Thursday, June 12, 2008

I Did It! I Did It!!!!



I finally finished my One Year Bible!

Okay so I was on the 18 month plan but I'm still soooooo proud of myself. I have actually read the whole bible!

Well..... I might have skipped over a few begets and sped read through the endless descriptions of how many cubits of this and that were incorporated into the building of the temple. But all in all, I covered the most of it and absorbed much of it.

Although, I had read and studied much of the bible already over the years, there were lots of places that I had never been before. Like Malachi. I really liked Malachi. And Ezra. And then there's Jude, and all the Johns.

Also, it's much more meaningful when it's read in chronological order. I understand the history of the Israelites so much better now. With 'The One Year Bible', you are given readings in order each day from each of the OT, the NT, Psalms and Proverbs. I was amazed at how often, the reading in the NT or Psalms would be talking about something in the reading of the OT.

I totally recommend it to anyone. If you start now you can take the 18 month plan as well and be done by December 2009. Then when you say you've finished 'The One Year Bible' people will think you actually did it in a year. It will just be our little secret.

16 comments:

Sara said...

congratulations to you!

Anonymous said...

congratulations. so did you learn anything that you NEVER knew was in the bible before? or did you find that something you THOUGHT was in the bible really wasn't?

curious how the last 18 has shaped you...

Ruth said...

Good questions Jon. I will think about it and get back to you. It might even be post worthy.

Mike said...

Congrats on reading the whole Bible Ruth. That is quite an accomplishment. Now that you are done, that gives you time to pick the next word on Apples to Apples. You won the round.

Tyler Dawn said...

rofl, congrats. I read it through twice, that's enough for me.

I rather like Habbakuk, myself :D

I can deal with the begets and cubits, its Leviticus that drives me nuts.

One Voice of Many said...

Congrats!
I've never made it all the way through. I get so bogged down in the "who begat who and they begat another" I just lose interest and give up. Mainly it's those books three or four deep in to the Old Testament that I've never forced myself to read through.

Anonymous said...

see, now leviticus never bothered me that much. in the context of the story, the children of israel have come to the mountain, moses has gone up and now god is talking to him, laying down the law.

to read it now, and to see with 20/20 hindsight, it's almost ridiculous to hear some of the things that are laid down. knowing that god never intended for these things to bring freedom or right living, but rather to shut up everyone under disobedience.

at least, that's what paul says god's intentions were anyway...

Ruth said...

Well thank you all for coming to my little celebration party!

Jon, I've been thinking about your questions....

I never knew how much the bible extolled the virtues of wine before. It seems to say that it is a gift from God to make men happy - but don't be excessive lest you do stupid things you regret.

I thought there would be more about life after death and heaven. It's all in secret code and I didn't have time to decipher the secret code.

The most emphatic message I got was that God just wants us to trust him. He wants us to be strong and courageous, to stop worrying about ourselves, stop putting ourselves first and most of all love one another. And I have learned that I really can do those things if I trust him.

The thing that struck a chord in my heart was the truth that God esteems those who are humble and who believe him. He calls them friends, even when they can be bumbling idiots. I got that pretty much by the end of Exodus and I posted about it here.

Livingsword said...

Congratulations!!!!

That is great news, and a tribute to your perseverance….

I agree with you that reading the Bible chronologically is very helpful….

Now you can start again in a different translation or with a study Bible…..

Ruth said...

Umm....ya....I'll get right on that.

Anonymous said...

hahahahahahahahahaha!!!

(wipes tear from under eye)

Nate said...

Congratulations. I was wondering though, have you personally changed at all after reading through the bible? Do you do things a bit differently now than you did 18 months ago?

Ruth said...

Hi Nate - it's good to see you around. You asked if I see things differently after reading the bible through.

Yes, I think I do see things differently. I have a better understanding of the character of God and what he wants from me. Most of all he wants me to believe him. It's like my focus has narrowed and I don't feel so overwhelmed with theology.

Valorosa said...

COOOOOL ;-)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your nice comment on my blog. I enjoyed this post, but even more so the comments following it! Especially the "Umm...ya...I'll get right on it" part. hehe!!

On a serious note, though, I love what you came away with when you saw "the big picture". I think that the church tends to do so much focusing on minutia that the big picture of God's love for us, our need to just trust him (and the very fact that we CAN trust him and he's not going to break our legs or harm us in any way) -- He's a loving, compassionate Father -- those things almost get lost in the shuffle.

Hope you'll stick around my blog and comment some more. I like your perspective. :)

Ruth said...

Hi Steve - welcome! Thank YOU for your encouraging words. I visit your blog from time to time and really come away with a wealth of knowledge from all the great comments.

I just discovered Larry at A Layman's Thoughts and I'm listening to one of his audio messages.

Yes I will come back to your blog. It seems to be a bit of a boys club and you need some females. :)