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I was finishing up the reading this week getting to 1 Corinthians 9, when verse 21 caught my attention. Paul is talking about serving all men in a way they can identify with, in order for them to possibly come to know Christ. Paul was a devout Jew “under the Law” to his fellow Jewish brothers. That means he followed all the temple laws, in order to “win” some to Christ. What caught my attention was verse 21-“and to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law” The sentence in parentheses was Paul clarifying that he was not without law completely, just without the law of Moses. He didn’t need to practice “Levitical” law when he was with Gentiles, but he was still under Christ’s Law, which, incidentally, was laid out for us in our reading this week in Romans 13. I LOVE doing this reading straight through the New Testament because I don’t think I would have remembered what Christ’s Law was (putting the two thoughts together), if I hadn’t just read it five days earlier!!! I love that! Knowing Christ’s Law from Romans helped me to understand what Paul was saying in 1 Cor. 9: 21. Have you had any “aha” moments in your reading? I would love to hear about it if you did!

Happy Sunday! Since I am not a huge football fan, I just left my family downstairs to have their fun, while I came up to my computer to talk about the reading, which Is my kind of fun! 🏈🤓 Before you go to bed tonight, you should be done with Romans 6. There are so many things to talk about from the reading and I would love to hear your thoughts, so don’t hesitate to share them here on this site. One very simple statement Paul made stuck out to me and also made me think of all of you. I am reading the New King James version this time so the wording was different for me. Acts 20:27 “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” The wording “whole counsel” stood out to me because I had recently heard a Bible teacher use the same wording when explaining how important it is to look at a verse not only in context but how the verse holding a concept should complement or add to understanding of other verses (the whole counsel). Paul is saying this to the Ephesians as he was leaving them to head to Jerusalem, but he could very well be saying it to us. The letters he wrote make up the very words of God. Along with the gospels and a couple other letters that make up the New Testament, Paul conveyed God’s word to us. These inspired writings, along with the Old Testament, make up the “whole counsel” of God. I thought of you as I read that verse. As you read the New Testament, you are getting the “whole counsel” of God. Some people read a few verses and form a theology off of them without looking at the “whole counsel”. WARNING! That’s how false teachings get started! However, we (you and me) are less likely to fall victim to false teaching because we are getting the “whole counsel.” We will be more likely to hear false teaching and think to ourselves, “Yeah…that sounds good, but… aren’t you ignoring what it says here and here?” For example, one can read, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…” (Acts 16:31) or “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish…” (John 3:16) and think, “Sweet, I believe therefore, I must be saved! That’s all I have to do, believe! I don’t have to change my lifestyle at all!” That is an example of basing one’s theology off of one or two verses and ignoring many others, such as: • “If you declare with you mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe..” (Romans10:9) • “Repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38 & Mark 16:16) • “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:35) • “Without faith it is impossible to please him…” (Hebrews 11:6) • “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive..” (1 John 1:9) • “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.” (2 For. 5:17 • “You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” (James 2:20) I can go on, but you get the point. Clearly there is more involved in one’s salvation than to “just believe”. This is why it is so important to get the “whole counsel” of God prior to forming a theology. This is just one simple example of how important it is to know the “whole counsel” of God. I am so happy that you are aquanting yourself with the “whole “ thing while doing this read through of the New Testament. Keep up the good work!!! And, have a happy Valentines on Tuesday.💖

We are well into the book of Acts now. We are speeding along! 🏎️💨 In the Gospels we read how Jesus came to announce that the Kingdom of God is at hand, referring to himself (Matthew 4:17 & Mark 1:15). I have already commented several times how it has stood out to me how much talk there is regarding “The Kingdom of God” in all four of the Gospels. So don’t be surprised at what stood out to me when reading Acts. 😜 Do you remember in chapter 8 when Philip went to Samaria and “preached Christ to them”? When reading that story I typically focus on how Simon the Sorcerer was confused about the workings of the Holy Spirit. He thought he could buy the power and was condemned for such a thought. This time, however, I didn’t think about Simon’s misunderstanding as much as what Philip had preached. “But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.” (8:12) Men and women came into faith in Jesus by hearing about the Kingdom of God! Jesus conquered death and is now reigning at the right hand of God. He has come into his kingdom and has now given all of us the opportunity to be “subjects” in His kingdom. I don’t think I have ever heard an evangelist focus on the kingdom as much as I am reading how the first evangelists focused on that.🤔 I know from past reads through the New Testament that Paul also “testified about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 28:23) So here is a question for you….and for me as well…..can you articulate to others what the Kingdom of God is? 😳 Is it now? Is it later? What does citizenship in that kingdom look like? Let me know how you would tell others about the Kingdom of God. I would love to hear your thoughts !

Happy Sunday to you fellow New Testament readers! Today we finished John 15. I feel I picked the appropriate mug for my latte while reading John since this Gospel is known as the “Love” Gospel based on John 3:16. So what stood out to you in this week in the reading? For me, I pondered what the thief said while on the cross. Like I posted last week, I have been noticing all the references to “the Kingdom of God” being near and “the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” (Matthew 16:28). Kingdom, Kingdom, Kingdom- it’s all about the kingdom of Jesus!! So, when I pondered what the thief said, I thought, “Wow! He really understood who Jesus was!” This past Tuesday we read Luke 23. Remember the exchange the two thieves had while hanging on the cross? One was teasing, yet the other had a godly ‘fear of the Lord’. The latter ended the exchange by saying, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (vs.42). Wow! He really got it!!! His understanding and faith that Jesus was ruler of a heavenly kingdom was a perfect example for us to follow. When we put our faith in Jesus, we enter into his kingdom, his reign, that is going on NOW. We are to be obedient to our new ruler, as we read today in John 14:23. We are no longer slaves to this world, but slaves to Jesus (Romans 6:22). We are either in one kingdom or the other; two kingdoms, two different rulers (Matt. 6:24). The thief proclaimed his belief in the kingdom of Jesus (as we all should according to Matt. 10:32) and we know he was rewarded for that faith by the response Jesus gave to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43. The Kingdom of Jesus is now! When I started to think like this, that is, his kingdom is now, not some future event, I had to smile when I read (with new understanding) the sign that Pilate posted: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS” Do you know that each one of the Gospel writers included that written sign in their account of the crucifixion? John also adds that the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek (19:20). The writers all wanted to be perfectly clear-Jesus is the King! This is not a future event. It is now! We, like the thief have been invited into that kingdom by what Christ did on that cross. That's exciting!! I can’t wait to hear Jesus say to me, well done my faithful servant! Now come here, daughter, and join me in paradise!! !😊🙌🏻woo woo!🙌🏻

I can't believe I forgot to post on Sunday! But, at least I haven't forgotten to read! I am current on the reading plan. How about you? I am reviewing my extremely short notes that I make after each chapter and I noticed how much talk there is of the “kingdom of God” (Luke 8:10, 9:6, 11:20, 12:31,13:20 & 28,14:50, 17:21) Jesus saying, “the kingdom of God has come upon you” (11:20), and “the kingdom of God is within you” (17:21), both really stood out to me. The kingdom if God is a NOW thing! I just keep pondering that! I guess I just had it in my brain that i'ts just a future thing....so I am experiencing a paradigm shift! As Christians, we are in the Kingdom of Jesus now!! Our baptism symbolizes that we leave Satan's kingdom and enter Jesus's kingdom. I love that!! I have even spotted more "kingdom of God" sentences in this weeks reading (19:11& 21:31). Have you seen any I didn't mention? I love this fast paced reading just for reasons like this, seeing continuity of thought that I would miss if I was reading the same section over a longer period of time. I hope you are enjoying it too!!

Hello and happy Sunday to you! How is your reading going? I hope you have been able to find the time in your day, to establish a routine and read three chapters. If you printed out the reading plan from my blog under the tab "reading plans" you may have noticed that on day 10 we just had one chapter to read as well as day 16. So, today before you go to bed you should have finished Mark 15 but if not, tomorrow can act as catch up day of sorts. Do you believe in spiritual warfare? I pondered when reading in Mark how people brought their loved ones to Jesus to have evil spirits kicked out (7:25, 9:17), but also, the demons came to Jesus themselves (Mark 1:23, 5:1). I guess they couldn't help being drawn to Jesus to see what was going to happen, since they knew he was the Son of God (5:7). This week, I felt like demons were drawn over to my house to see how Jesus was working. It seemed like a spiritual battle was taking place and YOU were involved!! YOU said you wanted to join me in the reading. That is God working in your heart, drawing you to himself. Well, the demons saw that response from you and wanted to stop that feom happening. How do I know that? Several of you said you didn't get any emails from me as to next steps for how and when to start the reading. Instead of being able to investigate the matter, my whole computer froze up! After hours with tech support, I ended up needing to bring my computer into the Apple store and leaving it there over night! Now my external hardware is transfering all my data back onto my computer. I have been unable to do anything about the blog site for 5 days! But, God is still working! I know you are reading with me. Maybe you got a little behind, but I am confident you are still eager to read God's Word and will forge on! God is more powerful than any computer demon! 😛 However, need to remember that some demons can only come out by prayer (9:29) so, I pray for you that if any demon, that may be keeping you from reading, will be driven away by the power of Jesus! Amen!! Have a great week!!

We are done with our first week of reading! I have a full page of notes with things that stood out to me. The parables in chapter 13 got me thinking about designing a T-shirt line with questions to get people to think. i.e : Are you good seed? (Front of shirt) Hope so 'cause tares will be gathered and burned. 😬(Matt. 13:38) (back of shirt) Or, how about this one?: Everyone is leaven (Gal. 5:9 & 1 Cor 5:6) What are you doing to the dough? (Matt 13:33) Well, maybe I shouldn't get into apparel. 😜 Anyway...there was a lot in the reading to get me to ponder! What stood out to you? We should all be reading chs. 25-27 today in Matthew. Have a great week!!

I like switching up the versions I read in order to get a fresh perspective on the reading. This time through I will be reading the New King James version. I recommend you try a new version, especially if your current Bible has a lot of highlights or side notes. You might be surprised at the results!

Wow! We are already done with the first day of the new year! Today is the day we are starting our 90 day reading plan. So, before you go to bed, make sure you read the first three chapters of Matthew. Read three chapters every day. I highly recommend you use a day planner or journal to jot down notes about your reading. Write a little something on whatever stands out to you. It can be a particulatlr verse or a thought about the reading. I'll share my thoughts with you next Sunday. I hope you do the same in the comment section. Until then, have a great week and happy reading! LET'S DO THIS!

Happy Holidays Everyone! Christmas is days away and New Year's Resolutions follow that! It's been a while since I did a fast reading plan, but I feel it's due time I do it again!! Do you want to do it with me?!!! 😃 Reading the Bible is the BEST New Year's Resolution! The reading plan I will be doing is the whole New Testament in 90 days. That's about three chapters a day. It is actually very doable. It's a great challenge because it has an ending point that comes fast. Three months...that's it! When you are done at the end of March you can feel really good about keeping one of your New Years' resolutions! If you want to join, go to the tab "Reading Plans" and print out the plan that you can use to check offf each day. I hope to see you here each week to talk about what you got out of that week's reading!! 🎄❤️🎄Merry Christmas!🎄❤️🎄