We set sail today on a one year voyage through the Bible!! I am looking forward to what God will do in my life and in yours. I truly believe this will be a life-changing experience for us all. If you have not signed up to be a part of the voyage and have not received the one year chronological Bible and accompanying journal, please e-mail me at landon@lakenormanbaptist.com. Even if you don't get started today, you can get on board at any time. Below is my journal entry for 1/1/2010. Bless you all!!!
Landon Horton
Whatever Floats Your Boat
In the days ahead, as we set sail on this voyage together, I hope you will share comments on this blog about "whatever floats your boat." I would like to hear about your thoughts, questions, experiences. What are you doing to make the most of this voyage experience? Are you a part of small groups outside of your Sunday School class? What creative and meaningful things are you doing that motivates you in this journey and "keeps your boat afloat?"
Journal Entry -- January 1, 2010
Today, I set sail along with approximately 900 youth and adults on a one year voyage of reading through the Bible in 2010. One year ago today, there were about 100 of us who set out to read through the Bible in 2009. Less than halfway into 2009, several who had committed to reading through the Bible were feeling discouraged because they had fallen "behind" in their reading. I began to think and pray about how we could increase participation in personal Bible study at our church and help each other accomplish this task. I believe what came was a vision for 2010. I guess you could say it became a "20/10 vision" as we soon came to dedicate this new year to focusing intently, more than we have before, on reading God's word together, journaling our experiences, sharing these with each other, and experiencing Sunday School lessons and sermons each week that correspond to our daily reading. This comprehensive focus is now church wide, and it will be exciting to see what God accomplishes through this. I know of others who do not attend our church who have decided to join us in this voyage. They plan to do this on their own or with a small group in their local church. I know of one small group in Shelby, North Carolina who started their voyage today as well.
Today's reading was Genesis 1-3. There is so much in these three chapters that you could probably spend half of a year just on the truths and issues that are revealed. In these chapters, I read about:
- The majesty and power of God displayed in His orderly act of creation
- The origin of all things
- The uniqueness of humanity, made in His image, given stewardship of His creation
- The war between Good and Evil -- Chapter 1 everything is good. Chapter 3 there is death.
- Satan
- Temptation
- Pride
- Disobedience
- The origin of fear, pain, guilt, shame, sin, separation from God, and death
- The husband and wife relationship
- God's grace
Perhaps the saddest part of this section of scripture is when the all-knowing God asks, "Where are you?" to Adam and Eve. Why would a God who knows everything have to ask where someone is? The more I think about it, I don't think it was because He needed to know where Adam and Eve were. Rather, it was because Adam and Eve needed to realize where Adam and Eve were. They had disobeyed and now they were doing something they had never done before. They were running from the one who gave them life -- the first game of hide-and-seek. The irony is that in this game the "hiders" were also the "seekers." They had to find themselves, and they found out that the path to disobedience leads to a place you don't want to be.
But there is hope! God gives them clothes to cover their shame, an early sign of God's grace that will ultimately be displayed in the sacrifice of His son, Jesus, whose blood covers the shame and guilt of all sinners who believe.
Life Application:
- Acknowledge God as Creator/Owner
- Be a good steward of all God has given, especially His creation
- Give thanks for my wife. Tell her how much I appreciate her.
- Practice obedience in all things
- Confess sins
- Receive God's grace
My prayer today:
"Dear God, I acknowledge that you are the creator and owner of all things. You are an awesome God! Thank you for the things you have entrusted to me to manage. I especially thank you for my wife. Bless her and help me to be a blessing to her. I pledge to be a better steward of your creation including the areas of responsibilities I have as a husband and a father. Forgive me for my times of disobedience. I desire to flee from temptation and not from you. Thank you for your grace. With joy, I receive your grace now so that I may be the person you want me to be. In Jesus' name, Amen."
