The Good Book
I was scrounging around looking for a Bible, and came across the first Bible I ever received. It was from my parents, and they gave it to me soon after I accepted Christ as my savior on October 21, 1981. Daddy gave inscribed Proverbs 3:5,6 on the cover which states, "trust the Lord completely; don't ever trust yourself. In everything you do, put God first and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success."
This Bible was an "Easy-to-Read Living New Testament for Kids with Psalms and Proverbs". It was a pleasant change to be reading the Living translation.
I read through I & II Peter. I know I have talked about this verse before but it needs repeating: "If you have tasted the Lord's goodness and kindness, cry for more, as a baby cries for milk. Eat God's Word -read it, think about it, -and grow strong in the Lord and be saved."
That's kind of what I meant by naming this blog "Fill Me Up, Lord". I want to be filled up with God's glory, grow into the fullness of my salvation; "Fill me up, Lord" is my cry to God, and the commitment I make to study the Word of God.
Well, this is my plan for reading the Word. It's not divinely inspired or anything, but I have little tolerance for reading lengthy books these days, so I am reading all of the short epistles in backwards order. For example, I read I,II&III John, then Jude, and now I&II Peter. Next I plan on reading Titus, Philemon, & I&II Timothy. So I will do this until I get to I&II Corinthians. Then I may stop & not read the Corinthians right away, but go back to the Gospels. This Bible reading plan is not available by Zondervan or Tyndale House yet, but I am working on it. Hee, hee!
This Bible was an "Easy-to-Read Living New Testament for Kids with Psalms and Proverbs". It was a pleasant change to be reading the Living translation.
I read through I & II Peter. I know I have talked about this verse before but it needs repeating: "If you have tasted the Lord's goodness and kindness, cry for more, as a baby cries for milk. Eat God's Word -read it, think about it, -and grow strong in the Lord and be saved."
That's kind of what I meant by naming this blog "Fill Me Up, Lord". I want to be filled up with God's glory, grow into the fullness of my salvation; "Fill me up, Lord" is my cry to God, and the commitment I make to study the Word of God.
Well, this is my plan for reading the Word. It's not divinely inspired or anything, but I have little tolerance for reading lengthy books these days, so I am reading all of the short epistles in backwards order. For example, I read I,II&III John, then Jude, and now I&II Peter. Next I plan on reading Titus, Philemon, & I&II Timothy. So I will do this until I get to I&II Corinthians. Then I may stop & not read the Corinthians right away, but go back to the Gospels. This Bible reading plan is not available by Zondervan or Tyndale House yet, but I am working on it. Hee, hee!
posted by Literacygirl @ 11:53 AM
7 Comments:
At 12:11 PM, May 27, 2006,
Hamish said…
You know, I've never actually read the entire Bible.
It seems like such a sensible thing to do because everything thinks they know what it says, but few people have read it.
It would be good to see the fact from the fiction.
At 7:34 PM, May 29, 2006,
Catherine said…
Jill -- I found MY first Bible a few days ago too, maybe even the same day you did! And I think it may have been the exact same one!!!!! Woah.
Adam -- you are SO right. Most people spend a lot of time reading ABOUT the Bible, or ABOUT what the Bible says, but its really not even close to the same. Nothing beats the original.
At 4:12 AM, May 30, 2006,
Anonymous said…
What parts of the Bible would you reccomend for comfort? For bad depression and anxiety? Do you have any favorites? Thank you very much in advance for any help.
At 9:28 PM, May 30, 2006,
Anonymous said…
Me again. I just wanted to say that Any and All Sincere help would be very much appreciated. I am going through a very deep valley right now. Do any of you have parts of the Bible that you turn to when you feel that way, or special prayers. I am new to this. Thank you and I am enjoying your Blog Literacy Girl. It's fun and interesting. Thanks :)
At 10:20 PM, May 30, 2006,
Literacygirl said…
Seeker, I can totally relate to you in terms of depression & anxiety. For encouragement, I would read Phillipians. If you just want to get into God's word to study it, a great place is the gospel of John. Don't let the first couple of verses bog you down. In the Old Testament, King David was called a man after God's own heart. But even he struggled with life and he cried out to God often in the Psalms. Read the Psalms to see how God worked in his life. You will see the whole spectrum of David's feelings. I am honored that you have come to my blog seeker.
At 1:21 PM, May 31, 2006,
Catherine said…
Seeker,
I would also recommend the Psalms. In this book you find the authors occasionally praising, occasionally angry -- and frequently depressed. Just like real life, not trying to hide or fake positive feelings. And yet always remembering God and his faithfulness. I find the Psalms to be very comforting, especially after time when they become like old friends.
This might sound strange, but I also really enjoy the book of Lamentations. As the name suggests, its not an upbeat book, so it might not be helpful for you depending on your personality. But in Chapter 3, after "lamenting" for 2 and a half chapters...the author remembers the faithfulness of God and the comfort that he finds there. Again -- so real life, and for me, so encouraging. It seems to say -- you don't have to be smiley-with-a-cherry-on-top. You can admit how much things hurt. But look -- God is still faithful; He is still with us.
I would also recommend John chapters 14-17. This is Jesus talking to his closest friends, just before he is taken and killed. He knows what is coming, and this is his beautiful "parting thoughts." Chapter 14 begins with him specifically comforting them, and Chapter 17 ends with him praying for them, and for us (those who will come later). Imagine! In Jesus' last hours on earth, he was wanting to bring us comfort, and he was praying for US! This is so beautiful to me that when I first read these words I cried and was comforted deep in my soul -- to realize that this was JESUS, and he had this kind of compassionate, gentle love...for me.
There are words of comfort elsewhere in the Bible as well, especially in many of the Epistles (such as First or Second Corinthians, Ephisians, Phillipians, Romans, First or Second Peter, First or Second, or Third John) becaue these are letters written to new Christians who are having difficult times.
The whole Bible, really, is the story of God's love for us, even when we screw up really badly. So there is comfort to be found in it, wherever you look, if you are looking for it.
Thanks for sharing with us, Seeker. I hope you have a community around you that can help but if not -- I hope you'll keep on talking with us!
Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
At 1:16 AM, June 13, 2006,
Anonymous said…
Thank you all very much for your advice. I can use all the help I can get. Very new to all of this. The Psalms are beautiful and reassuring, I haven't read them for a long time. I think I could start there and work my way on to more complicated parts. I didn't think of "Lamentations.", but that is good as well. I am sure that there is a lot in the Bible that is good and could help me; I just really need to start slowly, take it little by little. Thanks again to Literacy Girl and Catherine. I very much appreciate your answering and making me feel welcome:-)
Post a Comment
<< Home