Back to work and A New Year's Challenge
It is so good to know that life goes back to normal as of tomorrow. I do find the holiday season exacting at some point. With the cold winter weather officially in, and the city coming to almost a complete halt around New Year's, I get really bored (nothing unusual there). It is good to recharge our batteries in a way but I can't wait to go back to work tomorrow. Besides I am expecting a large shipment of tracts and I can't wait for the mail.
Every year I make it a point to read my Bible through. This past year I was able to finish it way before December. I have challenged myself to read it twice through this coming year. This of course is in addition to all the other Bible commentaries and good books that I can lay my hands on.
I was quite surprised when a dear church member told me that he didn't normally read the Law (the first five books of the OT) but he was going to do that in the New Year. I personally love the OT. It is full of real life stories, and being a story teller myself, I guess I find it very interesting. What is more is that many gems are hidden between the verses inside the geneaologies. Take the story of the sons of Korah who wrote the most sentimental and most beautiful psalms (somewhere between psalms 42 and 90). The story of their parents is written right there in Numbers 16, how their fathers did not want to be just levi(s) they wanted to be priests like Aaron and Moses. How they caused a riot and God's anger was kindled against them. How God sent fire and devoured them while the earth split and swallowed their possessions. How Moses was told to take the censors and beat them into a thin layer and cover the altar with the remains of those censors so they were a visible reminder of the punishment of rebellion. Yet the sons of Korah, when they grew up, they were not angry at God for what he had done to their parents, instead they write the most touching psalms.
Did you know that David was not the sole author of the psalms. The favourite chorus "As the deer panteth for the waters, so my soul panteth after thee was penned by the sons of Korah(Pslam 42). Despite their horrible childhood experience they could even sing "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, through the earth be removed etc (46). And guess who penned the most beautiful Song of love, the Maschil "My heart is inditing a good matter, I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pend of a ready writer. Thou are fairer than the children of men (Ps. 45). They rejoiced so much in him they also wrote "O clap your hands, all ye people, shout unto God with the voice of triumph" (Ps.47), and "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God "(Ps. 48), and "my soul longeth, year, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. ... Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well,... they go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God" (Ps. 84).
And it was not David who said "I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness". These were the sons of Korah in Psalm 84, verse 10. Many preachers have made this mistake quoting David to have said it.
Here's one more "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God" (Ps. 87).
I don't know how I got on this rabbit trail, but it was refreshing to read them again. Hope you'd take the time to look up all the psalms written by the Sons of Korah, and that you'd challenge yourself to read the whole Book, from cover to cover, in the coming year.
I really enjoyed the "holidays". I got plenty of sleep, and plenty of time with the Lord(and like I mentioned on my blog, hooked on blogging). I on the other hand, get one more day to rest. My life goes back to routine as of Wednesday.
The entire book of Psalms is very beautiful. Poetic, refreshing and inspiring. I know many are familiar with "Proverbs for a day" for each day of the month, but it you want to break the routine a little, I recommend reading a few Psamls a day.
God bless
I must admit, I find the stories the hardest part of the Bible to read. I prefer reading soldid theology! Still, they are written for our edification.
God Bless
Matthew
I don't understand how the stories are the most difficult for you. May be you have not heard good solid preaching expounding their meaning and practical application to our daily lives. It is a pity because there are lessons that run far deeper than the mere account itself. God's word is too deep and versatile. May be I made a mistake by just referring to them as stories. I wanted to clarify that. I am begining to understand how prophetic are all the accounts of the OT. As far as theology goes I don't fish around much. I love the books of A.W. Tozer and that does the job for me.
Back to the stories, I will add that I am a practical person, and I have a practical faith, although I do swim very deep when it comes to God's knowledge and the knowledge of his Word.
Hope what I said makes sense to you.