I’ve started up trying to do the One Year Bible again this year. If you don’t know, the One Year Bible is basically a ‘reading plan’ put together in such a way that you will read the whole Bible in one year. There’s a passage from the Old Testament, a passage from the New Testament, a psalm (or part of a psalm) from the book of Psalms in the Bible (which is a collection of songs and poems written by various Israelites, mainly King David), and a proverb from the book of Proverbs (which is a collection of wise sayings written by David’s son, King Solomon). If you’d like to give it a try (and I recommend it!) you can find the reading plan at http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/readingplan.asp.
Anyway, some wise people have told me that it’s a good idea to try to do it every year, as you’ll come to get remember things you learn the previous year when you read the same passages again at the same time of year as you did previously! I have to admit, I’m a bit pedantic when it comes to trying to stick to plans. I can get easily discouraged if I’m behind, but I’ve been encouraged to not worry too much if I miss a day, but to just persevere and skip on ahead because you’ll always get to read what you miss the next year round! Anyway, the reading a couple of days ago really challenged me. And what’s more, the four different passages all kind of pointed to the one thing!
Genesis 28-31 is about this guy Jacob, who isn’t the best husband or son, to say the least, but through whom God shows amazing grace, which perfectly makes sense because grace is not based on our merit but solely on God’s goodness! God speaks to Jacob and tells him ‘I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. I will someday bring you safely back to this land. I will be with you constantly until I have finished giving you everything I have promised.’ (Genesis 28:15) The promises God speaks about here are some really big promises! He promised Jacob’s grandfather that He would give him lots of descendants, too numerous to count, a land they can call their own, blessings and all because God is with them. Again, as I was saying, Jacob isn’t that great a guy – he practises polygamy, deceives his dad in order to get the blessings due to the first born son (and he’s the second), and doesn’t love his first wife well. But what’s amazing is God’s amazing grace and his faithfulness to his promises! God always protects Jacob and his family, and others are led to see that – they see the connection between Jacob’s protection and God being with him. Jacob knows this and despite all his shortcomings, he trusts God to provide for him and his family.
The reading from the New Testament was from Matthew 10:5-23. Here, Jesus sends his twelve disciples out to tell people that ‘the Kingdom of Heaven is near’ with some instructions: they are not to carry any money or clothing or even shoes with them. They are to accept the hospitality of those who provide it when they go into the towns. And even if they’re arrested for what they are doing, they should not worry about how to defend themselves because they will be given the right words at the right time! I’ve read this before, but seeing it in light of what it means for God to be with us, I was really challenged to believe this and not just fear it! I’ve always been half-hearted about this passage and the response it demands. I think to myself: ‘I’m sure that’s true but Jesus probably meant it specifically for his twelve disciples at the time…surely it’s different now.’ Ashamedly, I had not really understood what Jesus was saying and is saying still. Jesus’ instructions reflect the same principles as that in Genesis. If God is with us, then who can be against us! The psalm for that same day’s reading really just sums it up: ‘I trust in the LORD for protection. So why do you say to me, “Fly to the mountains for safety!”‘ (Psalm 11:1) If God really is a God who keeps his word and is as powerful as he shows himself to be, then we can go anywhere and be anywhere He puts us without carrying ‘a traveler’s bag’ (Matthew 10:10) with us, so to speak. In other words, I can trust Him fully to look after me, whatever I really need, without worrying about them. I might sound somewhat irresponsible here – there definitely is a place for being active in gathering and pulling together the resources that God puts in our lives, but I think at the same time, Jesus is actually calling us to something quite radical here. Jesus didn’t mean these things metaphorically, he meant them literally. We’re not to acquire things but to ‘give as freely as you have received’ (Matthew 10:8), knowing God is with us. I wonder if this is the mindset when we’re or others are ‘sent out’. But mostly, I think it’s a challenge for me not to be anxious about worldly things, or even horde or collect them, but to be focused on the ‘work’ God has prepared in advance for me to do and to believe God’s with me, wherever he might send me.
life matters 