Genesis

I've started a reading plan that takes you through the entire Bible in just 90 days. Initially, this was a really intimidating task, but just a few days in to it and it seems much more achievable. I plan to journal on my reading after every book and I will share some of that journal here for your reading pleasure. These posts should come every few days, so I likely won't have much else to post during this time.

So here it is, the beginning:

These are the stories of men who walked closely with God. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph all had deep relationships with God that determined the course of their lives. They were all distincly human as well. Each of these men had trouble living out their devotion to God and often gave in to the pressures of others, of fear, of pride. Abraham feared the Philistines and lied that Sarah was his sister. Isaac did the same with Rebekah. Jacob deceived Esau, obsessed over Rachel and deceived Laban. Joseph hid his identity from his brothers and treated them unjustly. But these actions are clearly not the things that defined these men. Abraham followed God's guidance all over the region. He received his blessing from God in Isaac, but he was willing to sacrifice Isaac for the Lord. Isaac loved his family and followed God's guidance. Jacob followed God's guidance, settled disputes justly, and blessed his sons. Joseph suffered greatly at the hands of others but stayed close to God all along, even responding to them with love. He served the Lord greatly in Egypt and God used him to provide for the world during the famine.

In this book, I see what it is like to be a man of God. I see myself in Abraham. I see myself in Isaac. I see myself in Jacob and in Joseph. Their stories are mine as well. I see my brokenness beside His providence and my antagonistic will beside His perfect will. No matter how many times I am unfaithful to God, He always remains faithful to me. Even from this beginning, God's same Truth has remained. He does not require perfection of me, He only wants devotion. So I must remain devoted to Him. I will be His people and He will be my God.