Pressing On - Deep(er) thoughts...

Jul. 24, 2007 - Deep(er) thoughts...

I know, two posts in one day! What's wrong with me? lol.

But anyways... I've been thinking. (scary...) I joined up with The Challenge at the beginning, with the full intention of completing it in 90 days. And then, once again, my pastor smacked me in the face with one of his sermons. >.< That day, he talked at one point about reading God's word, and basically how you read it. One of the things he mentioned really got my attention. He said that it is misusing the Bible to read it all the way through just to check it off the list when that "chore" is completed. O_O That one hurt.

Note, it is NOT misusing the Bible to read it through in 90 days if you have the full intention of really learning from it, and digging deep into the messages God has there. That's great! But, it's not for me. I am one of those people who sets out to do something just to get it out of the way. (Like my surgery for example.) I realized that the last few weeks, I've started my Bible reading with the thought, "Ok, I have to get this done and over with." And that is NOT how it should be approached. I'm all for reading the Bible for spiritual growth, and I seriously enjoy that. But when it's put on a schedual for me, it just becomes more of a chore than a pleasure.

And so, with great sadness, I have to say that I'm quitting the Challenge. But I don't want it to be thought of as "quitting", if you know what I mean. I prefer to think about it as another step in my knowlege of God's Holy Word. I think that the Challenge is a fantastic idea, and I'll pray for those still involved. Maybe one day I'll be able to do a challenge like that again, but right now... I would rather focus on what God is trying to say to me rather than getting all my reading done during the day.

Thanks for listening to my musings. :)

Burn out Bright,

Emma

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Comments

Jul. 24, 2007 - <i>Untitled Comment</i>

Hey Emma,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the challenge. I can understand to some extent what you are saying. In one of my first posts I linked to a post that Mandygrace had made regarding the challenge. She cautions people to examine their motives for participating in the challenge. You may want to check out her entry if you haven't already.

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/mandygrace/342635/

I do agree that it is very important to study the Bible slowly and verse by verse, but there is also great blessing in reading through the Bible in a challenge like this as well. I think by reading the Bible quickly in a short period of time it helps to keep it fresh in your mind and enables you to see the overall picture of biblical events, how God worked through all these events, and how they all relate to each other.

Before starting the challenge, I remember reading the Rebelution blog. Brett and Alex Harris had shared that they participated in a challenge to read the Bible through in 50 days and that it was an amazing experience for them. I have found their comments to prove true in my situation.

I'm not mad or offended at all. I think if you are feeling that it has become a chore for you and the Lord has led you to stop participating, then that is the best thing for you to do.

Thanks for being honest.

Sparkles ; )

BTW - I love your new template!

Edited by Sparkles on Jul. 24, 2007 at 7:22 PM