Sacred Sunday--The One Year Bible

One of the things that has been lacking in my life for quite some time was my early morning Bible reading. I do good for a while, then it seems as if something happens and I get out of my routine.

Last month, the Pastor at our church ordered enough The One Year Bible books so everyone in our church could have one and read it every day.

It is set up to read a portion of the Old Testament, a portion of the New Testament, a portion of Psalms and a portion of Proverbs each day. I love how it is divided up, and the amount of reading is just perfect.

It is in the New Living Translation, which makes it very easy to read, and very understandable. (which helps because I am usually reading this between 5 and 5:30 a.m. in the morning.)

Often I don't want the story to stop. Last week I was going through the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis, and often I didn't want the story to end, because I knew I had to wait until the next day to continue the story. (Yes, I realize I could have read ahead, but I like reading each day the scripture made for that day.)

They also have one verse in bold that you are encouraged to either memorize or meditate on throughout the day.

Today the verse in bold was this comforting verse from Psalms 23:1:

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.

I so enjoy the imagery in this entire portion of Scripture. I like to picture Jesus sitting beside me as a lay down and rest in a green meadow, with a calm stream flowing not far away. After I am rested, he gently takes my arm and leads me along the paths that are the least dangerous. And, even if I do stray and I head into a dark valley, I will not be afraid because I know He is still there holding onto my arm and guiding me through this dark place. As I look into His face, His face is full of love. In response to His love, I will choose to spend the rest of my life with Him, and will live in the house of the Lord forever.