We’re moving forward in being Wonderstruck by Scripture in The 40-Day Bible Reading Challenge. As I’ve been reading this week, I’ve been wonderstruck by the number of cray, cray, or crazytown stories in the Bible. [Tweet this] I’ve read them before, but every so often I find myself awestruck again. Did you notice any? I was taken back again by a few of these:
In 2 Samuel 20 where Joab gets his pirate on and punctures Amasa with a sword. Guts spill to the ground. Double ew!
Or 2 Samuel 24, where God feels the pain of the terror of the 70,000 people who die from an epidemic and tells the angel, “Enough’s enough! Pull back!”
Or that trickster holy man in 1 Kings 13.
Or Zarephath, the owner of the original Biscuitville (1 Kings 16).
Or that crazy gourd story (2 Kings 4).
To continue reading, pick up a copy of Flourish: Live Loved, Live Fearless, Live Free, a 52-week devotional with coloring pages sprinkled throughout.
What would a flourishing life look like for you? Take a moment and imagine…
Instead of surviving your days, you savor each moment. You pour into the lives of others, and it’s a joy, not a chore. And every hour, you are deeply, dazzling aware of God’s love and presence.
God intends this flourishing life for you. And it can start today.
How over and over again they proclaim that God is good and His love never quits…the people saw God do miraculous things for them….but they also saw God discipline too…and his severe mercy…but through these times of testing…disciplining…they sang…they declared God’s goodness…they had a knowing…a right lens to filter/interpret God’s ways of interacting in their life…how quickly we rejoice when we see God moving in ways we like…but suffering…mystery…how quickly we question His character. Reading these stories…prophets of old…deepens my desire to continue to grow in intimacy with God…Holy reverence…but Holy boldness….
Ro, love seeing how God is revealing himself to you!
I too have been struck how over and over it says, “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.” Over and over.
Elisa, love it!
Yes, Margaret, so true. This is borderline bizzarro. The greatest story ever told may just crack the list of the strangest stories ever told. I remember writing a term paper on the gourd incident twenty years ago. Hours of pondering and it still left me scratching my head. I’m still startled by the oddness.
For myself, I was surprised by the difference between Kings and Chronicles. Kings is black and white. Israel is a steady beat of wickedness. Not one good king in the bunch. Judah is a roller coaster with ups and downs – the bad kings outnumber the good kings, but the length of their reigns is weighted to the good kings. God is blessing his people with many years of good leadership. The Davidic line is intact, not only in seed, but in blessing.
Chronicles is more nuanced. The roller coaster is not just from one king to the next, but within the reign of one king. Some kings start good and end bad, others take taht same path in the opposite direction. The book could end with the overthrow of the nation, but instead it ends with the edict of king Cyrus. Even after repeated displays of faithlessness by his people, God is faithful. He can’t be anything less.
Love this, Phil. Love this…it’s so true…love that “God is faithful–He can’t be anything less.” Reading through the Bible is melting my heart anew….
Glad you saw this. I noticed a difference between Kings and Chronicles too. It seemed to me that Kings seemed to highlight the ups and downs of the leaders, which Chronicles did too. But Chronicles seemed to add an element of the people’s hearts as well. Kind of like a notebook describing how it takes more than just godly leaders and the destruction of high places to make a holy nation. The people have to have a heart for it
Hi sister, I LOVED telling 400 women about your new book this weekend!! It has inspired me so much. Thank you for your precious ministry and surrendered heart.
Blessings,
Pat
Pat, so thrilled that you had the opportunity to share it!
My call to simple obedience was/is to read the portion of the Bible for today before getting busy with all the other things to do in a day.
Good stuff. It’s not healthy or helpful to hope for confetti and applause for simply living as God has designed and declared we should live.
And yet… teaching my kids to do the right thing–just because–involves quite a bit of high fives and over-the-top praising. This is how I encourage in their minds an association between virtue and joy. I think God does this too.
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