Reading the Bible in a Year: Day 1 (Part 1)

I'm only on Day 5 of my chronological reading plan of the Bible, and I can already tell this is one of the best commitments I have ever made. Most of what I have read so far are passages that I have already read before - Genesis 1-11, Job 1-9. It's amazing though how God can teach or point out something totally new to you nearly every time you read something. Honestly I came into this dreading the first week or so when I would be reading chapters I'm already familiar with, but God totally rocked my quiet times and put me back in my place.

Who am I to even think that I don't need to read the book of "X" chapter "X" verse "X" because I have already read it a thousand times? Isn't it referred to as a living book? The very words of God? It reminds me of a passage from Isaiah:

"As the rain and snow
come down from Heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the Earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
-Isaiah 55:10,11

When I first read that passage a while back, it made me think of missions witnessing. It was a comforting verse I thought of when I needed to know that despite how things looked, God was using His word through me whenever I shared it. Now, though, I can apply that to any reading. God has a purpose and desire for every quiet time you spend with Him. He can and wants to teach you something about Himself. He wants to grow with us intimately everyday!

My first day of reading included Genesis 1-3. I don't really want to summarize anything, but rather my thoughts and what stood out to me.

[Genesis 1] First off, the creation sequence bears a striking resemblance to what scientists believe the "evolution" of life on earth was. Photosynthesizing creatures, then sea creatures, then land. I don't really give any thought or credit to scientific origin theories, but the fact that their arriving at the same conclusions despite efforts to alienate themselves from creation-thinking is just really cool and satisfying to me.

In verse 2, the Spirit of God is described as "hovering over the waters." What a loving and beautiful picture of God! I read probably a million times before, but this time it just stuck out to me and really comforted me. It made me think of a similar verse from 2 Chronicles that we read during my mission trip to Los Mochis:

"The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole Earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him."
-2 Chronicles 19:9

In the first few verses of scripture, we see the essence of our marvelous God and Creator. He is loving and caring towards His creation. He hovers across the waters (even when the Earth was new and formless) to make sure everything is just so, and probably also to enjoy what He has done. Try to just picture that scene: God's spirit hovering over the waters. Awesome, isn't it? Truly awesome.

Skipping down to verses 7 and 8, I noticed something else really awesome. Please forgive me if this is dumb or obvious, but when I read that God separated the waters "above the expanse from the waters below the expanse" and that he "called the expanse Heaven," I immediately thought... "Woah, this is talking about waters in Heaven!" I know this sounds like a basic thing and you're probably thinking "Oh yeah, waters in Heaven, Zack, whoop-de-stinkin-do." To me, though, that was just really cool. God referenced Heavenly waters in Genesis, and I had missed it until now. These waters that God gathered in Heaven way back in Genesis are the same waters that God promises to His people through both Isaiah and Jesus Himself:

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters.
You who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me
listen, that you may live."
- Isaiah 55:1-3

Through Isaiah, God uses the waters of Heaven as an invitation to those who are lost and need the LORD, and advise them to stop investing themselves in worldly desires that do not satisfy the soul like only the waters of His love can.

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
-Jesus Christ (John 4:14)

Here we see God again inviting His people to drink of His waters. Not only that, but we see Him consistently making a separation between what Earthly and Heavenly satisfaction. In the beginning God set His waters aside with a purpose and plan in mind. He new that only they can truly give eternal joy, satisfaction, and life. He separated them from our own with the infinite expanse of the Heavens, and advises us to do the same with our own desires. We must greatly distance ourselves from the unfulfilling desires of this world that and cling to His waters and His Kingdom. Any other desire will disappoint us and trap us and corrupt us. This isn't an easy task, and we cannot do it without Christ! But what joy is there in thinking of the great expanse of God's living, Heavenly waters, and how He invites us to drink of it and live! He hovers over us to give us love and support when we call on Him. He intricately and carefully designed us. He offers us and promises us His waters, with which we will thirst no more, hurt no more, and suffer no more.

I thought when I started reading Genesis 1 I would be going back to the basics. Wrong! Right from the start, God is working miracles and preparing a place for me, for us. Working hard to make sure He is there when we need Him. How great is our God?

[Genesis 2] I could spend so much time sharing how fascinating this chapter is to me. It's basically a more detailed account of the creation of man and woman. The scene that is described is so incredible:

"the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of them man, and he brought her to the man."
-Genesis 2:21,22

It reminds me almost immediately of a surgery scene, where a physician will use anesthesia and operate on a patient while they are sleeping. This is written way before the idea of putting someone to sleep for surgery (or even the idea of surgery itself) were even thought of, so we can be absolutely sure the person who is narrating this book (presumably Moses) is not making this up (I would never suggest that any part of the Bible is made up, but Genesis and the creation story get attacked so frequently by atheists that it is so sweet and legit and satisfying to note scriptures that can be used to combat those claims). There is something incredibly awesome about this scene though...

Many people have said that men have one less rib because of the creation of women. It's a myth that is certainly not true, though something even more amazing IS true: the rib is the only bone in the body that can be used to reconstruct damaged bone and...... (drum roll please...).... regenerates itself. That's right! In fact, physicians today use the bone in reconstructive surgeries. The rib has to be removed perfectly in order for it to grow back, but hey, we're talking about the Great Physician here, aren't we? He does all things perfectly (He even says so after each step in creation, calling His work "good.") and takes great pride in His work.

After reading that verse and reflecting on research I had come across, I couldn't help but just sit there in awe of His glory and wisdom and perfect design.

I think I'll stop there and pick back up in a little while. On the seventh day God rested and probably just admired it all and let it sink in. Let us do the same! Rest, and let God's perfection and glory sink in. Seek His waters and drink of them. Rest peacefully, knowing his eyes are watching over you. Rest in Him, loved and cared for.

Isn't our God amazing?

Our Engagement Story

CAUTION: The following blog post may contain content that is mushy and/or lovey-dovey.

     So as I sat on a futon in Kaitlin's apartment, typing that last blog after my quiet time, I felt her head rest on my shoulder while she read her book. In that moment, I experienced rest. It was quiet and we were just sitting and not really doing anything important except relaxing and enjoy each other's company. It felt warm and peaceful and there was this closeness to her and to God that I had needed all weekend. I continued with a great big smile on my face and pressed "publish," posting not only my first blog of the year, but also my first since last September. At that point I realized that I clearly left out some pretty big updates that are very blog worthy, namely that the beautiful face that rested on my shoulder belonged to the woman that I am now engaged to be married to, and have been since November 5th, 2010. I just cannot post another blog without sharing the story of one of the happiest days of my life.
     It was the day before the Zeta Tau Alpha semi-formal, and I had asked her earlier that week if she wanted to have movie date or something on that night. Not like a movie theatre date, because nothing good was out. A redbox movie date, so we could just relax on the couch and watch something together and pop some popcorn that didn't cost an arm and a leg. That kind of movie date. It didn't really matter, though, because I secretly just asked her that so that she would keep the night open and not plan anything else. I didn't want her to expect anything suspicious either.
     I had been looking at rings for a while and I knew the one I wanted to get. I didn't want to get it too far in advance, though, because (1) I tend to be impatient and I would probably get too excited and spontaneously propose to her, and (2) I was paranoid I would lose it. Luckily, she wanted to nap after class so I picked it up while she was sleeping. It was also a good thing that she wanted to nap because I was really nervous. Excited, but nervous. Not nervous in an omg-i-hope-she-says-yes sorta way. Nervous as in lots of butterflies in my stomach and in a i-hope-i-do-this-perfect sorta way. In a this-is-really-happening kind of way.
     She woke up from her nap later that afternoon and, with the ring tucked in my pocket, I cooked her favorite meal - chicken parmigiana. Then I asked her if she wanted to go to Berry and have a bible study in Frost Chapel and dance with me. She said yes. After we drove into the campus, we met some deer on the road to Mountain Campus. I pulled over so we could see them. Partially because I wanted to see them and try to touch them, but mostly to stall because I was nervous.
     When we arrived, there was a man standing outside the chapel and I thought, "Great... way to ruin everything, sir!" I was kidding. Sorta. So Kaitlin suggested that we just do our bible study on the stone wall, because there was probably something going on in the chapel. I knew there couldn't be, because I called beforehand. So I insisted that we go at least look in the chapel window to make sure no one was using it. As we were walking towards the chapel door, the man who was standing to the side came towards us and said:
     "Hey, my brother is proposing to his girlfriend in the back room, so if you don't mind just please don't go in there."
     "Oh! Okay! Is it okay if we go in the chapel?" I asked, trying to soak all the irony in.
     "Yeah! That's totally fine," he said.
     The room he was talking about was separated from the main chapel. He was free to steal my idea in peace. Just kidding. Sorta. Anyway, so we went inside and sat down in the pew and opened our devotional to the chapter we left off on last time. If I'm going to be honest, I don't think I focused very well, if at all, on the devotional. I was too busy practicing in my mind what I was going to say and how I was going to do this.
     When we had finished, I stood up, reached out my hand, and, smiling excitedly, asked her, "Would you like to dance?"
     "Yes," she replied, also smiling.
     So I held her close and we danced without music for a few minutes, and I looked her in the eyes, telling her how wonderful and beautiful she is, how much she means to me, and how thankful I am to have her. Then, with my heart beating so fast that I'm surprised I didn't pass out or something, I knelt to one knee, took the ring out of my pocket (which was velcro, by the way, so it echoed loudly off the walls of the chapel as I opened it) and asked her if she would marry me. After the initial shock wore off, she finally said "YES!" I stood up and we held each other tightly in our arms for a while before making our way back to the car.
     And now, almost two months later, we have a date and a time and a venue - June 18th, 2011, 2pm, at Camp Pinnacle in Clayton, Georgia. I could not be more happier or excited, and I can't wait for us to begin our happily ever after.

in His grip,
Zack

Rest

"Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy."
-Exodus 31:13

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
-Exodus 20:8-11

     Sabbath comes from the Hebrew shabbat, meaning "he rested." Shabbat derives from the Hebrew verb shavat which means "to rest," or "to cease." God doesn't just ask us to rest or cease work. He commands it. Think about it. Our great, perfect, holy God delivered His people from years of slavery in Egypt, performing numerous miracles through His prophet Moses, and afterwards, while they were all gathered together, purposefully gave them ten instructions to live by, one of which was to take a break from doing things. God values rest and ceasing to do work (after all, He did so Himself on the seventh day).
     Connect Rome's new series is titled "Busy Bodies," and it has made me re-think a lot of how busy I let myself get, and how much I neglect God's command to rest. I know that I struggle with resting. I feel the need to always schedule out my days and fill them with stuff to do. My planner becomes my second Bible, with a constant, never-ending list of things to do, so that even when I accomplish everything that I set aside to do for the day, I still have a mindful of deadlines, needs, goals, and stuff to worry about. The week becomes a long, tedious run-on sentence. No breaks. It's the culture we live in: we are encouraged and expected to always be productive, and people who deviate from the busy-body way are often considered lazy or unproductive.

This is a tragedy on so many levels.

     I find myself trying to take a break or a nap or enjoy some time doing nothing, but it almost feels irresponsible or unnatural, as if there are a million trillion things I could be doing to make better use of my time. Is there, though, something better to do than obey God? Obedience is the greatest way to show Him my love for Him and yet I so often disobey His command to cease all my work, business, productiveness, etc. and just rest in His beauty and peace. Resting requires one to stop trying to be in control of everything, stop worrying about how everything is going to be done, and relinquish it all to God, praising Him for all He has done, and trusting Him with all He is still doing.

On that note, I think I'm going to get some rest.

in His grip,
Zack