Great Blessings

“Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night. So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream— a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall. Everything they do is successful.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭ERV‬‬

We read in Psalms 1 the simple promises of a full and blessed life following the Lord. Is there anyone who does not want a life of strength and blessings? Why are there so few who find this? In verse 2 the secret is to love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night!

Are you willing to pay the price to inherit this? To live with no regrets? To face the future without fear of what it holds? Begin today, January 1, 2019. Do not go another day without running after the Lord. Commit to read his word everyday. If you haven’t read the entire Bible from cover to cover, what are you waiting for?

I'm reading the @YouVersion plan 'Eat this Book: One Year Bible with Daily Psalm'. Check it out here:

Eat this Book: One Year Bible with Daily Psalm

1 Year

Following aspects of the traditional Jewish order in the Old Testament, this plan offers a sustainable reading pace, allowing you to experience first the Old Testament and then the New Testament in one year. Each day, you’ll explore an average of four chapters, and you’ll close your time in prayer by reading a Psalm.


Eat this Book: One Year Bible with Daily Psalm

Suggestion...invite someone to join you on this journey. You Version has the option to invite someone to hold you accountable. You will change your life and possibly someone else’s. Happy New Year! Praying that 2019 will be the most wonderful year of your entire life.

Start Reading Your Bible

““Jeremiah, get a scroll and write on it all the messages I have spoken to you. I have spoken to you about the nations of Israel and Judah and all the other nations. Write all the words that I have spoken to you from the time that Josiah was king, until now. Maybe the people of Judah will hear what I am planning to do to them and will stop doing bad things. If they will do that, I will forgive them for the terrible sins they have committed.””
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭36:2-3‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Jehudi began to read from the scroll. But after he would read two or three columns, King Jehoiakim would grab the scroll. Then he would cut those columns off the scroll with a small knife and throw them into the fireplace. Finally, the whole scroll was burned in the fire. And, when King Jehoiakim and his servants heard the message from the scroll, they were not afraid. They did not tear their clothes to show sorrow for doing wrong.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭36:23-24‬ ‭ERV‬‬

I have always been intrigued by this story. It's like watching a movie and seeing the king burn the scroll and wanting to shout out, "Don't do it!" We know what happens at the end of the story. Everything that Jeremiah prophesied came true.

“This is how Jerusalem was captured: During the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He surrounded the city to defeat it.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭39:1‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Does this remind you of America today? We are playing with fire. We ignore anything and everything that God talked about in the Bible if we don't agree with it. We are taking the Bible, one page at a time, and thinking that if we burn it, it won't exist.

But the end has already been written. Jesus will return. Every knee will bow to Him. Makes me want to reread the messages over and over again and incorporate that truth into my life. I want the words to be the first thing I read every morning before email or Facebook.

Today is a great day to pick up your Bible and start reading it cover to cover and letting God's Word transform you.

What does your soil look like today?

"Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams. (Mark 4:3 MSG)

One of my favorite things to do is to plant flowers! I love when it is time to go and buy some old favorites and try a couple of new kinds of plants, as well. I am saying the obvious when I state that the soil needs to be dark and rich and loose. You just know when you plant that flower in that rich soil,  that as long as you supply the water, it will be amazing.

God is continuing to throw out seeds(his word) to us. We read the Bible, we listen to podcasts, we buy books, we read devotionals, we hear great wisdom from friends...you name it. The problem is not  that the word is weak and powerless, but the soil is not the best. Sometimes I read the most amazing scripture in the morning and as soon as I read it, I do not even remember what I read. Other times, I read it and I am excited but my heart is gravelly because of complacency in my walk with the Lord and my lack of character. So it never puts down a root, when a difficulty arrives.

I especially saddened by the soil cast in weeds.

“but their lives become full of other things: the worries of this life, the love of money, and everything else they want. This keeps the teaching from growing, and it does not produce a crop in their lives.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:19‬ ‭ERV‬‬

I want to have the kind of soil that when I hear the word, and the word will be perfect and powerful and just and true, I want to embrace the truth and produce a harvest beyond my wildest dreams. The problem will not be with the seed but with my soil.

Make the Best Decision For Your Life Today

Mark and I are driving home from Body Pump. It's a strength training class that we attend three times a week. Mark was reminding me that it seems that everyone wants to get in shape. However, not many want to show up. They just want to talk about it.

Same thing with growing in our relationship in Christ. We all desire it- as long as we don't have to show up each morning and spend time with the Lord. We just want to talk about it. To grow stronger in any area requires an action... a daily, purposeful action.

Begin everyday with prayer and reading God's word. I made that decision maybe 40 years ago and I am so thankful that God gave me the good sense to do this. This decision has impacted every other decision I have made. Start small, be consistent and you won't believe how it change your life years from now. If you keep putting this off for a better, more convenient time you will wake up one day 40 years from now and realize that this also impacted every decision you made.