“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.”

(Psalm 51:10-11 ESV)

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

(Jeremiah 29:11 ESV)

Have you made any New Years resolutions? Did you keep the ones you made last year?

 I kept one I made. That was to read my Bible all the way through. In fact, I finished it a day early. I made the same resolution for this year, too. I suggest you do the same thing.

I have a couple of Bibles. I have one I keep at church. I rarely open it now that the scriptures are on the screen. I have a Bible app on my phone and tablet. But my favorite Bible is a very much lived and used one. It’s not held together by duct tape, but it has had pages glued back in. I had to use a clear contact paper to fix the cover of it because it was falling apart. I love that Bible. I don’t remember where or when I got it, but it is the Bible I reach for every morning. Before I go to bed, I use the app I have on my tablet.

Reading the Bible has shown me things. I love reading about Joseph. He went from being sold by his brothers to being wrongly thrown in jail to second in command in Egypt.  If Joseph can survive all that and still praise God, so can I. I have gone through a lot in my life, but at least my brothers never sold me into slavery. I want to encourage you to make the resolution to read your Bible all the way through this new year. If you can read a regular book in a couple of days or hours, you can read the Bible, too. Plus, you will get a lot more out of the Bible than reading a romance novel or whatever.

Have a great day, and Happy New Year.

Kathy Keller
Writer and Prayer warrior with Answers2Prayer Ministries
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