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Just a few days ago, after the hype of the new year had worn off and resolutions had already begun to fade or fail, my friend, Emily, said to me, "You know what one of my goals is this year? I want to read through the Bible in a year." "That's an awesome goal," I responded. She proceeded to tell me that she had never done it before. "I have done it a couple of times using different plans, and I loved it. Once I followed chronological plan, and then once I did that one where you read a little bit of the Old Testament along with a little bit of the New Testament and a Psalm and Proverb..." I blabbed for a little bit more before coming to a realization. "You know, it has really been several years since I have done any of that...I should do it again." "Yeah!" Emily wholeheartedly responded. "And we can do it together!" We promptly got off the couch, looked up a Bible reading plan, and committed to reading three chapter...

In our small group Bible study last Sunday night, we discussed the armor of God found in Ephesians 6. The belt of truth , God's truth that holds us together. The breatsplate of righteousness , the righteousness that has been given to us by God and protects our hearts. The feet fitted with readiness , the preparedness to run wherever God calls because we have peace with God through the gospel of Christ. The shield of faith , the confident belief we hold to deflect the enemy's arrows of attack. The helmet of salvation , the very salvation that keeps us alive. And the sword of the Spirit , which is the Word of God. "You know, that's the only offensive weapon listed. The Word of God." My friend commented. It tooke a minute to process and understand what my friend was saying, but then we all realized how true it was. "Yeah, and that's funny because we tend to think of God's Word as being a defensive weapon." We all nodded in agreeme...

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ." She took and deep breath and continued. "Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." For several minutes, she kept going, listing the ways that God has blessed us richly in Him. She prayed Paul's prayer to know God more and more. She spoke of God's saving grace that intervened when we were still dead in our sins, and she said that God resurrected us with Christ and gave us a seat with Him in heaven. As we kept driving down the road, I listened as she explained how the Gentiles are no longer separated from Christ, but included as heirs with Israel because of what God has done. Chapter 1. Then chapter 2. Moving on to chapter 3. "I am kind of rough on this part, so you may h...

"Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts...Remember the wonders He has done." Psalm 105:2, 5 How quick we are to forget everything that God has done for us! This Psalm reminds us to reflect on everything that God has done for us personally as well as what He has done for others. We should write it down as a testimony to His character, for we are so quick to forget who God is and what is able to do! He is a faithful God who has written a story for our lives. How simple and meaningful it is to chronicle each chapter that He writes so that we will not forget His faithfulness. Then we will be ready to share with others all that He has done. ~~~ "Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare His praise?" Psalm 106:1-2 Who can fully declare God's praise? We can see His works and tell of all He has done, but ultimatley His love is so beaut...