Here Go Again
I still am part of a small group of women who are reading the Bible with a two-year plan in the Chronological Bible. We are adding some New Testament readings; mostly recently a tour of Romans. The assigned reading never fails to impress, depress, but hearten.
Some days I do not want to open the Bible. Nope.
Just like the Israelites who complained about the daily manna, I resist the meal God offers. Why?
I know that Kings, Chronicles, and the Prophets serve up an unpleasant dish, full of reasons why and how life is confusing and painful.
I don’t like learning again that God permits suffering – sometimes He even authors it. Nor, do I like reading again about people who knew better, made dumb and dangerous choices. Especially I hate the “A-Ha!” moments when I recognize my own foolishness in ancient stories.
But on the days I get over my reluctance and enjoy the daily portions, God does not disappoint.
Bottom line – people are stinkers; even the best and most promising and spiritual are broken in ways that can do harm. God, however, is not; He is wholly consistent and persistent. He doesn’t change even if I am feckless, foolish, or frantic; or, if His other ambassadors blow it.
I remember the scene in Chariots of Fire, as Eric Liddell read from Isaiah 40:17-23, 29-31.
Here’s a link. Please look and hear the comforting promise that we can run and not grow weary, even as we see fellow runners in the race life stumble and fall; even as we lose our race. For like that cinema sequence of the 1924 Olympic trials I often feel like an exhausted runner, stumbling and falling flat in pit after pit –even those I knew I should avoid.
The irony of Chariots of Fire, and its message for these times is that the actor who played Eric Liddell, Ian Charleson, died from AIDS. Did the actor hear the lines of Scripture he was reading – or the words of the hymns he sang?
How well am I listening and changing?
Eric Liddell ran a race many believed he was incapable of winning. The scene in the movie still thrills me: He who honors me . . .
God help us run today’s race . . .
In these uncertain, upside-down backwards days, the church is still running a race. She is weary and winded; worn out from news of one failure after another; wounded from sins. But she ain’t finished yet.
Neither am I — so, it’s not smart to be skip the daily portions God has for me from His word. Even the hard to digest portions. ( Isaiah 45:7)
What maintains our spiritual health? The spiritual food we eat.
What are we eating? We eat what we have reaped.
What are we reaping? We reap what we have sowed.
What are we sowing? We are sowing the seeds we cultivate. ~ Cultivating Our Daily Bread