The New Year and Bible Reading

Okay, it’s about to be a brand new year. And with that comes the time for the annual New Year Resolutions. We’ll dispense with all the fluff and statistics about resolutions and get straight to the point.

And the point is if you make a New Year Resolution – focus.

So should an Christian deal with a New Year Resolution? My thought, absolutely. Why not give your Christian walk a little more pinpointed motivation?

Now, of course there are a myriad of resolutions that a Christian could make – better church attendance, more fellowship, healthier lifestyle – but one of the most important should be Bible reading. And that centers on a good Bible Reading Plan. If you resolve to read more of the Bible in 2014, a haphazard approach will not work. Find a plan you like and focus on it everyday.

Here’s a few suggestions. (BTW, if you do an internet search for “Bible Reading Plans,” you likely receive 13 million hits.)

BibleStudyTools.com has a list of 17 plans - http://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan/ - all categorized and themed. Pick one and get busy.

Ligonier Ministries has a similar list that includes PDF downloads. Go here http://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/.

About.com Christianity has a nice selection of plans, a couple of which are different from the usual - http://christianity.about.com/od/biblereadingplans/tp/topbiblereadpla.htm.

Look these over and if you find one you like, get at it.

Or…

You can create your own. How? Well, if you got by sixth grade math, figure this. There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament and 260 in the New Testament for a total of 1189. With 365 days in the year 2014 that’s 3.25753424 chapters per day. How easy is that?

 

Let’s get to it. Our country needs a little more Bible reading and a little less TV viewing.

 

 

 

The Most Arrogant Man in America

… and he's conservative.

About a week ago on Bill O'Reilly's Factor, found on Fox News, Fox contributor Bernie Goldberg made a statement that can fairly be classified as the most arrogant I have ever heard – at least out loud on television. It's these type of statements that one might conjure up within the comfort and privacy of his pea-sized brain, but would never be so dumb as to actually say it with enough volume that others could actually here.

Here's the scenario. During a debate with Howard Kurtz concerning the A&E/Phil Robertson debacle, Goldberg made the statement, “The earth is 4.2 billion years old. I don't care what the Bible says; I don't what Jesus says; I don't care what God says.” He went on to make a couple more statements about how the Bible is ignorant which only further demonstrates the point here.

A torrid stream of comments about Mr. Goldberg and his thought process is not worth the effort at this time. Suffice it to say that in ten short seconds he demonstrated exactly what is wrong with America today.

Thank you for your substantiation, albeit unintentional, Mr. Goldberg.

Worthy Publishing was kind enough to send us this book for review. But, since my wife is a certified nutritionist, she took over the task of reviewing Food Triggers. She blogs regularly at New Creations Ministries on faith, food and its relationship to the Christian life. The link is here http://newcreationsministries.wordpress.com/.

In a world that seems to be obsessed with weight loss and dietary plans, self-help and personal assistance books are in great supply. Food Triggers adds to the mix. But, at the same time, Food Triggers, * End Your Cravings* Eat Well and Live Better, is a breath of fresh air. It provides both knowledge and inspiration in the “dietary wars.”

What is especially inspirational about Food Triggers is that it has integrity. Author Rhona Epstein, Psy.D, is an extremely accomplished woman. She is a licensed psychologist, certified addictions counselor and marriage and family therapist with a doctorate in clinical psychology. Yet, despite the impressive credentials, she still faced a private demon. Her extremely open and realistic perspective in confronting and conquering an eating addiction, is all part of the credibility of her book. In Food Triggers, she lays out practical pathways in well thought out form, to overcome them.

Interspersed with Christian values and Biblical verses, it is sensibly written using intelligent applications to which anyone can adhere. For example, using case composites of her many patients, we learn that  it is not simply a matter of willpower as many believe. Additional emotional and physiological challenges factor into the equation. She lays out how the mind-body connection affects our actions.

Dr. Epstein addresses how one’s relationships, internal beliefs, lack of pre-planning and brain chemistry among others, affects food triggers and how one retrains beliefs in order to take care of our bodily temple.

Food Triggers touches on what addicts relate to most and is a must for anyone who struggles with food addiction. It’s a refreshing perspective on instituting eating self-control in one’s life.