I hope as I write this that those of you who have accepted the challenge are up to date, or at least close, on your readings in the challenge! It was my desire and prayer for us to start the challenge as part of our 2016 Lenten discipline and to continue through the celebration of the Resurrection and now here we are with summer knocking at our door.
I want to encourage each of you to continue to read and study the bible through the challenge this summer. So many times I hear from people, “what am I going to read this summer while I have time on vacation” … simple answer, the bible! This will be the perfect time to get caught up, or to start the challenge. I must admit, once again, I am behind, but looking forward to catching up over a couple of road trips that Natalie and I have planned this summer.
We need to continuously prepare our hearts and minds for the ministries within our church. The better we prepare ourselves, the more we put into our personal spiritual life, the more enriched our experience will be. We should not be just sitting and waiting, we need to put on the whole armor of God and we must be prepared for what God has in store for us at St. Thomas. The Bible Challenge should be part of that armor, we need to write the word of God in our hearts and in our minds each day.
If you are behind, I pray that you will use these summer months to begin to catch up. If you have not started, there is no better time than today! Books take us on great journeys through our minds eye, and I assure you the Bible is no different. As we read and meditate, we can see the chapters and lives of those in the Bible come to life in our minds …. There can be no greater journey!
-Mike Brady