What is the one single book that has sold the most copies throughout time?
What book, translated into countless languages has stood the test of time?
The BIBLE.
My roommate and I are on a journey. For the past 55 days (and for the next 35) we have been issued a challenge to read through the Bible. In it's entirety. 90 days. 3 months. Can it change a life? I know it already has.
Beginning this week, as I stay in the home of my parents, I am loathe to say that I forgot our challenge. Not a single thought entered my mind of what and Who I should be dedicating my morning, noon, and nights to. And then, a quiet whisper. All came rushing back. This spring break doesn't have to be like the others.. It doesn't have to be like previous Christmas breaks that I felt my heart aching. This one can be different.
And so I'm reading. I've had much to catch up on the past two days, and much to reflect on in my heart. I love the quiet, small things that God uses to shift our world.
Like I said, I'm a reader. I read: books, blogs, instructions, recipes... It's how I think best, with a book in my hand. So along with my catching up on God's Word, I decided to also dive into words that He guided others to write...Fiction.
I'm a reader...specifically I enjoy historical, Biblical fiction. Before I left my small college town for this break, I ventured to the library and borrowed 7 books. Four have been read before, checked out to again discover the journey of those who've walked before us. Within the books, I have found two jewels that in the past I simply passed over. For whatever reason, I never gave them a chance.
The A.D Chronicles by Bodie & Brock Theone
It's amazing how a book can help you to remember the things you always knew. As the old adage goes, "Out of sight, out of mind." My question is 'how can I keep these things daily in my mind?' I think I know the answer.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
~Philippians 4:8-9
My daily walk will most assuredly look different than yours. I am a reader you see, and so I must read to remember at times. I must surround myself with those things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good repute. I need to SEE the truths of the prophets, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I need to READ today, tomorrow, and forever the commandments that El'Elyon handed down to Moses. I am of the flesh, and I quickly forget. I am like the Israelites who time after time after time forgot the miraculous wonders that El Shaddai did for them... I like them forget that the Lord led us out of Egypt. So how can I remember? Surrounding myself with words is my goal. Words to read. Words to cause me to remember, and to for eternity be able to draw up in my times of need, of sorrow, of wandering in the desert, in times of peace, and in times of stillness.
It's not just about walking through this life, it's about walking with a purpose.
Can I become a child again? Can I travel back to the time when I sat in AWANA every Monday night and faithfully committed His Words to heart? Can I find those Words again, buried underneath the rubble of life? Only tomorrow, and the days following will tell for sure.
And so this path, this life, this walk, continues. Bending and twisting my path may be, but I find comfort in the fact that I do not walk in the darkness. I walk in the Light of the One who came to save the world.
