90 Days!!

What was I thinking?! 90 Days!?!

At the beginning of October, I bought my first smart phone. Yay! The first apps I added were Words with Friends, Angry Birds, YouVersion Bible, and CNN. The first two obviously are just really fun games, but the last two are my two most useful applications I have on my phone and they make my smart phone definitely worth the extra $30 for the data plan. This year, I had fallen away from consistent reading of the Bible. I mean, my Bible sits right next to my bed, but at night I was more likely found watching Netflix and watching an episode of Prison Break or Modern Family instead of picking up my Bible to read God's Word. Not a good sign. It's not that Netflix is wrong, but I definitely wasn't making the Word a priority in my life like I should have. I just needed something to motivate me to get back into the scriptures.

Enter YouVersion Bible app.

I realized that through this app, not only can I have the Bible with me at all times on my phone, but it also has Reading Plans. I checked them out. I have always wanted to read the entire Bible from beginning to end straight through. I'm pretty sure I have read the entire Bible many times, just in different parts and sections, but I wanted to get the full picture from start to finish. So on October 16th, I signed up for the "Bible in 90 Days" reading plan that takes me from Genesis to Revelation in 90 Days!?! I don't know what I was thinking. I don't even like to read! This is insane! But really, when I look back on that decision, it was absolutely a good one. It has gotten me back into the Word and has made me extremely passionate for it again and has made me hungry for more. I am 26 days in so I am almost 1/3 of the way complete! I have read through the beginning of creation and mankind, the story of Abraham and Noah, the Israelites exodus out of Egypt, the story of Moses and Joshua, endless lists of genealogies, 613 laws of the Torah, many chapters of battles over land and divisions of land, the story of Samuel, King Saul, King David and I have met Solomon. The list could go on. There were some parts that were really hard to get through and others that I couldn't wait to read the next chapter. This plan has me reading about 15-17 chapters a day, so my Netflix watching has reduced dramatically ;)

One HUGE theme I have seen through the first 10 chapters of the Bible is OBEDIENCE. It's without a doubt the most common theme, well, at least in my opinion. What was the first command God gave mankind? "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die." Yup, a simple command to not eat from this one particular tree. And what do we do? We disobey and take a bite. Then, in Exodus 20, God gives 10 basic commands that are later to be commonly known as "The Ten Commandments." Then, the Israelites spend most all of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy breaking these commands and turning against each other and on God. Obey, Obey, Obey. That's what the Lord had asked of them and that's what He asks of us. He is not a demanding boss who commands us to obey and then leaves us hanging. He promises to never leave us and to never forsake us (Deut. 31:6). How can it get much better than that? We obey, and He will take care of us. If we follow the story all the way through to the New Testament, we see that He makes a huge bold statement and sacrifices His only son, Jesus Christ, for us, the undeserving sinners. All He asks is to for us to obey. "But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, and to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul" (Joshua 22:5). So, what's holding you back? What is keeping you from following God whole-heartedly?