Hey, Friends!  I am so excited about reading through the Bible this year. Will you join me?  Each month, I will post a reading schedule and I will also post my own study notes at times.  Truth be told, I will probably start out strong and stumble along toward the end. No promises as to how often my “notes” will appear on my blog, but I will plan on posting several times a month.  So, let’s do it!  There is no better New Years Resolution we could make!

As I once again begin this annual challenge, my thoughts are on a special friend, Barb Archer.  She was one of the most faithful readers of my blog, and is the one who always reminded me to post the reading schedule.  She faithfully followed the reading plan, even though many of her days were difficult.  You see, she was battling cancer and enduring treatment and yet, her faith and desire for the Word of God never waivered.  She now spends her days where her faith has been made sight.  Though technically, she didn’t get to “finish” our year-long challenge when I began this study, she definitely finished the race set before her.  As we begin this Bible reading challenge once again, my thoughts are on Barb and her victorious “finishing”.  2 Timothy 4:6-8, says:

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Friends, we don’t know what lies ahead in this year.  But we do know Who holds us close, Who holds our future.  May He bless you abundantly with great understanding and fresh vision as you faithfully read His Word!

January 1:  Genesis 1:1-2:25, Matthew 1:1-2:12, Psalm 1:1-6, Proverbs 1:1-6

January 2:  Genesis 3:1-4:26, Matthew 2:13-3:6, Psalm 2:1-12, Proverbs 1:7-9

January 3:  Genesis 5:1-7:24, Matthew 3:7-4:11, Psalm 3:1-8, Proverbs 1:10-19

January 4:  Genesis 8:1-10:32, Matthew 4:12-25, Psalm 4:1-8, Proverbs 1:20-23

January 5:  Genesis 11:1-13:4, Matthew 5:1-26, Psalm 5:1-12, Proverbs 1:24-28

January 6:  Genesis 13:5-15:21, Matthew 5:27-48, Psalm 6:1-10, Proverbs 1:29-33

January 7:  Genesis 16:1-18:15, Matthew 6:1-24, Psalm 7:1-17, Proverbs 2:1-5

January 8:  Genesis 18:16-19:38, Matthew 6:25-7:14, Psalm 8:1-9, Proverbs 2:6-15

January 9:  Genesis 20:1-22:24, Matthew 7: 15-29, Psalm 9:1-12, Proverbs 2:16-22

January 10:  Genesis 23:1-24:51, Matthew 8:1-17, Psalm 9:13-20, Proverbs 3:1-6

January 11:  Genesis 24:52-26:16, Matthew 8:18-34, Psalm 10:1-15, Proverbs 3:7-8

January 12: Genesis 26: 17-27:46, Matthew 9:1-17, Psalm 10:16-18, Proverbs 3:9-10

January 13: Genesis 28:1-29:35, Matthew 9:18-38, Psalm 11:1-7, Proverbs 3:11-12

January 14: Genesis 30:1-31:16, Matthew 10:1-23, Psalm 12:1-8, Proverbs 3:13-15

January 15: Genesis 31:17-32:12, Matthew 10:24-11:6, Psalm 13:1-6, Proverbs 3:16-18

January 16: Genesis 32:13-34:31, Matthew 11:7-30, Psalm 14:1-7, Proverbs 3:19-20

January 17:  Genesis 35:1-36:43, Matthew 12:1-21, Psalm 15:1-5, Proverbs 3:21-26

January 18: Genesis 37:1-38:30, Matthew 12:22-45, Psalm 16:1-11, Proverbs 3:27-32

January 19: Genesis 39:1-41:16, Matthew 12:46-13:23, Psalm 17:1-15, Proverbs 3:33-35

January 20: Genesis 41:17-42:17, Matthew 13:24-46, Psalm 18:1-15, Proverbs 4:1-6

January 21: Genesis 42:18-43:34, Matthew 13:47-14:12, Psalm 18:16-36, Proverbs 4:7-10

January 22: Genesis 44:1-45:28, Matthew 14:13-36, Psalm 18:37-50, Proverbs 4:11-13

January 23:  Genesis 46:1-47:31, Matthew 15:1-28, Psalm 19:1-14, Proverbs 4:14-19

January 24:  Genesis 48:1-49:33, Matthew 15:29-16:12, Psalm 20:1-9, Proverbs 4: 20-27

January 25:  Genesis 50:1-Exodus 2:10, Matthew 16:13-17:9, Psalm 21:1-13, Proverbs 5:1-6

January 26: Exodus 2:11-3:22, Matthew 17:10-27, Psalm 22:1-18, Proverbs 5:7-14

January 27: Exodus 4:1-5:21, Matthew 18:1-20, Psalm 22:19-31, Proverbs 5:15-21

January 28: Exodus 5:22-7:25, Matthew 18:21-19:12, Psalm 23:1-6, Proverbs 5:22-23

January 29:  Exodus 8:1-9:35, Matthew 19:13-30, Psalm 24:1-10, Proverbs 6:1-5

January 30: Exodus 10:1-12:13, Matthew 20:1-28, Psalm 25:1-15, Proverbs 6:6-11

January 31: Exodus 12:14-13:16, Matthew 20:29-21:22, Psalm 25:16-22, Proverbs 6:12-15

Today’s reading is Genesis 23:1-24:51, Matthew 8:1-17, Psalm 9:13-20, Proverbs 3:1-6.

Our assigned reading is no longer about the Sermon on the Mount, but my thoughts are still back there, sitting at the feet of Jesus, trying to see what new insights those familiar words may have for me.  What keeps coming to my mind is this:  There is a secret life for the Christian.  Of course, secrets in the negative sense of the word can create havoc and bitterness and deep, painful scars.  Negative secrets can destroy.  We see in the current #MeToo movement that many, many women have held negative secrets of great pain—until now.  Bringing these types of secrets to the Light of Jesus releases the grip of pain, shame, and bitterness and in time will render it powerless to hurt you any longer.  Don’t keep negative secrets.  You certainly don’t have to reveal your negative secrets on a social media platform.  In fact, for some, the better choice would be with a trusted friend, family member, pastor or counselor.  But today, my thoughts are not on the negative secrets, my thoughts are on the positive ones. For the Christian, there is a whole secret life that only is shared with the Father.  We remain open to others, we live in honest community, we remain willing to share our “pearls” with others, but at the same time, we have a whole private life with the Lord.  Matthew 6 begins, “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.” And in verse 6 we see this about our secret life of prayer: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corner and in the synagogues where everyone can see them.  I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.  But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.  Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

For the Christian, there is a secret life.  In verse 14 we are encouraged to forgive those who sin against us, and in turn, God will forgive us.  Forgiveness is a secret work. It is hard work that is done in our heart and is between us and God.  Yes, others may be involved, but the work of forgiveness is between us and God and is accomplished in our secret, sacred time with Him.

We see in verse 16, that our times of fasting should be accomplished in our secret, sacred life.  In those days, fasting was a common practice.  People would often put on sackcloth and mope around, announcing to all that they were fasting.  Jesus said that our fasting is secret and sacred.  It is between us and God.

And in verse 19 we see this same secret, sacred concept in regards to our treasures. “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.  Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

So, our good deeds, our prayers and time of fasting, our earthly treasure…all should fall under the category of secret and sacred.  All of these are between us and God.  All of these are part of the intimate privilege of the secret and sacred life of the Christian.  And our Father who sees our every secret will help, heal, and reward us.

Today’s reading is Genesis 13:5-15:21, Matthew 5:27-48, Psalm 6:1-10, Proverbs 1:29-33.

Today we find Jesus still on the mountain, teaching to the great crowd who were following him.  And though His ministry was new, and most likely many were there to simply check out the new guy, He addressed them as a Father—or big brother—may address someone He loves.  He is imparting life lessons and wisdom.  These concepts go against what the world says is success, what the world says is appropriate response to difficult situations.  Blessed are those who mourn?  Really?  Jesus says yes!  Why?  Because they can experience the love, healing, and comfort that only God can provide.

This concept of mourning transitions my thoughts to the next chapter—and it is about marriage.  Yes, there are times of mourning in marriage.  Sometimes there is death in marriage—either physical death or death of love that, once warm and alive, has now grown cold.  Let me stop and say that this post comes with zero judgement.  With divorce rate being 50%, even among Christians, we must understand that God loving offers His perfect comfort and redemption to those who mourn through the death of marriage.  But for those of us who are married (or those who are considering getting married), it would benefit us to think for a moment about what the scriptures teach us about God’s view of marriage.

First, from the very beginning, God was huge fan of marriage.  He created it for intimacy, procreation, fulfillment, and comfort. He said that the two become one through marriage and that we should cling to each other.

Secondly, God created marriage to be made in binding covenant.  What is covenant?  You remember from our study of the Old Testament, covenant is a never-ending promise.  Covenant is for life and even extends into the next generations.  When a covenant was made, a sacrifice was cut into two pieces.  Those who were making the covenant walked between the two pieces, which literally meant, “May this happen to me if I break this covenant.”  Now, think about a marriage ceremony.  The officiant speaks words of covenant, not just commitment.  It is the covenant of marriage.  And the two making this covenant walk between the two sides of family and friends who have sacrificed on their behalf to get them to this day.  And they speak not just words, or even promises, but they speak vows.  Vows are a big deal. Covenants are a huge deal.  And breaking them only brings a deep cutting of the heart to those who made that covenant, as well as to the generations behind them.

Thirdly, we must know how God feels about divorce.  He is very clear and does not mince words concerning this topic.

¹⁶ “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty, ” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”

Malachi 2:16

Please note that it says God hates divorce.  He does not hate divorced people.  In fact, He loves, adores, comforts, and understands divorced people.  And I can imagine that those who are divorced also hate divorce, having experienced its pain and grief.  But there is hope and healing and relief and understanding and comfort all found in Jesus.

In this passage, we find a warning to those who have not yet experienced the pain of divorce.  There are strategies here to prevent it.  And it all starts with remembering that marriage should be a faithful covenant, not a feeling of love.  Jesus is pretty clear where the problems begin—in the mind.  Unfaithfulness, whether directed toward another person or whether it is simply imagining a life without your spouse, always begins in your mind.  To look at another with lust, to think about another with lust, to even lust after a life of being single—all that is unfaithfulness, all that is adultery.  And Jesus tells us that entertaining these thoughts is not only adultery, but is also the first step toward divorce.  And this is very serious and can be fatal to the covenant of marriage.

In Biblical times divorce was easy.  Just a written notice could get you a no-fault divorce.  And yes, there are biblical grounds for divorce which made it acceptable.  But even if it is acceptable, that does not mean it is best.  Even today, it is fairly easy to get a divorce.  But just because it is easy, or even acceptable, does not mean it is best.

It makes sense to me that Jesus quickly transitions into instructions about vows.  And He tells us that we should be such covenant minded people that we don’t even have to make vows.  Our yes is yes and our no is no.  We must keep our words in big ways and in small ways.

And it also makes sense to me that Jesus then transitions into instructions about loving our enemies.  If you are having marital problems your spouse may seem like your great enemy. And how should we respond?  Go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, pray for our enemy, be kind anyway, let the perfection of Jesus reign in our hearts.

Mont and I have been married for 26 years.  You can’t be married for that long and not have difficult times.  Most of our years have been wonderful, but that is only because of hard work, determination, forgiveness, turning the other cheek, and going the extra mile.  Our most difficult years were in the early years.

I remember after getting through the refining fire of a very difficult time, I had a friend come to me and say, “Sara, my husband and I aren’t as close as you and Mont are. We don’t have the intimacy that I see in you two.”

My reply was prefaced by a small laugh and a great sense of peace.  “Well, I said, I think that if you really want to have intimacy in your marriage, you have to be willing to walk through the refining fire of adversity.”

You know, I don’t even recognize that young, selfish married couple of our early days.  We have both changed a lot.  And we don’t take it for granted either. We fight for a good marriage, we fiercely protect it.  There is so much at stake and we are better together.  Besides that, we have made a covenant.  And that is a big deal.

So friends, let’s pray for each other.  Let’s be honest with each other.  Let’s comfort each other.  If you are divorced, remember what Isaiah 54:5 says:

For your Maker is your Husband — “the Lord of hosts is His name — “and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the God of the whole earth He is called.

If you are married, hang in there.  Ask the Lord to give you eyes to see your spouse as He sees them.  Ask Him to give you a heart to love him as He loves him—with compassionate forgiveness and unending covenantal love.