Fret not about my recent silence. Things are WAY better than they may appear. I’m not depressed, or struggling, or down in the dumps. I just haven’t blogged. Sorry if you’ve been looking for some light reading the past while and continued to see that same May 3 entry over and over.
I have been a bit stressed and frustrated at work this past week. It’s the pre-graduation crunch. And next week is going to be the pre-board of trustees meeting crunch. But that’s ok; I’m getting through.
What’s been exciting about the past few weeks that I haven’t said anything about has been the insatiable appetite for the Word of God welling up within me. I’m continuing to be challenged by the notion Wilkinson presents toward the end of Secrets of the Vine that the only way to move from more fruit for God to much fruit for God is to spend more time with him. More work and a schedule filled with more stuff won’t accomplish anything if our intimacy with the Father is not increasing.
Out of this hunger has come a commitment to read through the whole Bible by the end of the year (check in with me on this now and then… ). I’ve never done the Bible in a year before–and this will actually be the Bible in less than eight months.
I’m going to go through it primarily in the Message. I recently bought a 4-version parallel Bible with the NKJV, English Standard Version, New Living Translation and The Message. It goes from most literal to most loose translation side by side by side by side; it’s really cool. So, when I run across something in The Message that I want a more direct translation of, I just jump over to the NKJV (which I’ve used for the past five or six years as my primary study Bible) or check it out in the ESV, which I’m not familiar with. The New Living is good for a different slant once in a while as well.
It’s been awesome to read through Genesis in the Message. I’m reading mostly for large-scope understanding and not so much meditating on a few verses. Studying the relationships God’s people develop with Him and how He proceeds to interact in these is truly amazing. The intimacy of their communion is awesome–yet a reverence and fear still exists that keeps them in proper perspective and order.
I’ll go into some specific examples that I’ve pulled from the first half of Genesis later on. But I just wanted to finally get back to blogging and give update.
Be blessed.
