Walking with the Way

I have to be honest, I paused a long time contemplating Joab last week!  I liked Joab!  He was so loyal to David....or so I thought.....😞 I guess the old saying rings true, you can't judge a book by it's cover! I tried hard to follow all the names that were listed in the chapters related to Joab.  It turns out, he was David's nephew! (1 Chronicles 2:13-17) Remember, David was the youngest of 7 brothers? He also had two sisters. If you take the time to draw out the family tree, you will see a lot of relationships between David and his warriors. Joab, the son of David's sister may have been close in age to David if David's sister was older than those 7 brothers. So, it makes sense that David would have loyal family members helping him, and have them in high positions.  As I read, I did think it was strange and even bad that Joab did some killing of close family members (Absalom, Abner and  Amasa).  But, I thought he was doing it to secure King David's position!  

I love reading the Psalms that David wrote that correlate to the Samual reading!  Early this week we read how Nathan rebuked David for the sin he committed by having an affair with a married woman and then covering it up with a murder. 😱 It's interesting to read the narrative in 2 Samual, but it is absolutely fascinating to get a "behind the scene glimpse" into what David was thinking at the time!   I am so glad David "kept a diary" of sorts, because we get to see his contrite heart, the type of heart that God likes! Remember Samual said, "the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart" 1 Sam 13:14, referring to David.  The thoughts of David recorded in Psalms give us an idea of what that means! David did not respond with the pride of a king, like Saul's responses to his sin, rather he begged for mercy from God (Psalm 51:1) He acknowledged his sin. 51:3 He understood the consequences of sin. 51:4 (That's why he begged for mercy) He asked to

 Hello all, Confession here.  I am in a motorhome traveling across the country so writing the blog has been a bit more difficult for me. BUT, I am keeping up with the reading! How about you?  This blog should have been posted 3 days ago so you may not remember what stood out to you last week, but I wanted to quickly share what stood out to me.  2 Samual 7:14-15, “I will be to him a father, and he will be me a son. When he commits an equity I will discipline him with the right of men, with this stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.” Obviously, God is talking about Solomon (and maybe even foreshadowing Jesus as far as saying David’s throne will be established forever), but, I can’t help focusing in on how God said, when he (Solomon, you and me) do something wrong, we will be disciplined (suffer the consequences, just as David did in chapter 12), but God’s “steadfast love will not depart from hi

Hello Old Testament Readers!  Just a quick note to say that I believe the Blogger site I use will stop sending emails when I post.    They are changing the way they are doing things starting this month, therefore emails will be stopping.  ☹️ I hope you continue to read even though you won’t be getting my reminders.    You can always check in to my blog using the “walkingwiththeway.com” site to see what I have posted and comment about your reading.  On that note, what did you get out of the reading last week?  There is much to say about the reading, but one thing that stood out to me was what David said about Saul and Jonathan after they died. In 2 Sam. 1:23, he says, “In life and death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.”  What an honoring eulogy David gave!  What struck me about it is what he said about Jonathan.  Now, we know from out reading that Jonathan gave his father the benefit of the doubt and had a tight relationship with his d

Hello all, I hope you had fun celebrating the dads in your life today!  So,...wow!.. I found there was so much to comment on in this weeks reading! We read the story of David eating the consecrated bread that was meant only for priests. I remember that Jesus referred to that story in Mark 2:25!  Now, I can see why Jesus referred to that story of David, when the Pharisees were giving him a hard time for doing something unlawful on the Sabbath. David and Ahimelek understood that the laws given were to benefit man, not to harm them. So David technically did something “unlawful”, but it was done to save lives. Jesus was reminding the Pharisees of this fact by bringing up David’s “unlawful act”. God desires “mercy over sacrifice”. (Matthew 12:7). Another thing I thought interesting in the reading this week was how David asked God what would happen....and God told him!    (1 Sam 23:11-12) Therefore, due to what God said, David did something different, to keep that from happening!   Isn’t tha

 Hello to all who are reading 1Samuel with me!! My intention has been to post something every Sunday  to keep those reminders being sent to you to keep reading.  However, what’s the saying?.... “Even the best of intentions mean nothing.  It’s  what you do.”😜 So, now it’s Wednesday and I now have the time to reflect back on last week’s reading. I must say, I think Saul represents the average Joe pretty well. 😳 He knew what God expected of him, yet he chose to do things his own way. Sadly, I can relate. How about you?  In chapter 13,  you might have wondered what Saul did that Samuel said was so foolish and would result in him losing the kingdom.  After all, it sounded good that he wanted to seek the “Lord’s favor”, didn’t it? He offered a burnt offering (vs. 9).  That sounds good doesn’t it? Well,.....it’s never good if you do things your way and not the way God wants it!  If you recall....Saul was a Benjamite (9:21). Who were allowed to do the offerings for the people? The Leviticus

 Wow!  Only one week into the summer reading and we have already read 12 chapters!!  Some people think that the Old Testament is full of stories, without much practical application for today.  I just don't see it that way!! I got a lot of practical tid bits out of the reading this week that were good reminders for me on how to live my life in a God honoring way. One major theme I pulled out of the reading was to ask myself, who do I have as king of my life?  God wanted Israel to keep Him as their king, but they chose to have a human king instead.   God is asking me the same question of me.  "Who do you want to have charge over your life? Me, you or someone else?  If you chose me, then serve me with all your heart" (12:20)  If I am serving myself with all me heart, I have chosen to make myself king of my life!  That's like choosing to have Saul as my king.   I know I want Jesus as my king , (especially since I know how all this ends, from my recent reading in Revelati

Do you want to dig into some Old Testament reading?   I have the perfect plan for some "light" summer reading.  It's only one chapter a day, but, by September, you will have read through 5 books of the Old Testament and a few of the Psalms!  I say that sounds like a good plan! I hope you join me!! The reading starts today!!! If you sign up to receive my weekly posts, you will get a reminder to where you should be in the reading each week.  I also hope you post a response once in a while, to let me know that someone "out there" is reading along with me! 😉 I recommend you go to the "Spiritual Fervor" tab to print out the plan so that you can follow along easily. I am excited to get started!! I hope you join me! Happy Reading!!

Hello all of you New Testament Readers!!   We would probably all agree that Revelation can be confusing with all the symbolism and, frankly, maybe even a bit scary!  Those descriptions of judgement make me want to be a post-millennial!  Haha!! If you don't get what I am say, then you should watch this video 😁: https://youtu.be/-9SzsO4xWBI I am attaching below a worksheet the group used to follow along with my talk.  It might help understanding the different perspectives by having a visual.     Sharon did a fabulous job reminding us of God's grace seen through out Revelation.  Listen to her talk and be encouraged!   https://youtu.be/eKssOc3GTw0

Hello all you New Testament Readers!! We are deep in Revelation now!  How exciting!   Yesterday, we heard of the different ways people interpret prophesy. Here is that link if you missed it:  https://youtu.be/dz-Dv4Ecxws Then, Michelle did a good recap on the messages to the churches and how we can apply those letters to ourselves.  She also points out that, even though Revelation can be confusing, there are somethings we can know with certainty! https://youtu.be/-ji2_TrSfSM Can you believe we are almost done with the whole New Testament?!  Enjoy reading Revelation 8-14 this week!

Hello New Testament Readers !   Can you believe we only have one book to go and we are done?!! Kim gave a great talk on God's definition of love.  (It's very different than what the world thinks!)  Enjoy:  https://youtu.be/WQ5HCCYLVoQ Have a great week reading Revelation!

Hello New Testament Readers!! I hope you are enjoying your week so far!   Have you noticed we only have a few more books to go and then we are done with the whole New  Testament?   Keep up the reading!!!  Persevere! 😉 Here are the links from this past Tuesday: History portion:  https://youtu.be/-7egmkVaVIs Sharon's talk:   https://youtu.be/sqwScbtxXUI Enjoy your Cinco de Mayo!!   🌮🇲🇽🌯 😋💚 ❣️

Hello New Testament Readers!! Can you believe how far we have come in our reading?!  We are done with Hebrews and now we only have 8 books left before we are finished with the whole New Testament!!! Wow! Here are the links to the talks done today.  The bottom line, to both talks, is the same the writer of Hebrews gave....persevere!!! History portion:  https://youtu.be/zdN2zSZruNw             Kims talk:  https://youtu.be/8hiNlFqb7QY Have fun reading James through the start of 1 Peter and have a great week!  🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓😋

Hello to all you New Testament Readers!! Here are the links to yesterday's talks. The history portion talks about who the "Hebrews" are. https://youtu.be/t59hhtwlk5Y Sharon's portion is a good review of who Jesus is!  https://youtu.be/3HeTCfZLQ_s May God bless your reading this week as we continue in Hebrews! 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Happy Holy Week to all of you New Testament Readers!! Wow! The week of reading had a lot in it! But, that's not surprising. Each verse of God's word is chuck full of good stuff!  It's so glad we are doing this reading so that we can heed Paul's advice to Timothy, to watch for false doctrine (1:3-5).  How are we to watch for it if we don't know correct doctrine?   That is why reading the Bible every day is paramount to increase our understanding of "doctrine". Paul says, if we persevere in them (correct doctrine) we will save both ourselves and others!!  I want to encourage you (like Michelle reminds us to do in her talk) that you are doing the best thing by being in your Bible more than other human writers.   Good job and kept going! We only have 9 weeks left of the reading plan!! History/Religion lesson:  https://youtu.be/vZph2FcL91g Michele's talks of encouragement:  https://youtu.be/3qwGt5jvUP0

 Hello Fellow New Testament Readers! We are in Thessalonians and there is sooooo much to get out of these letters!  Hope you enjoy the videos if you so chose to watch them! The history portion talks about Satan's tactics https://youtu.be/AOGkPaPXlMA Kim gives a great reminder of the hope we have in Christ: https://youtu.be/x_ihtRYWHc4

Hello New Testament Readers! Here are the links from Tuesday.  The history portion talks about fire and brimstone!  😳 https://youtu.be/iLJhtVc4rSY Judy's talk is on being thankful even during the hard times. 😌   https://youtu.be/4ttr7n001JQ Have a great week reading 1 & 2 Thessalonians!! ☘️💚☘️ 💚☘️💚☘️💚☘️💚☘️💚☘️💚

Hello New Testament  Readers! Here is the link to today's talk for the history portion of the day at CBR. Sorry it is a little longer than normal.  It was just so full of lots of good info, I didn't know how to make it shorter.   https://youtu.be/vkZjDs6euek Let me know your thoughts when yo are done watching!! Have a great week!

Happy Tuesday to all of you! How fun to be in a new month!  ☘️💚🍀 How are you doing with the reading?   Are  you keeping up?  I hope so!!! Spring is just around the corner!  That means summer is coming and I LOVE SUMMER!  😄   🏖 History portion: https://youtu.be/MNNCWsvyNiM Devotion portion: https://youtu.be/yelzW3uvqVc Today we start reading Ephesians.   Have fun with that and talk tp ya soon!! 💚 Anita

Hello New Testament Readers!! I was out of town this week so I was not a part of Community Bible Reading.  However, I am keeping up on the reading!! How about you?  Are you keeping up?  I alos watched these videos and they are good!! Here are the links to the morning. Hope you enjoy! CBR #21- History portion with Judy: https://youtu.be/yz0PeOvqwW8 CBR #21-2 Corinthians 6-12--Kim speaks on Suffering part 2 https://youtu.be/xgPQeZgL7gaM

Hello New Testament Readers!!!  📖 Today was a "re-introduction" sort of day at CBR  We have had many new-comers to over the weeks, so I thought it would be good to take some time to reintroduce the (growing) steering team and small group leaders. In addition, I wanted to remind everyone that CBR is a "Bible Reading", which is different than a Bible Study.  Our group time is meant to be like a "book club" where we share what we got out of the reading.  God's word is powerful, alive and active! What an awesome opportunity to share with others what  God impressed on you, yet also use the time to seek clarification to what he says in His word.  Together we are "iron sharpening iron" (Prov. 27:17)  ⚔️ So, there is  no  "history" portion for today.   One of the new members of the speaking team is Judy Starr. 💫  We are so blessed to add her to the rotation!   She did her talk on "suffering", (something we can all relate to) and

Hello New Testament Readers!! Here are the links from yesterdays CBR: The history portion gets into the Blood Mary. https://youtu.be/aMHS1r93Cuk Sharon focuses on the unique gifts God gives us.  https://youtu.be/eY-Qyi4IQBM Have fun reading 1 Corinthians 15- 2 Corinthians 5.  I look forward to seeing you next week, and in the meantime have fun celebrating the one's you love on Valentines this Sunday!!  ❤️💛❤️💛❤️ Anita

I have a confession. I love to ski! 🎿 And when a trip comes up, I get so carried away in planning and going, I forget other things!! That is my excuse  for completely forgetting  to send out the links to last Tuesday’s talk History portion was a Q/A time r/t "rewards": https://youtu.be/jYNX3MRwENk Michelle talked on division in the church and Paul emphasizing "Christ crucified" in his teaching. https://youtu.be/EGsDsqrH82s Have a wonderful rest of your week reading 1 Cor. 8-14! 🌷Anita

Sorry this post is a little late!  This week, at CBR, was a Q/A time related to the reading we have done so far. But, since the questions that came in where pretty profound, only one question was addressed. Haha!!  Let me know what you think of the answer!!  https://youtu.be/kyVWnT36aSE Kim’s talk does a great job of explaining what “dying to self” means.  https://youtu.be/Mx7DP-mYebY Happy Reading!! 

I talked a little about how the first chapter of Romans changed the life of Martin Luther, which in turn, changed many lives.  God's plan for us is powerful!!  All you need is faith in order to participate in that plan, as Sharon pointed out. Yet, with all the commentaries out there, understanding scripture can get complicated. I give an ever so brief explanation for two  different views on interpretation scripture and how those views can affect our interpretation. If you have anything to add, I would love to hear it in the comment section!  I hope you enjoy the videos.    History portion:  https://youtu.be/TR7WvqjrSZw Sharon's portion of faith:  https://youtu.be/N2jtj5vskXg I hope your reading is going well!   Have a great week!

 Hello New Testament Readers! We are booking along in our reading and are already in Romans!  Can you believe it?! Here is the link to the history portion of CBR. The other talk was an overview of the reading.  I am assuming you have done the reading, so you don't need the review.  If you watch the history video, and know the correct pronunciation of halakha , let me know!!! I would love to learn from you!!  Also, just FYI, we struggled technically with the Power Point, so please excuse those intruptions! History portion:  https://youtu.be/xH8kyXp2HzY

 Welcome back and Happy New Year!! I am so excited to continue our reading through the New Testament! If you are new to the reading, welcome!! Below you will find the links to the two videos of our morning at CBR (Community Bible Reading). Each week I will post links to the talks that relate to the weekly reading. Watch only if you desire, but keep reading along with us!  Comment if you have any questions or thoughts.  I would love to talk with you about it! My talk was on the third festival that God himself instituted~ Interesting stuff! 😉   Kim did a fabulous job reminding us, using the story of Paul and Silas in chapter 16, that we can praise God even in our hard circumstances.  She read a very powerful article that was written by a pastor who recently lost his son.  Some of you asked for the link to that article so it is included below as well.   Anita's history:  https://youtu.be/yMavvFN_ESY Kim's talk:  https://youtu.be/vu3jS1PU6K8 "When All Seems To Be Gain, Plan f

If you haven't joined the reading plan yet, now is the perfect time to start!!!  A new year, a new try at getting through the New Testament! We are just finishing up Acts and then....the reading seems to ramp up to warp speed, flying through 20 books of the New Testament in just half a year!! Come on!!! Make it your New Year's Resolution! Have a friend join you so that you can talk about your reading with someone else.  That makes the it like you are in the ultimate book club!  If you don't have anyone to talk about the reading with, you can always talk to me!!! I would love to hear your comments right here on the blog, and I will comment back!   Go to the reading plan tab and print out the plan that started Sept. 15th Start today on the week of January 5th.  Finish up Acts with us and then we start Romans.  That's a great book!!   I am excited to get going on this year's reading!!!  I hope you join me!!