What does the Lord require of you? {a poem}

What does the Lord require of you?
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
What does the Lord require of you?
Blessed are those who Mourn,
for they will be Comforted.
What does the Lord require of you?
Blessed are the Meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
What does the Lord require of you?
Blessed are those who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness,
for they will be filled.
What does the Lord require of you?
Blessed are the Merciful,
for they will receive mercy.
What does the Lord require of you?
Blessed are the Pure in Heart,
for they will see God.
What does the Lord require of you?
Blessed are the Peacemakers,
for they will be called Children of God.
What does the Lord require of you?
Blessed are those who are Persecuted for Righteousness' sake,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
What does the Lord require of you?
He has shown you.
Do justice.
Love mercy.
Walk humbly with your God.

(from Matthew 5:3-10 and Micah 6:8)

Advent

I'm super strict about giving Thanksgiving its place in the spotlight before moving on to Christmas, but I wanted to share this with you all before Advent begins.

I've been searching for that perfect Advent devotional for years--one that chronicles the Christmas story from beginning to end without sappy/boring/unrelated anecdotes stealing the limelight. I've found countless books that include cute little stories that only sort of relate to the daily scripture readings, and scripture readings that only sort of relate to Christmas. Anticipation? Check. Hope? Check. The birth of our Savior? Eh, that shows up on Christmas day. Maybe. That perfect Advent devotional doesn't seem to exist--or, if it does, I haven't found it yet (if you have, let me know, please!).

So, I finally created my own. It's cobbled together with Old Testament prophesies listed in Halley's Bible Handbook for the weekday readings and pieces of the Christmas story for Sunday readings. I struggled to stretch the selections through Epiphany, so the passage for January 6 is Jesus' baptism, which apparently is what some churches celebrate on Epiphany, as opposed to the visit of the magi.

I must also note that I am not a Bible scholar, so this is by no means a "perfect" Advent devotional. I might discover partway through that it's not worth using, or I might decide to tweak a few things and try again next year. In any case, having spent several hours putting this together, I decided to share it.

I recommend reading the notes and cross-references in a study Bible as you read each day's passage(s), or consulting a concordance or handbook like Halley's Bible Handbook (if you have this one, check out the section between the Testaments on prophesies about Christ). If you decide to use this list of readings, please send me comments, questions, and suggestions for improvement!

Click here to view the 2016 Advent devotional!
Please print double-sided to save paper (this is best done from the preview page that loads directly from the link--opening the document in Google Docs will mess up the formatting, unfortunately. . . .)

un-formatting the Bible {The Books of the Bible: New Testament}

The Books of the Bible is a fresh yet ancient presentation of Scripture. It strips away centuries of added formatting so you can read and enjoy the Bible. No more chapter and verse numbers. No more study notes. No more cross references or footnotes. No more red letters.

Form matters. When you experience God’s Word in a presentation that honors the original literary form, it can transform the way you read.

This is a Bible for those who want to get lost in the story.
(from Biblica.com)




I love my study Bible -- I like to read the notes at the bottom of the page when I have questions, without having to go searching through a separate reference book. I appreciate being able to find and reference specific passages according to their chapter and verse numbers. But, as the description above says, The Books of the Bible: New Testament is "for those who want to get lost in the story." And that is a beautiful thing.

The lack of chapter and verse numbers, absence of section headings, and single-column format made the text smoother to read -- like a novel --  and therefore easier to understand. Acts, for example, a book I hadn't before paid much attention to, suddenly became a fascinating story that held my interest as well as any fantasy novel. And the brief introduction at the beginning of each book provided context and helped make sense of the more confusing books, such as Revelations.

Even the order of the books is different, to aid in understanding and flow. Paul's letters, instead of longest to shortest, are presented in chronological order. Acts follows Luke, since they were originally two volumes of a single work, without John sitting in the middle. I love this. It is so much easier (and more enjoyable!) to read through the New Testament when it flows well.

While this book can be read in any time frame at any pace, my copy included a bookmark with a suggested eight-week reading plan that breaks the New Testament into manageable 15- to 20-minute chunks (about 12 pages). Naturally, I fell behind and took way longer than two months to work my way through it, but, for the most part, I kept to the suggested daily readings (there were just a few days in-between sometimes).

I'm still struggling my way through The One Year Bible, but I might try the full version of The Books of the Bible next. I have a hunch that the Old Testament might make a little more sense with a few numbers removed...

5/5 leaves!

*******

Do you have a favorite version of the Bible? Have you ever read straight through the whole thing, or one of the two Testaments? How did you do it, and would you recommend that method? I've tried a few different ways, and I'm curious what you think!

free books - no blog required

I know I've shared this before, but Tyndale House Publishers has a great reward program that is dependent upon a points system--no blog required!

For as few as 30 points (or as many as 250), you can order a free book from a select list on their website. Completing surveys, signing up for e-newsletters, and recruiting friends, among other simple activities, earns you at least 10 points per action.

If you sign up using the link below, you automatically receive 25 points--and I receive 10 for recruiting you (thanks!).

www.tyndalerewards.com/signup/?pc=pni0-evt0-1hoj-3fl5

I'm currently saving up for The One Year Bible, which is 200 points. I should have planned for this before the new year started, but better late than never, right?

loneliness: a love story

I had no plans for a special Valentine's post, other than perhaps throwing up a few quotes and a pretty picture. While I don't approve of holidays created specifically so Hallmark can rake in more money, I do enjoy holidays, so my plan involved making a nice dinner to celebrate, but nothing more than a mere token on my blog. And then I woke up this morning with itching fingers and a single-flowing thought in my brain (aka, I need to write something).

To all of you single ladies out there who have given up hope: don't. God has a plan for you, and if it's anything like mine, your "Prince Charming" will walk up beside you when you're least expecting it.

Don't go chasing after love in places that it isn't, don't give yourself up to someone who doesn't truly care, don't ever ever ever think you're worthless. Or unloved. Or ugly. You are a beloved creation of God, worth more than you can ever imagine, and that makes you beautiful no matter what society tells you. You don't have to have a boyfriend/fiance/husband for people to respect you.

Let me tell you a story.

words borrowed from Psalms

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us

 and make his face to shine upon us

that your ways may be known on earth,

 your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise you, O God;

 may all the peoples praise you.

May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

 for you rule the peoples justly

 and guide the nations of the earth.

May the peoples praise you, O God;

 may all the peoples praise you.

Then the land will yield its harvest,

 and God, our God, will bless us.

God will bless us,

 and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Psalm 100

I thought this would be an appropriate poem to post for today, especially given that the title reads, "A psalm. For giving thanks."

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

--Psalm 100, NIV