I'm baa-aack!

Whew! The 40 day (technically 40+ day) Bible feast/fast from recreational reading, apparantly turned into a fast from blog writing as well! Unintentional, but I'll share more on that in a post I'm working on related to my experience with the feast.

In the meantime...I'm grateful to Jen for keeping things going with the blog. It was so encouraging to read (now that I'm rec reading again) how God used this experience with her. The thing that struck me most, was the apprehension she felt about diving into the Word. I am so praising God that He showed Himself faithful and that His love shone through His Words. At times, I, too, have been afraid to see what God has to say on a particular matter. Sometimes, it's kept me from looking into His Word when I have a question or am seeking guidance. But, thanks to some great wisdom, from a sista-friend, I am learning that this is an attack from the enemy. For God does seek to correct us, but it is always with love. He NEVER seeks to condemn us. Hmmm...maybe this is a topic for a future post?

I wonder, too, how many of us refrain from reading God's Word because we are either afraid of what He will say or because we assume we already know what He has to say. I've fallen into the assumption trap as well - especially when I was an athiest. My biggest mistake was assuming that because I had attended church as a child and knew a number of Bible stories, that I knew what God was all about and what was in the Bible. What a wake up call it was when I actually read His Word for the first time! Yes, there are some things in His Word that make me squirm.

But growing us to be like Him isn't supposed to be a comfortable experience...He demonstrated this for us when He took the flogging, mocking and nails for us on the cross (probably why we get the word, "excruciating" from the crucifixion experience). And, if we remember the end goal - to make us perfect in Him because He loves us, well, that makes it all the more worth it. I still need to be on guard against assuming I know what's in His Word. Thankfully, it is written and He bestowed His wisdom upon His servants to create things like a concordance!

Now back to what I really had intendend to write about before the Spirit took hold of me :)...

I wanted to share this link to Angie Smith's post - it's about the best insight into the whole point of Easter that I've come across in a while.

Praying we all know the depth of love that holds us together,
Andrea