New Year

Happy New year!

Hope all is well for you. The New year has not come upon us like a thief sneaking around waiting for the most opportune time to catch us napping or out. No! it Has given us fair warning. There were the signs to Wall Drug in South Dakota. You could see it for miles if you were watching. And even if you weren't you most certainly knew it was coming. Right? So what did you do about it? If you know you have company coming you get the house in order, sweeping and swirling around til everything is in its proper place, the dust bunnies in their cages and the dishes swiped and put away, the trash dashed out to the can. So, what have you done about this new year coming? Made a new resolution? A commitment, perhaps, to better yourself in some way? I for one didn't make any new resolutions. I lose steam on them anyway. But I do expect this new year to bring new adventures, new experiences. Last year I read the Bible through chronologically. It was interesting to be reading the book of Kings and in context be directed to the corresponding events in the prophets. It lent itself to a sense of cohesiveness in Scripture. If you are interested in the chronological approach email me and I will get you on course or you can go to the Christian book store and procure your very own Chronological Bible. On the other hand, I also noticed that the Bible was written by authors who were not so committed to chronology as they were to their own purpose for writing the book or letter. I don't mean that their writings were not chronological in their respective writings. But I do mean that there concern was to get across their message more tha nit was to be in keeping with some chronological format. Understanding the chronology of what is happening in Kings or Samuel by also reading the corresponding passages in the prophets or psalms is both fitting and expansive to our understanding of the themes and message of Scripture. It shows unity. However, don't short circuit the value of reading a book of Scripture in its entirety before going on either, or you might miss the point of the book for looking at all the other details.
I think the Bible is one of those take along books that you should be using as you go through life daily. I read books on horsemanship. While they are interesting and informational, they are not the kind I just sit down and read cover to cover, because the information in the next chapter has to be understood through the information of the previous chapter. For example in the book "Horsemanship through feel" the beginning chapter deals with getting softness through feel with a lead rope and halter by asking the horse to lower or bend its head with the slightest amount of pressure. Then it progresses to the next level of asking the horse to move only one foot, but if you don't understand 'feel' in the beginning you will not understand what you are looking for when you ask the horse to move the front right foot with just the slightest, almost unnoticeable, except by the horse, feel. What I am saying is that you really cannot go on to the next chapter or level until you have a good understanding of the previous one or you will completely confuse the horse and yourself and that will most likely make for an unpleasant experience for you.
Can't the same be said about the Bible. It has a beginning and an end. True!. However, jumping into the middle might not be the best. It, I believe was intended to be read from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation so that you get a 'feel' for why things happened later on in the Scripture. Albeit, the fall of Adam in Genesis 3 shows us the need for the birth of the Saviour in Matt. 1 as well as the need for the temptations of Jesus by Satan in Matt. 4 and His crucifixion in Matt. 27 in order to correct Adam's failure recorded in Genesis. Thus, through Jesus we have hope of resurrection because He was raised from the dead. But in between all of that truth is where we live our lives in the mud of the arena of life. So like the horseman's bible kind of books that need to be taken into the round pen and the principles practiced so we need to take the Bible into life's arena with us daily so that we can get our directives and our correctives throughout the day as we practice it's principles.
To help me with that, I use 3x5 cards and a little note book so that I can right down the principles I need to practice with my horse or my person as I live the day. That way I take the the Bible with me.
Why not take yours?

Ths new year, don't make a resolution you are only going to break, take a 3x5 card instead and work on one exercise each day. Just do it!
Jeff