You’ll notice that the post title says Day 35, rather than the expected Day 36. That means I got behind. I had a late class Friday and fell asleep before reading and then I taught all day Saturday and didn’t read all the designated pages before falling asleep. As you can tell, teaching is an exhausting task for me. The good news is that I was a bit ahead so I didn’t get far behind. I’m not sure if I’m going to try to make up the missing day, or accept it as one of the two “grace” days built into the 90 day program. For those of you who didn’t know, there are 88 passages to be read over the 90 days, thus the “grace” period.

This week we read 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra and a bit of Nehemiah. The passage that got me (actually, it got me when I first read it in 2 Kings) is the one below:

While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD that had been given through Moses. Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD.” He gave it to Shaphan.

Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to him: “Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them. They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the LORD and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers.” Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, [a] Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: “Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD’s anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.” -2 Chronicles 34: 16-21

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Violence. Cutting off heads. Ripping babies from the stomachs of pregnant women. Sounds like a horror show, right? Wrong. It’s the Bible! This week has been 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings. These are some violent, fighting-filled books. Sometimes I forget about that. In the past, I’ve breezed through some of these books, captivated by the non-stop action. But this week, I saw and felt the violence. War is horrible, then and now.

Onward. The thought for this week is best captured in a scripture covered in an earlier week, Deut 9:4-6 (NIV):

After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

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I certainly hope you all are enjoying this challenge as much as I am. I find myself more excited each day. I usually read at 11pm at night, because I needed a set time to get started with the challenge. But I find myself watching the clock and hoping the time will speed past. Well, this week I just gave up and read early because I couldn’t wait. Then I had to force myself not to read ahead of the day’s scheduled reading. Well, that plan is not working either ‘cos I’m a bit ahead. I’ve also reverted back to the New Living Translation that I normally read, rather than the NIV 90 Day Bible. The print in my Bible is a bit larger than that in the 90 Day Bible so I find it much easier to read. Think it, but don’t say it: Angela’s getting old(er).

Now on to this week’s reading. As usual, there’s so much to talk about. Joshua, Judges, Ruth and 1 Samuel have some of the most fascinating people in the Bible. I’m going to refrain from picking one to talk about and go with the general theme of what happens when we forget the past.

After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. -Judges 2:10 (NLT)

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YAY! Another week completed! I hope you all are getting as much out of the readings as I am. Though I have to confess something to you. I hate to admit this but my eyes started to roll back in my head at the prospect of reading Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in a single week. You know, all that stuff about offerings and tribal counts had me a bit apprehensive. But I was pleasantly surprised with how engaged I was. Two themes seemed to blare out at me: ministry and relationship.

Let’s talk a bit about ministry first. What immediately got me was the work of the priests. Talk about a full-time job! Now those guys really couldn’t do anything else. All those rules. I can’t even imagine. Reading those passages made me appreciate the simplicity of life we now have with God because of Christ. And, poor Moses! I found myself wanting to smack down the Israelites a time or two myself, until it occurred to me that I’m probably more like the Israelites than I am like Moses. Talk about an “ouch” moment. Anyway, my hat is off to ministers who serve over congregations, large and small. No doubt the hardest part of ministry is dealing with the people God put under your leadership.

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Let’s celebrate! We made it through our first week of the Read the Bible in 90 Days Challenge. How was your week? I have to say that mine was challenging and wonderful. I’m doing my reading at night and so far I’ve only fallen asleep once, and then I was only two pages short of the day’s goals.

There is a lot to talk about from the week’s reading, but I’ll just focus on one person: Joseph. I’m encouraged anew every time I read his story. Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery and then go back and tell his father that he’s dead. Now, when you think about it, Joseph didn’t have the best people skills in the world. He was his dad’s favorite; he knew it and all his brothers knew it. He was also a little bit of a tattler, going back and reporting to his dad on his brothers’ work. I also think he went into a bit of overkill in telling his brothers about the dreams he was having in which they were bowing down to him. That really didn’t go over well. Of course, all of this is no reason for his brothers to do what they did, but Joseph was a bit of an irritant to them. I can think of a few irritants in my life. How about you?

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Don’t forget that the Read the Bible in 90 Days Challenge starts Sunday, January 1. I’ve purchased the 90 Days Bible so I’m using the plan provided there. If you don’t have the Bible or any Bible, you can register as a user at the 90 Days Bible web site to get online access to the daily schedule as well as the Bible readings. You can also download the daily schedule here. I think the online access and the schedule dowload are great services the publisher and author are providing for those who are unable to purchase the 90 Days Bible. Let me know when you get started.

Okay, I’m taking on Mary Griffith’s challenge to join her and her friends in reading through the Bible in 90 days. I’ll admit that I’m shaking in my boots here, but I’m also determined. So what do you think? Do you want to join us? There’s even a Read the Bible in 90 Days Bible to use as a guide. Of course, you can use your regular Bible, but what’s a Challenge if you don’t get to buy something new? Anyway, the commitment amounts to about 45-60 minutes of Bible reading a day. Now that doesn’t sound like a lot, does it? Well, maybe it does, but it’ll be time well spent. I’m going to do it and I’d love for you to join me. Mary and friends are starting on January 1, which is a great way to start the year. Come on, y’all. We can keep each other encouraged through the process.