Friday, April 22, 2016

Day 1 - Verse 100 - CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???

Well it has taken us a while to get here, hasn't it?  There have certainly been ups and downs, and detours and delays, but here we are!  The end of our journey!

Image result for end of appalachian trail maineOur parallel journey along the Appalachian Trail of 2,185 miles comes to an end as well.  Do you want to see what it looks like from the view in Maine where we would be standing right now?  That's it, Katahdin, Maine.  The goal for many a hiker through the years.

Our goal has been just as "lofty"!  Our goal was to commit 100 Bible verses in our memory.  While I know at this point that I cannot recite all 100 on command, I also know that these verses have brought God's Word to life in me at times when I absolutely needed it the most.  God's Word is unique in its ability to speak to us, and that is because it is His living Word, inspired by Him, through the Holy Spirit.  And that same Holy Spirit lives in us as Christians to speak His Word to us individually, and in ways that we cannot understand, at just the right moments of our need.  There is no other book like the Holy Bible---if you haven't embraced it, you have missed hearing the Word of God speak to you.  Why would you ever want to miss out on that glorious experience?  I urge you to open your Bible and start reading it again, or for the very first time.  Go to it with an open heart and an open mind and pray for wisdom (James 1:3) and God will hear your prayer and allow you to start on another beautiful journey!

But today we  must look back!  We've covered a lot of ground over our 2,185 miles!  If you'll remember, the verses have been grouped into several different categories.  We started out with the Bible's Fantastic Four, went on The Roman Road of Salvation, learned of The Word of God and Prayer, Inner Peace and Security, Worship and Thanksgiving, had 10 Verses to Stand On, viewed Holiness by Obeying God's Commands and Fullness by allowing the Holy Spirit to Rule in our , Lives, gained Joy through God's Kind of Happiness, increased Faith by Trusting God and Resting in His Word, heard The Great Commission of proclaiming Jesus, rested in the 23rd Psalm, and concluded with the Alpha and Omega, remembering the first and envisioning the second coming of Christ.

This last verse is one of my very favorites that when I first heard it, I almost gasped in wonder that God's eye had found me!  It is a beautiful picture of our loving God, keeping His watchful eye on everyone on this planet earth.  I'm choosing it to end with because I want to encourage each one of us to be the person that this verse describes:

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His."  2 Chronicles 16:9

My heart has not always been completely His, but as of today, as of this morning, as of this moment, I give my heart to Him so completely.  He has me!  He can do what He wills in my life and I am content.  My trust is in Him.

Because of those things...He promises me to show Himself strong to me.  I have no need to fear, for He is with me, always.  He will strengthen me when I am weak, and He will lift me up when I fall down.

Oh what a God we serve!  What a marvelous Book He has given us.  Let's spend a few days camping out at this last stop, and then....let's see where God takes us next!

In His Amazing Love!!

Janice




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