One of my resolutions for 2017 was to read through the entire Bible. I heard that if you read a chapter from the NT and 2 from the OT, you can just about get through the entire Bible in 365 days, so I decided to give it a try. Just in case I reach a slump, as I have heard is a common occurrence, I determined to read two chapters from the OT Law/Prophets/History, one from a book of Wisdom/Poetry, and one from the NT.
This has been one of the best gifts I have ever, ever given myself. Seriously, I am disappointed with myself for missing out on all the blessings and special graces included in this venture for as long as I did. I have been a Christian since I was a young child, attended Sunday School, and Christian school, memorized Awana verses with my kids, and listened to awesome Bible teachers, but none of these, as good as they are, have given me the insight of just reading through the Word with the help of the Holy Spirit and His Holy Church. Reading in the OT and the NT simultaneously, has been a fun dynamic to watch unfold. I have always been told that the OT points to the New, and the New testifies of the Old…it is seriously awesome to see it with my own eyes!
A good example of this happened last night. I was listening to John’s account of the Resurrection in John 20, and just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard: “But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet”; and I had a vivid flashback to what I learned about the ark of the covenant. Remember the two angels (cherubim) at either side? Two angels guarding the ark which held the manna, Aaron’s rod, and the stone tablets (also called the Word of God). This is a picture of John’s account thousands of years prior….and here they are again, one at the head, the other at the feet…where was laid the Bread of Life, our High Priest, and the Word. Shivers. Angels have been accompanying Him since the Annunciation. We see them at His birth, in His agony at Gethsemane, and here in His empty tomb. WOW!
Have you ever read through the entire Bible? I would love to hear some of the God Whispers that your received in your quest. I plan to make this an ongoing resolution, not stopping in December, but starting again. I also plan to incorporate reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church from front to back, if I wait until January to start that, I would love to find a one year Bible reading plan that incorporates it in…I wonder if there is such a creature?
New Things 