Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 19; Joshua 18-19
So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?”
Joshua 18:3 ESV
Heavenly Father, You, are my chosen portion and cup; You hold the lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance, because You are the sovereign Lord over the drawing of my lot.
Let me not delay in whatever task You have called me to do. If you’re calling me to faith in Christ, I pray that TODAY would be the day of my salvation, that I would not put it off any more. If you’re calling me to share the good news of the gospel with a friend or neighbor or family member, I pray that TODAY would be the day that I open my mouth and speak the words of eternal life. If you’re calling me to cook and clean and wipe bottoms and noses, I pray that TODAY and EVERYDAY I would work heartily at the high and holy calling of motherhood, serving You, Lord, and not men. Whatever it is that you’re calling me to, I pray that the journey would start TODAY and that I would continue FAITHFULLY by Your strength and direction.
Help me, Father, to remember that You are the God of small beginnings, and that You are the God who leads and guides and calls. In the Name of Jesus Christ my Lord, I pray. Amen.
Softly and Tenderly – Fountainview Academy
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 30, Deuteronomy 26
The Lord has brought the people out of their slavery in Egypt, and now He is bringing them into this blessed land flowing with milk and honey. The commanded response, as well as the logical response of gratitude, is to offer back to God some of the fruit of this land – and not just any of the fruit, but the first fruits. Giving first fruits demonstrates faith and dependence on the Lord.
But, if I’m honest with myself (and with you), I must confess how stingy I am with the gifts that the Lord has given me, whether my time, my talents, my treasures, or my testimony. I treat these things as though I have earned them, not recognizing that they are gifts from God, given to me to give back to Him and to share with others. The Lord has blessed me that I might be a blessing to others.
How about you? Is gratitude your normal response to life? Are you living in a place of surrender to the Lord? Will you pray with me?
Heavenly Father, I pray that I would have a heart overflowing with gratitude for all that You have given me. Truly, what do I have that I haven’t been given? Where would I be today if You hadn’t led me by the hand every step of the way? Now, today, I offer back to You the first fruits of my labor. My children, my home, my work, my mind and mouth and money, are Yours. I give them back to You as an offering of praise. They are Yours. They were given to me by You, and now I again give them back to You, laying them down, prying my fingers off of them, leaving them on the altar of Your Holy presence. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 29, Deuteronomy 24-25
Again and again the Lord makes special provision for the sojourner , the fatherless, and the widow. Reading through my Bible today, and not getting much out of these chapters of “various laws,” my eyes fell upon a note in my Bible’s margin from the last time I read it cover to cover.
Sojourner – God is my resting place.
Fatherless – God is my father.
Widow – I am His bride.
Sisters, write notes in your Bible that you can find next year. Leave reminders to yourself of how the Lord turns your heart while you read His Word. Let these remind you – and those who come after you.
As members of God’s kingdom, we’re all sojourners, wanderers, aliens in this world. Our true citizenship is in heaven. God has called us to be His ambassadors.
As members of God’s family, we’re His children and He is our Father. We can come to Him with confidence, knowing that He loves us dearly and cares for us tenderly, as a Father loves and cares for his children.
As the bride of Christ, we are called to be shining lights for Him, His hands and feet on earth, humbly depending on Him for strength, comfort, and guidance.
I’m blessed. God is good.
Heavenly Father, You are my king, my Father, and the lover of my soul. You are worth every pain and every joy. Give me strength through the truth of Your Word. Remind me that this world is not my home, and help me to fix my eyes on the eternal hope I have in heaven. Use me as Your ambassador here on earth, faithfully declaring the praises of Him who called me out of darkness. (1 Peter 2:9) Remind me that I am Your child, and You are my Father. Help me to obey You promptly, cheerfully, and completely, and to faithfully come to You for forgiveness when I sin. Remind me that I am Your bride, and help me to depend on You for my every need. Send me out into this world as an instrument of peace and proclaimer of truth. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior, I pray. Amen.
Jesus, Strong and Kind – City Alight
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 24, Deuteronomy 16
As I wrote about yesterday, I grew up the younger of two daughters to a hard-working mother and father. My mom went back to college to finish her degree when I started kindergarten, and then she started working full time. In spite of her long hours at work, she was still determined to serve a home-cooked meal for dinner every night. No McDonald’s drive thru or frozen pizza for us. Mom served us pork chops and potatoes or chicken breasts and stir fried vegetables, even after a long day’s work.
Likewise, my sister and I were expected to work hard, too. We had our own responsibilities around the home: washing our laundry, setting the table for dinner, unloading the dishwasher, taking care of our pets, and doing our schoolwork to the best of our ability. My parents didn’t tolerate laziness. We were capable of getting A’s at school, so A’s we should get. The thought of skipping an assignment or not studying for a test never even entered my mind.
Fast forward forty years to my life today.
There are so many conveniences – and so many entertainments – available, it’s become increasingly hard for me to really work hard.
Who needs to clean house and cook dinner? There are housekeepers and restaurants for that.
Who needs to plant and tend a garden? I can buy whatever I need at the store.
Who needs to go to the library or the grocery store? I’ve got the world wide web and grocery delivery at my fingertips.
Hence, I no longer feel the need for a time of rest, like the Lord gave to His people. The Lord knew how strenuous their days were, and He commanded them to set aside days for feasting and resting.
But, wait, I can just hear you saying, “Don’t you look forward to your annual vacation at the beach?”
Why, Yes. Yes, in fact, I do! I treasure those holidays spent watching the sun rise with my Bible open on my lap, meditating on the Lord’s words and listening to the waves’ quiet melody. But, to be honest with you, I don’t need a holiday like the Israelites did, and I’m afraid some of that is because almost every day for me is a holiday of sorts.
Ice cream and brownies aren’t only for birthdays.
Watching a movie isn’t only for that one special Saturday night in the summer when everyone piled into the station wagon and went to the drive-in.
Going out to dinner with my husband is a regular occurrence, not just a twice a year event reserved for Valentine’s Day and our anniversary.
In light of all this, I’m trying to be more conscious to fill my days with work. My work might be writing this blog or creating a YouTube video. My work might be studying and teaching a Bible study. My work might be embroidering a gift for my daughter or being a listening ear for a hurting friend, but I need to work. I need to make the most of the time God has given me.
I want to number my days that I may have a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
Maybe you can’t relate to this post at all. Maybe your days are “filled to the gills” with work – in the home and outside the home. Then, my words to you are these: Great! Good for you! God designed His people to work hard! God gave us the sun to light our days, and He gave us the soil to grow our food. God wants us to be diligent like the ant. But don’t forget to rest and feast. God also gave His people a weekly sabbath rest and annual times for dedicated resting and feasting. He designed us to need them, that we would have time to renew our minds and bodies, and that we would remember Him and be grateful for all we have.
Proverbs 6:6-11 ESV — Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV — Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Psalm 39:4 ESV — O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!
Heavenly Father, I’m your child, and I want to be about Your business. I’m thankful for all that You have given to me, and for all that You have given me to do. You have created me for a good purpose, and You have good works that You want me to accomplish. Help me to be faithful and diligent with the time that You have given to me. Help me to work hard and to rest well with a grateful heart. Make me a good steward of my time, talents, treasures, and testimony. For the glory of Your Name I pray. Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 119:81-120; Leviticus 23
“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.”
Leviticus 23:3 ESV
When our children were little, my husband and I began to try to arrange our week such that Saturday became a day for house and yard work, while Sunday was set apart for fellowship and fun. Though it has been hard to be consistent, we saw the value of having a day for church and family and friends.
In the fall of 2021, after a prolonged interruption in regular in-person attendance (Thanks, COVID) our church started hosting a post-service meal and time for congregational sharing. I must admit that I initially complained about the extra work of preparing a dish to share, but this fellowship time has been such a huge blessing to our whole body.
In the spring of 2023, our pastor shared a three-part sermon series on the value of setting apart Sunday as a regular day for rest, renewal, and worship. He explained everything so much better than I can, so please listen for yourself. Here’s a link to the first sermon.
So, what a beautiful reminder here in Leviticus 23 of establishing a regular rhythm of both annual and weekly times for rest, worship, and fellowship.
Heavenly Father, Please help us to be faithful and diligent to work – and to rest – and to do it all in the name of Jesus Christ. We need them both. We need to work, and we need to rest. Help us to offer them both back to You. In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Read through the Bible in Two Years: Psalm 106, Exodus 35
“All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD.”
Exodus 35:29 ESV
God had called Bezalel and Oholiab by name, giving them special skills and abilities to craft the beautiful tabernacle for the worship of the Lord, yet God also had a purpose for the entire congregation. Every man and every woman in the whole nation, everyone whose heart stirred them, everyone whose spirit moved them, were invited to contribute to the creation of the tabernacle.
Do you have some blue, purple, or scarlet yarn? How about some rams’ skins or goats’ skins, goats’ hair or fine linen? God needs you.
Do you have anything made of bronze, silver, or gold? How about some stones, spices, or oils? God needs you.
They didn’t have to have any particular skills. They just needed to have willing hearts.
What do you have to offer Him? A house? A job? An education? A child? A marriage? These are all gifts from Him, and He can use them all. Are you willing?
Heavenly Father, every hour of every day is a gift from You. My life is a gift, but so is my stuff. Every piece of furniture, every article of clothing. Every room in my house. Every child around my table. My husband sitting next to me. I offer them back to You. Take my life and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Stir my heart. Move my spirit. For Your glory and praise. Amen.
My Worth is Not in What I Own – Keith and Kristyn Getty
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 100, Exodus 29
Exodus 28, which I read yesterday, begins with these words to Moses. “Bring near to you Aaron, your brother, and his sons with him … Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.”
Today, reading Exodus 29, I noticed that it was not only the priest, Aaron, but also his sons who were to be washed and consecrated in preparation for ministry to the Lord.
Aaron and his sons were to lay their hands on the head of the bull. (verse 10)
Aaron and his sons were to lay their hands on the heads of each of the rams. (verse 15, 19)
Moses was to spread blood on the right ears, thumbs, big toes, and garments of Aaron and his sons. (verse 20-21)
Aaron and his sons were to eat the flesh of the ram and the bread. (verse 32)
The Lord knew that the day would come when Aaron would pass into eternity, and He wanted Aaron’s sons to be prepared to carry on the office of priest.
Rather than using this time to talk about how much fathers ought to bring up their children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” like Ephesians 6:4 says … How about we talk about how we as mothers ought to bring up our children to follow the Lord?
Precious sisters, ladies, women of God, are we preparing ourchildren for adulthood – or are we expecting someone else to do it?
Are we discipling our children in the ways of God so they are ready for the day that we are no longer just an arm’s length (or a phone call) away?
Are we looking well to the ways of our own household with the teaching of kindness on our tongues? (Proverbs 31:26-27)
Are we following the examples of Timothy’s grandmother Lois and mother Eunice making sure that our children are well-acquainted with the scriptures from his childhood? (2 Timothy 1:5, 3:15)
Are we being reverent older women, teaching what is good and so training the young women in our lives to love their husbands and children that the word of God may not be reviled? (Titus 2:3-5)
Let’s stop pointing fingers at our husbands and their shortcomings and start seeing our own need for an attitude adjustment. Our sons and daughters need us to train them up in the way they should go. It’s never too late.
Read the Bible with your children before they head to school today. Spend 10 minutes listening to them when they get off the bus today. Let them cook dinner with you today. Pray with them before they go to bed tonight. Start today. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow.
Next week marks the end of 23 years of homeschooling as my husband and I escort our youngest son across the graduation stage and he moves his tassle from the right side to the left. 100 days from today, he’ll go off to live in a dorm with other young men. I pray that I’ve prepared him well to carry the baton of faith and share it with the world.
“Even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”
Psalm 71:18
Heavenly Father, being a mother is a hard job. I can’t do it without You, Lord. Please give me the strength and wisdom I need to train up my children in the way that they should go. Help me to lock arms with them and do life side-by-side with them. Make my eyes and ears attentive to their needs. Give me a multi-generational vision, seeing my children as the next generation of leaders. Let me not grow weary of well doing. When my own children are grown with children of their own, help me to train the next generation of young women for Your glory, too. May I know that it’s never too late to do good! In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 98, Exodus 25
“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.”
Exodus 25:2 ESV
The Lord had provided for the Israelite people by turning the hearts of the Egyptians to give to them. Now the Lord is asking the Israelites to give to Him. They had freely received, and now they are being asked to freely give.
Sometimes (oftentimes) it’s hard to give.
We feel like our lives and our things belong to us, forgetting that everything that we have is a gift from God, our good Father, the giver of every good gift. We forget that we are merely stewards of our time, talents, treasures and testimonies.
I was reminded of a beautiful passage in 2 Corinthians 9 when Paul was taking up a collection for some needy believers. Let’s take these words to heart – not merely listening to the Word, but doing what it says.
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:6-11 ESV
Heavenly Father, You have given to me so abundantly. I have more than I need. I have more food and more clothing and more home than I need. I have more free time than I need. You have blessed me with a husband who loves me and four incredible children as well as a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law and two little granddaughters. Thank you, Lord! I pray that I would be generous with all of these good gifts. Help me also to be generous with sharing my testimony and the truth of the Word that I have stored up as treasure in my heart. You have been so, so generous to me. Give me the strength to be generous toward others as a gift of gratitude to You. Inthe name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 92, Exodus 14-15
The Israelites are finally fleeing Egypt after watching God repeatedly pouring out His judgment on the Egyptians. He has proven to them again and again that He makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. (Exodus 11:7) And yet, God has led His people right up to the edge of the Red Sea, and Pharaoh’s army, including at least six hundred chariots, is on their heels.
“And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.””
Exodus 14:10b-12 ESV
Poor Moses. Doesn’t your heart just break for him? Leading is hard work. When the people following you are happy, that’s great, but what about when the “sheep are restless,” when they’re arguing and complaining and blaming you for everything? But, God. God is growing Moses’s faith, too. Listen to how Moses replies to the Israelites.
“And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.””
Exodus 14:13-14 ESV
And He does…. And He uses Moses to do it. Moses is the Lord’s chosen vessel. Moses is who God has called to lift his arms that the Lord would drive back the sea that the Israelites could walk through on dry land … and to lower his arms that the water covered the chariots and the horsemen and the whole host of Pharaoh’s army. (Exodus 14:21, 26-29)
“Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.”
Friends, God had purpose for His servant Moses, and God has purpose for You. The good works He has prepared for you may not look like Moses’s, but God has purpose for you nonetheless. (Ephesians 2:10)
And sometimes doing those very things that God wants you to do is going to result in persecution, ridicule, or disagreement.
Your boss might not like the high standard of honesty and integrity that you are determined to maintain. Keep it anyway.
Your kids might not like what you’re telling them to do. Tell them anyway.
Your parents may not agree with you even when you speak in the most humble, loving. honest way. Be willing to risk it for Him.
God’s ways aren’t always easy. Sometimes being His vessel is incredibly joyous, exciting, and totally awesome, but sometimes being His vessel gets you thrown in a well or a prison. Either way, it’s an honor and a privilege to be a servant of the living God.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, What an honor it is to be love and used by You. It is glorious to be Your workmanship, to know that the God who put the stars in place calls me by name. As You had special purposes for Moses, You have a special purpose for me. Please lead me and guide me. Give me the wisdom and hunger for righteousness that I need to follow You fully. I love You, Lord. I want to follow You on that straight and narrow path all the days of my life. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and my Lord, I pray. Amen.
Turn Your Eyes – The Glorious Christ Live – Sovereign Grace
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14 ESV)
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12 ESV)
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34-39 ESV)
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 88, Exodus 10-11
When I was a teenager I was afraid of babies. No joke. I didn’t know how to handle them and I worried that I’d hurt them or something. I wanted to adopt all my children so I could get them when they were say about 2 or 3 years old, already potty trained and talking.
Now as a mom of four – including one who was adopted as a 6-month-old – I see the incredible value of the training that happens even in those first two years. Even the youngest child is learning how the world works. They are learning that their parents love them and take care of them – or not. They are learning that they are not the center of the world – or they are. They are learning to be patient, obedient, and humble – or not.
I am certain that God has a plan and purpose in having babies be born helpless and needy. God could’ve designed new lives to begin already grown and wise, but He didn’t. God intentionally places children into families for the good of the children … and the parents.
So, it’s no surprise that Pharaoh doesn’t want the Hebrew children to go worship with their parents, and it’s no surprise that Moses insists that they must.
So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. And he said to them, “Go, serve the LORD your God. But which ones are to go?”
Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”
Exodus 10:8-9 ESV
Don’t underestimate the importance of taking your children to church, of leading them in worship at home, and of including them in your family holiday celebrations. Your toddlers and preschoolers are learning more than you may realize.
Heavenly Father, we pray that we would be faithful stewards of the children that You have entrusted to us. I pray that we would train them up in the way that they should go and that when they are old they will not depart from it. Help us as parents to have obedient hearts, obeying You rather than the world. Lord, You love children and You have placed them into families on purpose. Help us to include them in our family’s worship at home and at church. Help us not to underestimate what our children are learning and the eternal impact that these young ones can have for Your kingdom. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.
My children reciting Psalm 139 from memory
Psalm 148:12-13 ESV — Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.
Deuteronomy 31:10-13 ESV — And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Proverbs 22:6 ESV — Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ESV — And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Psalm 78:2-7 ESV — I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
All Creatures of our God and King – Getty
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