Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Two Words for 2012

Hi Friend! Happy New Year!

I'm excited to share two words with you for 2012...

GO DEEP!

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This week Pastor Aaron spoke to us on going deep in three areas: 

1. The Word of God 
2. The relationships in our lives, and 
3. The Gospel. 

This could get really long but I know you’re busy so I’ve decided to split this post over the course of three days. Today let’s just talk about the Word of God. 

But first, a quick confession...

On New Years Eve I thought about starting a plan to read through the entire Bible in 2012. My very next thoughts were doubts of whether or not I could tackle that big of a task. I hadn’t even started and I was already giving up!

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For many of us, going deep in the Word seems like a daunting task. If we keep it real, some of us don’t even know where to begin. Have you ever felt flustered about your “quiet time”? Have you ever started reading and thought to your self, “What in the world does this mean?” or “How does this apply to me”? … I’ve been there too!

Pastor Aaron reminded us that we often have the wrong idea about the Word of God. Sometimes we view it as an obligation. At times we lean toward seeing Bible reading as something to mark off our spiritual checklist in our attempt to be a good Christian. Then we get discouraged when we haven't mastered the Scriptures. The goal, however, shouldn’t be to master the Scriptures, but to let God through the Scriptures master us!

My good friend, Kristi McLelland, taught me that the Bible is God-breathed {2 Timothy 3:16}. Have you ever been so close to someone that you could feel {or smell} their breath? I'm sure a lot of us have had a few unfortunate encounters with some foul breath. Thankfully, the breath of God is sweet like honey, and life giving! {Yup! Even first thing in the morning!}  If you desire to be so close to God that you can feel His wonderful breath, {the same breath He used to speak Creation into existence} start reading His Word!

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God has revealed Himself through the Scriptures and He is inviting us to come and drink of Him. The ultimate goal of Bible reading shouldn’t be to gain facts that puff us up with knowledge. It should be to know God better. The Bible is a book that will revive our soul! When we view it that way, the task of reading seems more invigorating than it does daunting. 

If you're like me and you've had a hard time digging in, I'd like to share the first step to Bible reading that has helped me tremendously: PRAYER.

"Lord, please open my mind to understanding today as I read your Word. Let your truth penetrate my heart and illuminate my mind by your Holy Spirit. Speak clearly to me today. Amen.

Believe what you're praying. Believe that He can do it!

"Daily Bible reading is not a religious duty, but a joyous pursuit of the God of the Universe. We want to dig deep so we may know Him and the power of His resurrection." [emphasis mine] - Pastor Aaron Roy 


This sweet reminder revived my love for the Word of God. And guess what! At the end of the sermon Pastor Aaron gave all of us a reading plan to complete the Bible in a year! So… looks like I’m going for it. :) Would you like to join me? If so, click here for a PDF of the plan our church is doing. It's only 25 days of reading each month, which provides room for our fallen nature and our crazy schedules. If we get behind, we can catch up on our spare days. 

Let’s go deep! I’ve got my scuba gear on and I’m ready to dive in!


See you here tomorrow, 

Monique Zackery


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7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the encouragement Monique - love you and miss you!

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  2. Monique, these are the same words God's been speaking to me. Just yesterday I met with my partner in women's ministry and we decided on "Going Deeper" as our theme for 2012. Thanks for the encouraging words. I want feel His sweet breath on my face every day!

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  3. Hi Jennifer! Thanks for stopping in to read. I love you and miss you too!

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  4. Oh wow, Carla. That's wonderful. God always confirms the things He is speaking. I'm excited to go deeper and glad to hear you and your ministry partner are doing the same. So cool! :)

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  5. Going deeper is something that our church is focusing on this year. Sometimes we want to go wide, to do more, before we've rooted ourselves in the foundation. I too set out with high goals to read the Bible through this year (I am using the One Year Chronological Bible) and I was behind, until today. I am caught up now. We can do this!

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  6. Great post! And I love Bible reading plans. I feel like they take me places in my Bible that I don't normally venture to without it. It is going to be a great year!

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  7. Hi Barbie! What an awesome perspective. I never thought about that visual, how we tend to go wider instead of deeper. I've truly been guilty of going wider. I'm going to keep that in my pocket for future use. Thanks for that teaching moment!

    Jamie, I'm with you! I'm excited about reading passages that I have never come across. :) Thanks for being a faithful visiter here. Blessings to you.

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"Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." - Proverbs 16:24