Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 31, Romans 11
I hope that when you’re reading Romans you have noticed how often Paul references the Old Testament – Habakkuk, Hosea, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Genesis, Malachi, 1 Kings, Psalms, and more. For as much as you might love the book of Romans (and Acts, Luke, Philippians, 1 Peter … and the list goes on and on!), let’s not limit ourselves to reading the New Testament.
Remember 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” and 2 Peter 1:21, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Let’s be faithful to Psalm 119:11 and store up God’s word in our hearts, that we might not sin against the Lord.
I hope you’ll stick with us and Read through the WHOLE Bible in 2 Years. After we finish Romans, we will be back in the Old Testament mining for nuggets of gold.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for giving us Your living and active word. May it pierce our hearts, bringing conviction and wisdom and encouragement to each of us. Guide us. Feed us. Speak to us. Draw us to know You more that we would love You more. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 30, Romans 10
Dear friends, if you are reading this and have not yet bowed the knee to Jesus, let me appeal to you. Turn to Him today and be saved. Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, left the glories of heaven, took on human flesh, was born as a human baby, lived a perfect and sinless life, performed numerous miracles before thousands of eye witnesses, taught with authority explaining the way of salvation by faith in the One true God. He died on a Roman cross to pay the punishment for the sins of humans like you and me, making a way – the only way – for man to be forgiven by a just and holy God, and now He invites us to trust in Him and be saved from the wrath of God.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 29, Romans 9
In July of 1998, I found out I was pregnant with my second child. Our first daughter was two years old, and I was overjoyed that we were expecting again. Unfortunately, during a routine 12-week ultrasound, we discovered that our unborn son had a bladder obstruction. His bladder was as big as his head. This wasn’t good.
On September 10, the doctors attempted an in-utero procedure to place a stent to drain Tommy’s bladder into the amniotic sac, but the procedure was unsuccessful and four days later we found out that he had passed away in my womb.
When we first learned that Tommy had an obstructed bladder, I prayed for God to either heal him completely or take him quickly, but after losing him, I would have given anything for one more month or even one more day. I wanted to feel him move again in my empty womb anf see my belly grow big and round and full with him. I would have loved for him to grow big enough for me to bathe him and take his little handprints, even if I had had to do those things after he had died.
Friends, there is no better way or better time to lose your child. You are never ready for it. It all hurts.
But this devastating experience grew my faith exponentially. I leaned into the Lord and His Word like never before. I began praying and reading the Bible in earnest, and I learned to trust God like never before.
I ended up founding an online ministry and writing a book called A Child of Promise – part story, part Bible Study, part journal – for other moms and dads who found themselves in the position of carrying an unborn baby with a poor or fatal prognosis.
God used this pain not only for my own good, but also for the good of other hurting families. Like our reading in Romans 9, God is the trustworthy potter in each of our lives. He has mercy on those He wills, and He hardens those whom He wills. And all I can say is that I’m thankful for His sovereign, merciful hand that shaped both me and my son.
Heavenly Father, I know that You are good. I know that You are sovereign over heaven and earth. I trust You even when it’s hard. I pray for my hurting sisters. I pray that You will encourage them and fill them with Your supernatural peace that surpasses understanding. Be their calm in the storm. Hold their hand as they walk through the fire, and carry them when they can’t take one more step. I pray that Your Word would be a light to their feet and a light to their paths, pointing them straight to You. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 28, Romans 7-8
Giving birth to my stillborn son, Tommy, was a completely different experience than giving birth to my living children, not merely because the physical pain was less, but largely because there was no expectation of joy to come.
It’s hard to watch a mother in obvious pain as she groans and struggles in the pains of labor and childbirth, but the pain she’s experiencing is not without hope. That mother has hope during her pain because she knows that in the end she will hold a precious little bundle of love in her arms.
A few years ago I saw this definition of hope penned on a dry erase board in a friend’skitchen. “Hope – expectancy with desire.”
Hope – Expectancy with Desire
Expectation without desire is mere drudgery. Desire without expectation is just wishful thinking.
Expectation, combined with desire, puts fuel in our tanks and joy in our hearts. Hope enables us to keep pushing forward through the pain.
Dear sisters, hope is found in Christ. He is infinitely more exciting, and infinitely more certain, than any pot of gold you may be wishing for. All of creation is groaning today, but by faith in Christ, everlasting joy is coming. In this world we do indeed have trouble but we can take heart because Jesus has overcome the world. He has triumphed over sin and death. If the Spirit of God dwells in you, then you can be fully convinced that you will be raised from the dead, just as Christ was. This is our sure confidence and hope.
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit, Till released from flesh and sin, Yet from what I do inherit, Here Thy praises I’ll begin; Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I’ve come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood; How His kindness yet pursues me Mortal tongue can never tell, Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me I cannot proclaim it well.
O to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.
O that day when freed from sinning, I shall see Thy lovely face; Clothèd then in blood washed linen How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace; Come, my Lord, no longer tarry, Take my ransomed soul away; Send thine angels now to carry Me to realms of endless day.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for the HOPE I have in Jesus, Your Son and my Savior. Lord Jesus, I’m looking forward to Your return with eager expectation and desire. In the meantime, may Your abundant mercy and grace bind my wandering heart to Thee.Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 26-27, Romans 6
Reading through this chapter, I began asking myself a few questions. Maybe you’d like to ask them of yourself, too.
Who is sitting on the throne of my heart?
Jesus?
Me?
The world?
The devil?
Who is reigning over my life?
Jesus?
Me?
The world?
The devil?
When faced with a decision, who am I trying to obey?
Jesus?
Me?
The world?
The devil?
Who is my true Master?
Jesus?
Me?
The world?
The devil?
Father, I want to obey You because You are a Good King and a Good Master. You want for my good and not for my harm. Help me to listen to Your Word and Your voice, and help me to trust You and obey. I want to be Your obedient lamb. In the Name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
King of my Heart / Goodness of God – Caleb & Kelsey
It’s so beautiful to read these four chapters (Romans 5-8) all at once. Feel the excitement building. Try listening to these four chapters together while you’re exercising or cooking or driving or cleaning your home. Only 21 minutes!
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!
How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:20-6:11 ESV
Did you notice how many times the words dead, death, and died appeared in these 13 verses?
I once was dead in my sins, but now that person has died, and I’ve been born anew! Praise God! I’ve been given new life, eternal life, in Christ. It’s crazy how ALIVE I feel now – and how dead I once felt, but I didn’t even know it. I once feared death, but now I look forward with confidence and certainty to eternal life with Jesus.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for taking what once was DEAD and making it ALIVE. I wasn’t just sick, Father. I was dead. I was among the walking dead. I didn’t just need healing. I needed revival. I needed to be born again. Thank You for Your mercy and grace, for bringing me from death to life. Thank You for sending Your own son to DIE in my place. It’s in His Name that I pray. Amen.
Saved my Soul – City Alight
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 25, Romans 4
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness
Romans 4:4-5 ESV
The way I see it, most people around the world today are living in one of two ways:
Either they are trying to reach God by being really good …
Or, they aren’t trying to reach God at all because they just don’t believe or don’t care.
Well, what if both of those groups are wrong?
What if the truth is that God came to us, reached down to us, and the only way to find Him is by following the path of trust, not the path of trying harder?
Certainly, God wants His children to “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23) But that hard work is the result of our salvation – rather than the way to salvation. Our good works are the fruit of our rebirth – rather than the means to it. Let’s put things in their proper order.
Like Ephesians 2:8-10 says, it is “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
God is the perfect giver and salvation is the perfect gift
[Abraham] did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Romans 4:19-21 ESV
Don’t you just love that two-word phrase, “fully convinced”? I do.
It made me wonder, “What am I fully convinced of? What am I really ‘certain-sure’ about?”
Am I fully convinced that Jesus died on a cross in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, was buried in an empty tomb, and rose from the dead three days later?
Am I fully convinced that the Bible is the inspired word of God Himself and that it has full authority over my life?
Am I fully convinced that God is the eternal, Almighty Creator of the universe and that He will one day judge the living and the dead for how they spent their time on earth?
Is my faith just the “blow out the candles on my birthday cake” wish of a fool, or is it based on the solid, trustworthy, unchanging wisdom of the Lord and His Word?
I hope you’ll take some time today to ponder these questions, and that no matter the size of your faith – whether it’s as small as a mustard seed or as big as an elephant – it will be rooted deep into the bedrock of the Lord who holds you fast.
Heavenly Father, Thank You for all of Your many, many gifts: the gift of faith, the gift of salvation, the gift of Your Holy Spirit, the gift of forgiveness, the gift of new life and fresh hope and eternal peace. You are the perfect giver. I pray that I would have a heart of humble gratitude, receiving these gifts with thanksgiving. I pray that You would use me to share these gifts to the four corners of the world, for the glory of Your Name and the good of my fellow man. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Standing on the Promises
He Will Hold Me Fast – Selah
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 24, Romans 3
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.
Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.
The venom of asps is under their lips.
Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Romans 3:10-18 ESV
Do you read this and think, “Wow! Those people are really bad”? Or do you read this and want to fall on your face and beg for mercy?
If I’m honest with you, which I am, I would tell you that in some ways I’m thankful that God allowed me to wander in the wilderness for many years before saving me. These words of Romans 3 are all too familiar to my heart. I had turned away from God. My mouth was an open grave, spewing curses and bitterness and deception. My path was ruin and bitterness, and I knew no peace. Truly, there was no fear of God in my heart or before my eyes.
And then, when the time was right, the Lord opened my eyes and put a new song in my heart and new words on my lips. And now I can praise His Name with such heartfelt gratitude. I know what it means to be lost, and I know what it means to be found. With my every breath, I want to pour out His praise!
This didn’t happen to me because I started to “live right.” I could never have done that on my own. This happened to me because God opened my eyes to my own wickedness, and His immense holiness, and all I could do was cry, “Holy! Mercy! Save me!”
Have you experienced that? Have your eyes been open to your need for a Savior?
Heavenly Father, You are good, and we are not. You are righteous, and we are not. We need Your grace. We need Your mercy. We need Your holiness. Wash us in the cleansing blood of Your Son and make us pure. Put new desires into our hearts that we will want to please You, and give us strength to resist the devil and our flesh. We want to obey You. Help us, Father, moment by moment to walk by faith and not by flesh. In the Grace of our Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Holy, Holy, Holy – Shane and Shane
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 23, Romans 2
As an atheist, I was so ignorant about the Christian faith. I really had no idea what Christians believed. I thought the Christian God was like a Supreme Court judge, keeping track of how people behaved, sending people to hell or heaven based on how they measured up against His laws.
I was absolutely blown away when I first heard the gospel – the GREATEST NEWS OF ALL TIME – that we were saved by faith in Jesus Christ, rather than saved by keeping the law!
But this week in reading Romans, I’m struck by how many Americans are “presum[ing] on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.” (Romans 2:4)
Dear friends, God’s Son didn’t die on the cross so you could live like hellions, and then utter a little prayer of confession every Sunday morning (or in the brief moment before you die). Please read the book of Romans from start to finish. Then read it again and again. Pray before you read, and while you read, and after you read. Consider what Jesus did for you and repent. Turn away from your sin and turn to the Lord in the obedience of faith.
Heavenly Father, Forgive me, Lord. You are a righteous judge, and I am an unrighteous woman made righteous through the blood of Your only Son. I don’t deserve Your mercy, but You have lavished it upon me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see. Draw me close to You. Hold my hand. Lead me in the way everlasting. May my life bring honor and glory to Your name, and, oh, please, Father, may Your name never be blasphemed because of how I live my life. In the Name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, I pray. Amen.
You are my King – Shane and Shane
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 22, Romans 1
This one chapter addresses so many modern “hot-button” issues. Jesus is the only way to God. God created the universe. Homosexual relations are shameful acts. Whew! As Christians, we need to align ourselves with what God has clearly spoken, rather than bowing down under the waves of our culture.
We need to be prepared to answer when Satan whispers to us, “Did God actually say…” like he did to Eve in the garden of Eden many centuries ago. We may not have all the answers, but we need to know the Word. When someone asks you, “Where does God say that homosexuality is a sin?” or “Where does the Bible say that God created the world?” will you be able to answer them?
But, let me add a caveat here. As much as I want every Christian to be able to defend their position on these cultural issues, I even more deeply want every Christian to be able to share the gospel, clearly, concisely, and compellingly. Like Romans 1:16-17 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Please, friends, don’t expect people to believe in Biblical ethics if they haven’t trusted in Jesus and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. I remember so many times I argued with Christians about these very topics – all religions are equal, the universe is the product of evolution, homosexuality is a valid lifestyle choice – but I never heard the gospel.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16
Heavenly Father, please help us to be different from the culture of the world. Strengthen our faith that we will shine brightly in a dark world. Draw all men to Jesus as we lift Him high. Give us opportunities to proclaim the glorious good news of the gospel and help us to recognize those open doors. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
The Good News of Faith in Jesus – from a Former Atheist
My Testimony as a Former Atheist – The Importance of Sharing the Gospel as well as Follow-Up Discipleship
All of our Tomorrows – SovereignGraceMusic
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Teach What is Good 
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