Today we embark on another Gregorian calendar year. And, people tend to look back on the past and ponder what the future holds. So I asked myself, what could we do to make this upcoming year more productive and further refine our walk with our Father? As I mulled over answers to this question I remembered having asked a similar question in the early Seventies. At that time the following Scripture had come to mind:
"You will receive power when the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
This raised the question, "Be witnesses to what?"
The answer I felt I received was, "You, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Adonai Yeshua" (John 14:17). And know, "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,....of things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling....things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them" (John 15:26-16:4).
In other words, the answer was to take full advantage of the power of the Ruach, so He could unleash goodness in my life by bringing to my mind an appropriate Scripture(s) that would help guide me as I sought to walk as Messiah Yeshua walked (1 John 2:6).
My first thought in regard to this idea is that the Ruach could only bring to mind, or cause me to remember, an appropriate Word that I had read, seen or heard. At the time, I knew that I had not read the entire Bible through Therefore, if I had not read, seen or heard the appropriate Word that I might need in order to best to handle a situation, then the Ruach was going to have a challenge in guiding me. What should I do? The answer was simple: Read, and/or listen to the entire Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, and in the order it was written. Like any book, the best way to read it in its entirety is from the beginning to the end.
So, I begin to read the Bible. On a daily basis I would read three chapters of the First Covenant, three chapters of the New Covenant, one Chapter of Proverbs, and one Psalm. In a year I was able to read the First Covenant once, the New Covenant twice, the Proverbs monthly, and the book of Psalms twice.
If you have not read the Bible in its entirety, 2012 would be a great year to accomplish that worthwhile goal. If you have read through the entire Bible, it would surely be helpful to read it again. You can follow my suggested reading plan, design your own, or take advantage from a smorgasbord of reading plans that are now available on Google. Also, a long-time friend, Lloyd Day of Hoshana Rabbah/Congregation Elim, in Tigard, Oregon, has developed Read Through the Scriptures downloadable program. It offers a daily reading schedule which will take you through all the Scriptures in a year, including reading the Torah and the Gospels twice. Our prayer is that the Holy One of Israel might bless you abundantly as you seek His face in His Holy word!
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