Have you not heard?

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40: 28-31 (NIV)

Two of Us

Nehemiah 11-13 and Psalm 126

The book of Nehemiah and Psalms is officially finished. Only one book left of the Old Testament. This has been 9 months coming, 9 full months of only the Old Testament. It’s like I’m spiritually ready for the baby Jesus.

“Wasn’t this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into sin?” I demanded. “There was no king from any nation who could compare to him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel. But even he was led into sin by his foreign wives. How could you even think of committing this sinful deed and acting unfaithfully toward God by marrying foreign women?” [Nehemiah 13:26-27]

I think this has become one of my favourite verses to show how God does not want us to be unequally yoked. It shows how even the wisest individual or the most grounded individual can be affected by who they marry. You cannot have the mindset that your faith will not be affected by your partner, of course it will. You just need to find the individual who will encourage and strengthen your faith.  God wants the best for you and that involves who you spend your life with, He wants to be intertwined within that relationship.

Long, Long, Long

I got really behind. Like, a month or more and have been playing catch up for all of August and September. But I am caught up, just in time for midterm season and to start the New Testament on October 1st. I. am. so. ready.

So instead of typing out all of the passages that I have read in that time, I’ll just write out the books that I have finished in the order that I finished them.

21st book finished: Isaiah

22nd: Nahum

23rd: Zephaniah

24th: 2 Kings

25th: 2 Chronicles

26th: Habakkuk

27th: Jeremiah

28th: Lamentations

29th: Ezekiel

30th: Joel

31st: Daniel

32nd: Haggai

33rd: Zechariah

34th: Ester

35th: Ezra

and I’m almost finished Nehemiah (3 more chapters to go) and then the only book left in the Old Testament is Malachi.

God is good.

I encourage you to read the Old Testament. We tend to generalize that the New Testament is all forgiveness and encouragement and God loves you and the Old Testament is all about people getting killed. BUT God never changes. He is always love and justice, forgiveness and mercy. All He has ever asked of us is a relationship with Him, and for us to obey Him and listen to Him, and for Him to be our God and we His people. The message has remained constant, His love has remained constant. The only thing that has changed is how he has delivered his message and who is now included in his family.

Rocky Raccoon

Isaiah 1-4; 5-8; Amos 1-5; 6-9; 2 Chronicles 27, Isaiah 9-12; Micah; 2 Chronicles 28, 2 Kings 16-17; Isaiah 13-17; 18-22; 23-27; 2 Kings 18:1-8, 2 Chronicles 29-31, Psalm 48; Hosea 1-7; 8-14; Isaiah 28-30; 31-34; 35-36; Isaiah 37-39, Psalm 76

 

 

So it’s been a while. I haven’t been completely neglecting my reading, I just got behind and it took forever to get fully caught up again. But now I am all caught up.

 

“Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” (Isaiah 1:16-17)

 

“Then I heard the Lord asking,”Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” ” (Isaiah 6:8)

 

“Unless your faith is firm, you shall not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7:9)

 

“I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, ad you will finally know me as the LORD.” (Hosea 2:19-20)

 

“The LORD says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever. I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven.” ” (Hosea 14:4-5)

 

“Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” ” (Isaiah 35:4)

 

 

Just a few of the gems I found while reading.

Get Back

1 Kings 15:1-24, 2 Chronicles 13-16

1 Kings 15:25—16:34, 2 Chronicles 17

1 Kings 17-19

1 Kings 20-21

1 Kings 22, 2 Chronicles 18

2 Chronicles 19-23

Obadiah, Psalm 82-83

2 Kings 1-4

2 Kings 5-8

2 Kings 9-11

2 Kings 12-13, 2 Chronicles 24

2 Kings 14, 2 Chronicles 25

Jonah

2 Kings 15, 2 Chronicles 26

“The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.” (2 Chronicles 15:2)

From Me to You

Ecclesiastes 7-12.

 

“Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.” (7:8)

 

“Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, without a whole life before you, is meaningless. Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honour him in your  youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” ” (11:9-12:1)

Happiness is a Warm Gun

Ecclesiastes 1-6

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” (3:1 ESV)

 

“Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless – like chasing the wind.” (6:9)

Run for Your Life

Yesterday’s country was Hungary (I’m half Hungarian!) and today’s is Iceland.

 

Proverbs 25-26; 27-29

“Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.” (27:6)

 

“As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.” (27:19)

 

“To reject the law is to praise the wicked; to obey the law is to fight them.” (28:4)

You Won’t See Me

So, last night I fell asleep while I was reading/praying through this awesome new book I got. It’s called Operation World.

Check it out:

http://www.operationworld.org/

It’s a book with information on every country around the world; it has stats for each country and then issues that the country is facing with opportunities for prayer.  There is a movement going on to pray through this book in a year. Every day corresponds with a specific country to pray for and everyone who is praying through the book will be praying for the same country each day, no matter when you start. It’s really amazing. Not only do you get to learn so much more about the world (which is just going to make me want to travel even more), but you are praying for the whole world. We get so focused on the needs of our family, friends and communities that we lose sight of the global community and its need for prayer. I’m pretty excited.

So yesterday I was praying for the Holy See (Vatican City State) and today is focused on Honduras. In Honduras, socio-economic problems are widespread, mainly due to the poverty which affects 80% of the population! That is ridiculous. Some of the big socio-economic problems include children at risk (when their families cannot provide for them), powerful gangs having a large influence on society, Honduras being home to 60% of Central America’s AIDS cases, and they are still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Mitch.

 

Bible reading: Psalm 134, 146-150; 1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 8.

 

“He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. No, the LORD’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.” (147:10-11)

“Let them all praise the name of the LORD. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven!” (148:13)

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

2 Chronicles 6-7, Psalm 136

“May you always hear the prayers I make toward this place. May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive.” (6:20-21)

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” (136:1)