Day 151 – Day off

Another half term comes and goes… for what that’s worth at this time!

One of the challenges a few of you guys set yourself for this half term week has been to do some catching up on your reading, and I hope you’ve had a chance to do so. If you have, I really hope too that you have enjoyed your time reading God’s Word each day (indeed, several times a day!) It *should* be encouraging and uplifting for you, not a slog.

I’m sure you were under no illusions that this wasn’t going to be super easy this year, and 150 or so days into it, you know it isn’t. Finding the time each day to read is one thing, and it’s another thing entirely sometimes to read with enthusiasm and focus and to challenge yourself each and every day, especially when the passages are unfamiliar, as I know several have been recently.

Let me keep on reminding you, however, what an awesome privilege it is to be able to do this. I’m not just referring to the people who cannot read the Bible publicly, like many can’t, although that’s part of it. No – this is awesome because in your hands you hold God’s Word. The words that God, in His divine decision, decided that we needed to hear and read and apply. The God of all that is has given us His Word in a wonderful clear way and if you grasp that, it can make even the the most seemingly dry passages come alive.

If you’re finding reading a chore, spend a moment thinking about what it is we’re reading. Think back on the reasons that you wrote in your journal five months ago about why you started this reading plan. I didn’t promise that it would always be sunshine and rainbows, but I do hope that each day you’re learning something new about God, or yourself, or how to live as the Christians you profess to be.

It’s such an encouragement for us adults to see you guys reading the Bible through in this way, and I promise you that the work you’re putting in will ground you greatly in your biblical studies throughout the rest of your life. Keep working, keep reading, keep praying and keep learning about the awesome God we worship!