how many New Years resolutions have you actually kept? How many resolutions have you made that transformed your life…or made a great impact?

Some folks are very disciplined. They make a resolution…and by golly they keep it…no matter what. Then there are a lot of folks that desire to make change or self improvements. They start out with good intentions…but if by the end of January…they are still maintaining that commitment…it’s an unusual year. There are few folks out there that seemingly make no effort at self improvement whatsoever…and overwhelmingly succeed by staying the same year after year.

But this year…God laid it on my heart the desire
to read through the Bible in a year. Even for one who attends church weekly and is involved in Bible study…I find this commitment a little intimidating. It means that for the next year…I will need to plan and carve out time each day to fulfill this resolution. My days, like so many, are already filled to the brim and overflowing. Getting five hours sleep a night feels like a luxury. But mostly…I hate to fail.

Even with all the possibility of failure…or knowing that I may not live up to this commitment…I believe that reading through the Bible is important. So many people that I greatly admire are rooted and grounded in the Word of God. It’s central in their life. It’s transformed their lives and defined their character. God has been able to use them in a mighty way to make a difference for the kingdom of God.

What am I hoping to gain from this adventure?

* Keep God first and foremost and central in my life.
* Daily washing of the Word…washing my mind, heart and soul in the Word of God.
* Know God better…His character, attributes, mind and heart.
* It’s harder to sin when I know clearly what God defines as sin…what He hates and what He loves.
* When I do sin…I’ll be quicker to repent, ask for forgiveness and get back on the right track.
* Grow in wisdom and knowledge.
* Make better choices.
* See clearly God’s hand in the lives of His people…and His ability and desire to care for His people, transform them, change circumstances and even perform the miracles.
* See God’s hand in my everyday life…and comprehend that He cares for me.

So with some reservations that I might fail…I’ve decided to read through the Bible in 2007.

As if to confirm in my own mind that this is what God would have me do…one of the first callers on Dennis Prager’s radio show on New Years day…was a caller named Susan. This will be her eighth year in reading through the Bible. Dennis was encouraging callers by saying that it is important to make a resolution. Ideally in the areas of Health, Happiness and Character. He maintains that it is better to start and fail that to not try at all. Just to firm up my commitment…I called the Dennis Prager radio show while I was on my morning walk. I was able to get on the show and share my resolution. I was inspired by the earlier caller named Susan and comforted by Dennis’ assurance that it’s better to at least make an attempt then do nothing at all.

I’m also hoping that God will use the daily feeding of His Word in my newest venture “Susan’s God Stops”. What I’m hoping is that this will be a daily blog. With short entries recording God’s work and those times where I can plainly see God’s hand in my life. Perhaps as I record it daily…I will be more sensitive to, see and hear God in a more personal way in my life.

Today’s God Stop…was God making it clear that He desires for me to read through the Bible this year.

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