If you've been following along in your own Bible, I commend you! This week, however, will have quite a few days that involve a LOT of flipping around, so using the links to the online Bible is advisable for some of these days. That's not to say that the Internet should take the place of your Bible, not by any means! There's something wonderful about holding the word of God in your hand.

The Bible is a gift from God to us, and it is the Lord's desire that we read it and meditate on it constantly. Now I realize that this verse is not contained in the section we usually equate with the Law, nor is the word "command" used in this verse, but we must never think of anything in the Bible that is the will or desire of God as a mere suggestion. Doing the Lord's bidding is not just necessary. It is a must! To knowingly disobey the will of God in anything is not only a bad idea. it is sin.

And there are positive reasons God gives us to obey His will, sweetening the honey, so to speak. The end of Joshua 1:8 says that we are to meditate on the word of God so that we may be prosperous and successful. That is absolutely true! Don't put promises into the Bible that aren't there, though. Reading the Bible won't help you win the lottery or get you a promotion at work. But it will strengthen your faith, deliver the Holy Spirit into your life with greater abundance and give you hope, among other benefits.

So let us take up the sword of the Lord together this week and really meditate on the wisdom we are to take from it. Pray before reading the Bible that something new may be revealed to you and ask God to bless the time you spend alone with Him. If something comes to mind while you are reading, stop for a moment and whisper a prayer to God. Put this gift of God to use, lest you offend the giver of the gift. Carry the instruction you get from your reading within your heart and watch it transform your very life!

You wouldn't recognize me two years ago if you were to read my words or meet me face to face. My life was a mess! How did I turn around? What did I do to become emboldened in the word? I read it and started to apply it. I'm not what I consider to be mature in the faith, but reading the word of God got me to do something we all must do in our spiritual journey. I got up and started walking the trail God set before me.

If you're already on the trail, that's great! If you're not or are just unsure where to begin, I beg you to simply pick up your Bible and start the walk. Matthew, Romans, Jonah, Psalm, there's no "bad" place to begin.

Yours in Christ,

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That is an incredible story about Joash and how the priests worked with him and the guard to place him in his proper place - the throne. It should be a pretty good reign, also. Joash spent his entire life, at least all he would remember, inside the temple. He was probably being instructed by priests of the Lord from day 1, so he should be a good King... right?

So far so good! The first thing he did is repair the temple. After six years there, he likely saw some things that needed fixing, but it sounds like the needed repairs had gotten rather extensive!

But alas! As soon as Joash's mentor died, Joash let all of his good momentum slip. He must not have been a very strong person on the inside. Of course, when I don't have anybody to exercise with, I tend to sit around too much, so I really can't talk here. My weakness is leading to a larger waistline. Joash's led to a death by his most trusted subjects.

There's gotta be a life lesson in this story. I know it's there! Hmm, let me think... How about this: It does matter who your friends and influences in this world are. If you have any other life lessons that you glean from the reading of the Bible, you can share them in an e-mail message to me or on my website, as each reading has a place for comments.

Day 2

Here's an example of how we can turn away from God, but He won't turn away from us. The Israelites were oppressed, originating in their worship of false gods, and God delivered them anyway. He hates the sin, yet loves the sinner. That is the nature of God and that is a nutshell of what we are supposed to strive for.

On another note, can someone please explain why the dead man was brought back to life when his body hit Elisha's bones? There must be some sort of a lesson there or something we can learn about God, but I can't seem to put my finger on it.

Day 3

Jonah was called by God to speak out against the sins of Nineveh lest the city be destroyed. Like an idiot, he had the idea that he would be able to run and hide from the maker of Heaven and Earth. Of course, a simple storm at sea was enough for God to "flush him out" and he ended up overboard and in the belly of a great fish. Do take note that this caused a boatload of other men to turn to the Lord. He can use your faults to enhance His cause.

This story is very dear to my heart, as it was a Veggie Tales movie about Jonah that shook me to the core with it's message. It is a message that I always knew on an intellectual level, but it never seemed to apply to me in my mind. That message is that God is the God of second chances. No matter how you have failed God, it's important to remember two things:

1. Your rebellion did NOT frustrate the plans of God in any way.
2. Your rebellion is NOT final. You can return to Him and He will accept your repentant heart.

Anyway, Jonah stayed in the belly of the fish for three days and nights. How did he survive? God provided. How did he get out? His submission to God and, ultimately, the mercy of God caused the fish to expel him in a pretty gross way. But when he got out, he headed straight to Nineveh like he was supposed to and his preaching caused the people there to turn from their evil ways, saving them all from bitter destruction! God's grace is mightier than our evils and he wants us to walk in His footsteps, even those of us who seem to be beyond hope!

Day 4

Amos had quite a bit to say here. Actually, he was speaking on behalf of God, foretelling the destruction of many of the sinful nations of the time, and Israel is not excluded from this list. In fact they are highlighted. God decided that their reckoning had come. They were led out of Egypt and given a land to call their own and repaid their deliverer with terrible sins and immorality. Their fall was to be hard, with only a remnant of them surviving in the end.

This was not without warning, though. The Lord is truly slow to anger, and many generations had passed while He sent problems to the people with the hope that they would turn to him to lift his punishment and lighten their load. Many judges and prophets had spoken to the leaders and the people to leave their idolatry and wickedness and these problems persisted. Punishment was due.

Day 5

This talk caught the attention of the king, who told Amos to leave his territory, but I found Amos' response to be quite...scathing! That's what you call God-inspired courage. The nation was to be destroyed, and the surviving people were to be scattered around the planet. Jewish people are now on every continent and this is why they didn't remain in their sovereign nation. After their destruction, they would be rebuilt, for even in His anger, God is merciful. Amos 9:15 even shows that once they return (shortly after World War II) they would never be removed. The Arabic desire to exterminate them, then, is a waste of time.

Day 6

This is the most obvious prophecy I've seen regarding the coming of Jesus. The virgin birth is as miraculous a sign as they come. This is another passage that is used as transition and to tell of signs of great things to come. God doesn't wait until a miracle is performed to take responsibility. He announces it far in advance. He also doesn't choose some chance encounter that would be easy to duplicate. He takes the impossible and makes it happen by His will alone. Our God is an awesome God!

Day 7

In this reading, we hear more signs of what the messiah is to be like. In these signs, it looks to me that the Jewish people, while still loved by God, were no longer to be the favored group. Or rather, they were no longer seen as the chosen ones to build up God's kingdom on earth. This was to become a kingdom of all races, colors and creeds. A kingdom that anyone could belong to. This group's description is Christianity. The church would be spread throughout the world under many names, but all would be held together by faith in God and His coming son.

This light of the world was to be Jewish, though, and this is another sign of His continuing love for Israel. In fact, this son would be born of the line of Jesse, through David.

Weekly Link Joe McKeever Joe McKeever writes a weekly article with a great message each and every time, usually about something from his past. One story that stands out is from a time in his youth when he bragged about his skills at cotton picking, which became a story about how adolescent children find their individuality in a secure environment. This story continued to grow, and eventually became one about giving your skills to God to see how far He could take your talent in His direction. I check him out each Monday, just to make the transition into the workweek a bit more bearable! ;-) From the site: Joe McKeever is a country-boy-come-to-town/preacher-storyteller-encourager currently serving as Director of Missions for the Baptists of New Orleans. He gets on the floor and plays with his grandchildren, uses handpuppets in worship services with little children, draws cartoons professionally, would rather visit with other ministers than eat, walks 3 miles on the Mississippi River levee almost every morning of his life, and delights in telling people how his parents just celebrated 70 years of married bliss. http://www.joemckeever.com

I hope you enjoyed this e-zine. If you know anyone else who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward this e-mail to them or direct them to http://www.coffeeswirls.com/weeklybible/
Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!