On a journey through the Bible

Posted by Sally Bias, Director of Smaller Groups 

Fresh off reading the book Radical by David Platt, I accepted the Radical Challenge of reading through the Bible in a year. I started my reading in January. I have been using YouVersion on my Iphone. There are 19 different plans on YouVersion under the "Whole Bible" category alone. I went with "The One Year" Bible. This is a daily reading plan that consists of passages from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. This version allows you to select the month and date when you start and then links to the passages for the day. It usually takes me about 15-minutes each day (assuming I am just reading one day's worth). This plan has worked well for me. I almost always have my phone with me and can complete the day's reading before I put my feet on the ground in the morning or while I am waiting in the kindergarten carpool line. 

Reading God's Word has been thought-provoking. This morning I was reading about Moses and the plagues. The Bible says over and over that God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not free the Israelites from slavery. The middle child in me is saying, "Hey God, that's not fair! At least give Pharaoh a fair shot."

I begin to ask myself the question "What does this tell me about God?" That he picks favorites? That he is a dictator? Even as I am reading, I am praying that God would help me wade through all of this.

Does God pick favorites? God definitely chooses people. As I had read the day before, he chose Moses to be his messenger to Pharaoh and the Israelites. Moses, who was a murderer and not confident in his speaking ability. Though I might struggle with the idea that we don't all have a fair shot at being chosen by God, I do believe that he is far more eager to have us than we are to join with him.

Is God a dictator? God is, well, God. He is ruler over everything. In addition to telling Moses that he has hardened Pharaoh's heart, he also says that his purpose in doing this is to show his glory to all of Egypt. If Pharaoh had accepted Moses's request for freedom the first time, how many would have heard about it let alone believed it was God who brought it about.

Neither of these insights is particularly deep, but I am grateful for the opportunity to learn more about God's character through reading and thinking about his Word.  

Share some things that you are learning or thoughts that you are having as you pick up God's Word and let's have a continuing dialog. 

Here are some resources in print and online to help you with the Radical challenge of reading the Bible in a year:

52-Week Bible Reading Plan

Martin Bible Reading Plan

YouVersion

Bible Gateway

The One Year Bible

The Daily Bible