1. G90X has been amazing. I know that it’s a TON of reading each day, but reading the Bible through this fast has made it undeniable that God’s sovereignty and power are unstoppable. I have never been more aware of His GOODNESS and PATIENCE with mankind as I am right now. I’d love to hear about what you’re learning, too.

2. I hate Vimeo. Well, actually, I love Vimeo because they make it possible to host the weekly teachings, but their upload speeds are ridiculously slow.  Believe it or not, but the video from this past week has apparently been uploading for OVER TWENTY FOUR HOURS!!!  It’s worth it, though, because the teaching God downloaded to all of us about Samson and new hair was amazing.

3. I’m so thankful to pastor THE BEST CHURCH AROUND. Not only am I writing this update from Charleston while I enjoy a quick pastor appreciation getaway with The B99, but I get the FREEDOM each week to share honestly and passionately the TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD. I never fear how you will react, because I know that The Gathering is made up of poeple JUST AS HUNGRY FOR TRUTH as I am.

4. It’s always so humbling to see the SPIRIT OF GOD DRAWING people to Jesus, and Sunday was one of the best ones yet as 8 people responded to the strong message that no matter what we’ve done in our lives to mess up our destinies, God is able to restore us to positions where we can BRING HIM GLORY.

5. The takeaway from Sunday for me? IT’S TIME TO STOP ASKING GOD TO MAKE OUR LIVES BETTER, AND TO START ASKING HIM TO MAKE OUR LIVES COUNT.

6. Whatever it takes, get to a Community Group this Wednesday. You need the people there and they need you. Dig deeper. You can find directions and more info at The Gathering’s website.

DAY THIRTY (No reading today)

So, the plan on our church’s website (thegatheringnow.com) calls for reading today, but since I’m following along with the 90 day plan at YouVersion and it has a catch up day on Day 30, I’m not reading anything in the plan today. It’s a well placed break that I will adjust our plan to include next time.

DAY TWENTY-NINE (1 Chronicles 1 – 9)

So, Chronicles is appropriately named, because the first 7 chapters are basically just one long list of names. Overload!!!

I never realized that Saul was a descendant of Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8). I’m not sure if it’s important, but I noticed it for the first time.

I am so impressed with the loyalty, dependability, and responsibility of the gatekeepers in 1 Chronicles 9:22-32.

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT (2 Kings 15:27 – 2 Kings 25)

In light of how careful we are with financial reporting and integrity today, it was interesting to read 2 Kings 22:7. There is an element of giving to God that takes its hands off the control of the gift.

Josiah was thorough in his clean up of the false gods. (2 Kings 23:6, 25)

2 Kings 25 was sad to read after having so recently read of the building of the temple and the strong glory of God that had surrounded it.  It must have been so hard to have lived through its destruction.

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN (2 Kings 4:38 – 2 Kings 15:26)

Nearing the end of the first month, and I’m finding the need to blitz through the readings to be a more frequent occurrence!  This was another one of those days when I had no notes.

DAY TWENTY-SIX (1 Kings 16:21 – 2 Kings 4:37)

Of all the things that stood out to me, the one that I couldn’t shake was how often Jeroboam was referred to in a negative way. Over and over again, he was mentioned in 1 Kings 16 as a kind of touchstone of evil. I do not want to leave this kind of legacy.

2 Kings 2:10 – My guess is that Elisha stuck very closely to Elijah. I know I wouldn’t have let him out of my sight.

Baldness was not a good thing and neither was making fun of it! (2 Kings 2:23)

God provided for more than just what she needed to get out of debt. He provided for her daily needs beyond that, too. (2 Kings 4:7)

DAY TWENTY-FIVE (1 Kings 7:38 – 1 Kings 16:20)

Sometimes it takes being in the land of our enemies in order for us to turn back to God (1 Kings 8:48).  Wish we didn’t have to learn the hard way, but it seems to be embedded in our sinful nature.

1 Kings 10:1 – Don’t be surprised when others test what they see of God in you.

I want God’s blessings in my life to amaze others and draw them to Him. (1 Kings 10:5-9)

The beginning of the end for the wisest man that ever lived. (1 Kings 11:1-2)

Reading 1 Kings 12:28 felt like a repeat because it was (compare it to Exodus 32:4).  Man, we are slow to learn and quick to repeat.

1 Kings 13:17-19 – an interesting story that shows how critical discernment and confirmation is.  God will not speak a different word through others than the one He spoke to you.

1 Kings 16 is sad in the number of times Jeroboam is referred to as a type of barometer of bad leaders.  Not the legacy you want to leave.

DAY TWENTY-FOUR (2 Samuel 22:19 – 1 Kings 7:37)

How comforting to know that God “brightens the darkness around me!” (2 Samuel 22:29)

Love the testosterone and manliness of 2 Samuel 23!  Amazed that Eleazar fought so long that his hand literally stuck to the handle of his sword. Wow!

The whole counting of Israel (2 Samuel 24) and how God punished David for doing it will always baffle me. I’m not afraid to admit it.

It’s interesting to note that in 1 Kings 2:12, Solomon was in firm control of the kingdom, but after weeding out the potential dangers, verse 46 says that he was in full control.  Probably an interesting lesson in there for leaders.

If you were going to have 2 pillars in your life, the 2 mentioned in 1 Kings 7:21 would be good ones.

DAY TWENTY-THREE (2 Samuel 12:11 – 2 Samuel 22:18)

I’ve got nothing.  It was another blitz day and I didn’t take the time to make notes about anything I read.  These are the days when I trust that God’s word doesn’t return void, even from the personal reading of it.  There are plenty of meals that I’ve eaten in my lifetime that were less than memorable, but they all contributed to me staying alive.  Sometimes reading the Bible is just like that.

DAY TWENTY-TWO (1 Samuel 28:20 – 2 Samuel 12:10)

It dawned on me as I read 1 Samuel31:5 that if armor-bearers typically were killed if the king they bore the armor for dies in battle, then David would have died here.  Makes me wonder if, when David heard about this, he had one of those “so THAT’S why a got held up by the train” moments.  Interesting to look back and see how God has used even the negative circumstances in our lives to protect us from what was coming.

Twice – once in 2 Samuel 1:1-16 and again in 2 Samuel 14 – someone tried to impress the King with what they thought was good news and they ended up dead.  Discernment, discernment, discernment.  Something I need more of.

God is pretty creative.  2 Samuel 5:24 reveals another pretty strange sign of victory: the sound of marching in the tops of the trees.