I've never read the entire bible.
When I first made the decision to make Jesus my lord and savior, it was unsurprising that I had never read the entire bible before. In fact, my knowledge of the old testament was so abysmal that one summer when I was planning for bible story lessons for kids (csmp), I had to secretly read summaries of common stories taught to kids while my teammates who grew up going to Sunday school easily recalled characters from the ot. I was so embarrassed that I had no idea who these prominent characters from the ot were, such as Ruth/Naomi, Joseph & his brothers, Jonah, king David, and the like. But knowing I had only began my relationship with God two years prior, I had somewhat of a. "safety net" to excuse myself.
Today, more than four years have passed and I have yet to know the entire history of God moving powerfully amongst people before Christ. Here I am trying to teach the fifteen college students in my lifegroup how to value the word of God, yet neglecting a huge resource available to me to grow in my understanding of God. I have no excuse.
Recently I've been seeking much wisdom and discernment for several areas in my life. A wonderful accountability partner in my life compared a situation I'm facing in the workplace with the story of Esther. If it was anyone else, I would have pretended I knew exactly what she was talking about--but since the best accountability relationships are based on honesty and courage, I unshamedly admitted that I knew nothing about this character. I committed to read the whole book this week, and today I finally got to the end of this juicy, drama-filled story.
Initially I couldn't understand what was to admire about this esther (enough for half of the Christian Korean-American females I know to be given the same name). But mannnn esther's uncompromising devotion to her people and willingness to take bold risks with the king showed just how secure she was.
When I first made the decision to make Jesus my lord and savior, it was unsurprising that I had never read the entire bible before. In fact, my knowledge of the old testament was so abysmal that one summer when I was planning for bible story lessons for kids (csmp), I had to secretly read summaries of common stories taught to kids while my teammates who grew up going to Sunday school easily recalled characters from the ot. I was so embarrassed that I had no idea who these prominent characters from the ot were, such as Ruth/Naomi, Joseph & his brothers, Jonah, king David, and the like. But knowing I had only began my relationship with God two years prior, I had somewhat of a. "safety net" to excuse myself.
Today, more than four years have passed and I have yet to know the entire history of God moving powerfully amongst people before Christ. Here I am trying to teach the fifteen college students in my lifegroup how to value the word of God, yet neglecting a huge resource available to me to grow in my understanding of God. I have no excuse.
Recently I've been seeking much wisdom and discernment for several areas in my life. A wonderful accountability partner in my life compared a situation I'm facing in the workplace with the story of Esther. If it was anyone else, I would have pretended I knew exactly what she was talking about--but since the best accountability relationships are based on honesty and courage, I unshamedly admitted that I knew nothing about this character. I committed to read the whole book this week, and today I finally got to the end of this juicy, drama-filled story.
Initially I couldn't understand what was to admire about this esther (enough for half of the Christian Korean-American females I know to be given the same name). But mannnn esther's uncompromising devotion to her people and willingness to take bold risks with the king showed just how secure she was.
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