My Greatest Passion

“My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure.” Psalm 71:15

I am reading through the Chronological Bible published by Tyndale Publishers for the tenth time in ten years. It has been, without a doubt, the single most important tool I have used in my daily walk with Christ since I first started reading it in 1998. I had always stayed away from those Bible books that were too difficult even to pronounce hidden in the back of my Old Testament. You know the ones–Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Malachi. Books like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah scared me in their lengthiness. These all are books of prophecy. Without a seminary degree and, frankly, no desire to know what they were about, I skipped reading them for the more familiar books like Psalms, Proverbs, Genesis, and the four gospel accounts in the New Testament. I have since realized that ignoring any part of the Word of God is to be without the full counsel of the Word of God.

The Chronological Bible laid out Scripture like a history book. What I mean is that January 1st had me reading about creation in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. But the reading on January 10th took me to the story of Job, the man who lost all his worldly wealth, children, and his once peaceful life to utter despair and chaos all in one day. After reading the entire book of Job over the next eight days, my Bible had me return to the story of Abraham back in Genesis. In other words, the Chronological Bible opened my eyes to the order of chronological events of Scripture. I was able to see how those tucked-away books of prophecy I once avoided came into play in the light of the whole story of the Old Testament. I am a lover of history, so I am forever hooked on this layout of Scripture in the Chronological Bible.

I will confess, I cannot get enough of Scripture. I was a thirsty, despairing woman at the end of her rope when I started my love affair with God’s Word in 1998. I was a burned-out, disillusioned pastor’s/missionary kid/new mom of two kids 13 months apart who desperately wanted to find the Jesus my parents had always lived out in front of me but couldn’t seem to get what I was missing. My husband brought home the Chronological Bible, I gave God my children’s nap-time to study His Word, and I started finding Who I was looking for in His Word.

For those books that intimidated me, I would say, “Lord, give me Your wisdom. I don’t understand this.” He would. I started referring to commentaries and doing Bible study under wonderful, anointed teachers like Beth Moore. I found that He began to open up mysteries that I had never understood before. If He can do this for me, He can do it for anyone who wants the same.

It is now my greatest passion to share with others what Christ has done for me. I have uncovered treasure that can only be found in the pages of my Bible. I don’t belong to an exclusive club. All He wants is a heart that is seeking Him. Listen to what He promises to you and me:

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:13-14

Jesus, You are my greatest passion. What You have done in my life is nothing short of miraculous. Thank You for showing Yourself and helping me find You. I love You more than anyone/thing in this life.