"Come Thou Fount"

(by David Crowder*Band) Come Thou Fount - All I Can Say

Come Thou Fount by David Crowder Band on Grooveshark

Since this is the time of year when people like to set goals, I thought I'd talk about those today & do my usual Monday thing later {since I fail at posting it most Mondays anyways!}...As with a lot of you, I'm not so good at reaching goals that I set. Because of that, I didn't really set any official goals last year. And I'm basically doing the same this year. The only one I'm really setting is to remain in God's love, based on Jesus' words in John 15:9, "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love." That has been my desire since the Bible study in the fall, and I pray that it continues to be my desire for as long as I live. I read the definition below, & it resonates inside me.
remain:
Strong's G3306 - menō
μένω
1) to remain, abide
   a) in reference to place
      1) to sojourn, tarry
      2) not to depart
         a) to continue to be present
         b) to be held, kept, continually
   b) in reference to time
      1) to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure
         a) of persons, to survive, live
   c) in reference to state or condition
      1) to remain as one, not to become another or different
2) to wait for, await one
Those words seriously bring joy to my heart! I want to abide in Him and be held/kept by Him. I seriously can't survive without Him. I don't know if that makes me seem unstable or codependent, but it's the truth. So I plan to remain in God's love this year by spending time with Him in prayer and in His Word. I'm hoping to slow down a little & not overcommit myself, because I thoroughly enjoy those days when I'm able to spend hours with my Jesus! I've got some studies that I'm doing on my own, and I'll be participating in studies at church again. I also like to dig through a concordance to do word studies about stuff that I'm going through or areas where I sense that God wants to rid me of me & make me more like Him.

I also like some sort of set routine or reading schedule, because there are days when I sorta lose focus & simply need to be told what to read. {Does that make sense?} I've used reading plans through YouVersion to read through the Bible for the past two years. The first year, I used the Robert Roberts plan (which consisted of some OT & some NT every day). Last year, I read through it chronologically. Before that, I hadn't done it since Bible school. Recently, I started feeling like I didn't want to do it again this year, but I had to check my motives & pray about what God would have me do. I thought maybe I was being lazy, because I didn't know why God wouldn't want me to read through His Word in a year. So I actually considered doing it in 90 days, just because I've seen other people do it. But I realized that for me it would really be more about doing it to cross it off my list, but I wouldn't be able to read it in such a way as to absorb what I was reading.

So I prayerfully read through the descriptions of the reading plans on YouVersion. The site offers all kinds of reading plans (whole Bible, partial Bible, devotional, topical & youth). Some are 365 days, some have five readings per week, others are quick little studies. There really is something for everyone. {No, this isn't a product review or anything, I just really like the site!} I love that there are so many options, and I've enjoyed using YouVersion as one part of my time with the Lord. For this year, I felt God guiding me to start the Project 3:45+ plan. It is a way to read through the New Testament in a year, along with a Psalm or Proverb each day, and some readings from the Old Testament some days.

I was excited to discover that the readings start with the book of John! I already referenced a post that I wrote when I was reading through John last year, but I also wrote another post when I finished it. I fell so in love with the book that I'm leading a study on it this semester! I had two studies in mind when I met with Lance & the other Bible study leaders. I was leaning toward a different study, but then I sorta rambled on about my love for John. Lance pointed out the fact that I seemed sorta passionate about the book, so we decided that would be the best one for me to lead. I love how God uses other peoples' insight to help you figure out your place sometimes!

Anyways, I'm rambling once again, so I'll close with a few verses from Psalm 1:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law [or instruction] of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
(Psalm 1:1-3)


So...do you have any goals? What about Bible reading? How do you go about spending time in the Word?

Amy

Comments

RR Mama said…
Good luck with your goals! My goal is to spend more time in prayer. I blogged about it the other day. I love starting my day in prayer. It just puts in the right frame of mind to start my day.
Jen Price said…
Remain...what a great word! I also love the being held/kept definition. What a wonderful year it will be!

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