Tag: Holy Spirit

Reading the Bible With God

My Bible reading plan for 2023 began without a clear direction. I read through the entire Bible for the first time in 2020-2021 and got into a slump in 2022 where I read the Bible here and there until the end of the year. In December 2022, I read through the book of Hebrews at a good pace and decided this was more than just a “me” thing. I needed direction, so I prayed and asked the Lord to show me where to begin in 2023. I received an answer: “get acquainted with the parts of my Word you don’t know as well.” So I replied, “Yes Lord, please lead me. I want to know You more.”

In January of 2023, the first sermon of the month kicked off with a bang – a three-month series on the names of the Holy Spirit! In my heart, I felt this stirring of excitement, this was exactly what I needed. The direction was clear, learn to abide with the Spirit. I began reading in Ezra, next Nehemiah, Micah, and Obediah and now I’m currently in Isaiah. Why? I don’t know other than I’ve felt God leading me to these passages, and oh boy am I learning there is so much more in these passages than history! The pages are filled with details that show God’s plan, His glory, and the hope we have for the future. It’s been invigorating!

I’ve never felt this way while reading the Bible, when I read through the Bible it was a struggle and to be honest some days a grind because I wasn’t tuned into the right frequency, to be honest. When I began my reading I just jumped in and got it done like a workout. Sometimes I took notes dissecting the passage like a piece of literature instead of having ‘eyes to see and ears to hear’ as Jesus said. I would get frustrated that I didn’t understand the point of whole books, and I got bogged down in the details like I was researching a historical thesis. I remember many conversations with my Grandma where she would share what the Lord was teaching her in her Bible reading and describe the experience like she was literally doing a Bible study with Jesus. There was companionship in her quiet time with the Lord, like the ideal model of Adam and Eve in the garden or how David had such deep companionship with God when he was being chased by King Saul. I remember listening and wondering why I didn’t have such a deep connection to God in my Bible reading.

In true human fashion, I thought of every excuse before I got to the root of what was different. Without her here, I craved that deep connection that she had but was slow to take the plunge to go deeper. Something changed while watching The Chosen, I no longer wanted to be an observer to my fellow believers that had a close relationship with their Heavenly Father, I wanted to be an active family member and honestly hang out with Jesus like the disciples did. The Chosen does such a good job of showing Jesus as a tangible person, and ever since watching I just want to be hugged by Jesus.

Anyways, since I decided to abide with the Spirit in 2023, I began to ask the Holy Spirit to show me what He wanted to teach me in the passage I was studying before I began reading. If my mind begins to wander, as it does quite often, I immediately ask God to help me focus on Him, and Him alone. I have experienced tremendous growth in my own faith and my heart since doing this! The Bible has come alive before my eyes and I am seeing each passage deeper, with each chapter I read, I feel a connection that helps me understand why this chapter matters more than what is on the surface. I’ve been amazed by how the Bible’s story is being woven together in my mind as the Holy Spirit reveals more and more. I don’t want to ever go back to how I was studying before! This way fills my heart with joy and renews my strength, just like how Grandma used to describe it!

The coolest thing happened on Friday when I was reading Isaiah 1 & 2, I had finished Obediah the day before, reading Micah directly before that, and earlier in the day I had asked God where He wanted to take me next in the Bible. I had felt a leaning towards Isaiah for a few weeks but didn’t feel ready, so I had read Micah and so forth. But that day I felt ready to dive in, a verse of the day had been in Isaiah 55 – the book was on my mind. So I prayed for God to teach me what He wanted me to learn from the passage and dove into Isaiah 1 & 2. This is where I got goosebumps.

In Isaiah 2, the title says The Mountain of the Lord just like it does in Micah 4! But this is where the similarities begin, it gets more interesting. The passages mirror each other with the promises of what God has for us at the cosmic Mountain. There is a promise of revival, peace, and joy. Without going to the Lord first, and asking for His guidance to lead me through my Bible reading and reveal what He wanted me to learn, I wouldn’t have seen the repetition of this promise. The significance would have been lost on me. Within that moment I felt this incredible sense of God’s presence, that He tailormade this moment for me to understand Him deeper. It felt like it was just me and God in the room and the world was put on mute.

If you are craving intimacy with God, don’t wait another minute. Go to Him today so that we can rejoice together dear reader. Thank you for taking the time to read this and share in this joy with me today. May you go in peace today through whatever is before you. God loves you, and I do too.

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
It shall come to pass in the latter days
    that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
    and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war anymore.
O house of Jacob,
    come, let us walk
    in the light of the Lord.

Isaiah 2:1-5

It shall come to pass in the latter days
    that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and it shall be lifted up above the hills;
and peoples shall flow to it,
 and many nations shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
 He shall judge between many peoples,
    and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war anymore;
 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree,
    and no one shall make them afraid,
    for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
For all the peoples walk
    each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
    forever and ever.

Micah 4: 1-5

Ezra 1-3

Before we begin, I am not a Biblical scholar. I am a girl, who loves the Lord and feels led to keep a journal of what I learned on my second read-through of the Bible as a believer with a deeper faith than my initial read-through in 2020-2021. The Lord brought this to my attention through my study of the book of Ezra. Thank you reader for coming along on this journey with me. May we grow deeper in our faith together!

Chapter One

In the proclamation of Cyrus, here’s what jumped out to me. God’s power and planning. In the case of Cyrus’ proclamation, it demonstrated to me how God uses unlikely structures, governments, earthly powers, etc that are created by man to keep the general population oppressed, and God turns them on their head. God has the authority over everything and He can use whatever means He chooses to do His will and serve His people. With the fear being instilled in the world by the news, it was like a breath of fresh air to remember, in a moment all these things that feel like they have power over us can change their purpose if that is what God wills. 

By Cyrus’ proclamation, the captor rolls out the red carpet for their prisoner and furnishes the prisoners with all they need on the captor’s dime. Can you imagine seeing that happen firsthand? God’s power and authority are awe-inspiring. In doing this, Cyrus explicitly names the reason behind his decree. He proclaims who God is, what God has given him, and how God will be glorified through this. It’s hard to imagine our current world leaders doing this, but what a sight it would be! 

Thinking about it in a present context, Cyrus’ proclamation reminds me that whatever the current world governments, billionaires, tech conglomerates, censorship leaders, or AI algorithms claim they own, they really don’t. God owns all of it, and ultimately He controls it. It can all pass away if He says so. Their entire purpose can be shifted to fit His plan if God says so. The song “Graves to Gardens” by Elevation Worship came to mind as I was pondering this. 

Now for some quick takeaways:

  • The Persians financed rebuilding what the Babylonians destroyed.
  • Babylon had already passed away, from being a world superpower to a defeated empire taken over by the Persians. 
  • God makes this happen quickly. His timing is higher than ours. 
  • The items carried out of the temple are returned to Jerusalem with the exiles.
  • Exiles get a free plane ticket home, but not a cheap seat either. 
  • I’ve seen this in my own life and the lives of loved ones. It is something to behold when you experience it. 

Chapter Two

To be honest, these genealogy chapters are a struggle for me, but God pointed out something pretty neat when I was reading. The captives return properly. What do I mean by that? They aren’t just brought back to Judah, it says explicitly that they return to their town. They were not dropped off in the middle of nowhere to figure it out, no they went back to their home country, state, town, and street. It was a full return of order from the chaos. 

I spent time taking notes to add up how many people were listed, 49, 797. How many animals (aka transport)? 8, 136. This was a big spectacle!  It was a moment to pay attention to with a large group of people arriving together, with transport, items for the temple, money to rebuild the temple, etc. God was being glorified by the act of their return, furnished by the Persian empire. To the outside observer, this would be out of the normal day-to-day and we see the not-so-welcoming reaction from these observers in the following chapters.

Chapter Three

The neighbors are not happy and the exiles are feeling it. What stuck out to me was the two important reasons for the Israelites to rebuild the altar – reaffirming the law, aka the structure of their world, and drawing closer to God when their fears reappeared. It is a lesson I need because I still continue to procrastinate in scary situations, instead of running to God immediately.

God provided them in their time of uncertainty with structure and familiarity through the law handed down from Moses. They celebrated the Festival of Booths, representing the exodus and deliverance from Egypt. Just like their ancestors, they would make it through this by drawing near to God and seeking his wise counsel. They atoned for their sins with offerings, getting right with God in the same way we do in the New Covenant through confession thanks to salvation in Jesus.

After taking these necessary steps of discipleship, then they are prepared to do God’s work, in this case rebuilding the temple. They are also prepared for what is to come when it gets harder. I know I get excited and want to skip steps when it comes to following Jesus, those tough faith-building moments are not what I want but what I need to be prepared for the next task. Sometimes, I feel impatient and want an immediate answer instead of taking days, weeks, or months to pray for God’s direction but it prepares me through practice because it teaches me to depend on Him.

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