Day One

My friend Keirstin has been following a Bible reading plan, and after going through a week with almost no time spent in God's Word, I felt that this would be a good way to guarantee I read something every day. I'm already behind, but I'm focusing more on understanding what I'm reading than actually keeping up the pace. So here are my thoughts on Day 1's readings:

Matthew 1: The geneologies sometimes (Ok, most of the time) bore me, but here I really see the significance of listing the names. Jesus' lineage goes back to Abraham, and now that I'm becoming familiar with more of the stories, it's easier to identify with. Reading about King David and Solomon really sheds some light on why we needed to know they were in Jesus' family. One thing that stuck out was verse 23, "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel - which means "God with us".

Genesis 1: The more I read this chapter, the more I realize how hard it is to wrap my mind around the conecpt of earth being formless. No sky, no land, no trees...nothing. I just can't imagine that.

Romans 1: My favorite verse from this chapter, verse 12: "you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." It is an amazing experience to spend time with a fellow believer, and to support each other's understanding and growth.

1 Thessalonians - Love how verse 3 corralates with 1 Cor 13:13. "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ"

Proverbs 1: I like how the NCV phrases verse 5: "Wise people can also listen and learn; even they can find good advice in these words." It's a reminder that you can always learn something new, or change a behavior or attitude, by reading the Bible.

That's it so far. I'm really enjoying reading something from different books each day...I find it's a lot easier for me to stay focused on spending time reading when it's not 10 consecutive chapters.