For those of you who weren’t able to keep up with the pace, or still have a few days to go, don’t beat yourself up.  Keep reading.  It’s not about finishing a project.  It’s about the continual process of knowing Jesus.

For those of you who finished, don’t check Bible reading off your to-do list and lose your momentum.  We’ve put together a transitional reading plan that will help you get on a much slower paced, much more moderate track to consuming God’s Word daily.  You can access it here.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this project worldwide.
We’re living in incredible times to leverage the power of technology for the purpose of the Word of God.

Let’s make the most of it.

The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord stands forever.
-1 Peter 1:24-25

This verse helps me think about repentance in a brand new light.
Many people associate the word repent with groveling and feeling really, really, really bad about what you’ve done.

No doubt, the heart of repentance is humility.  We can’t truly repent if we aren’t grieved by our sin in the light of God’s grace.

But when John commands the church at Ephesus to repent, he doesn’t call them into a place of shame and guilt.  Instead, he tells them to remember the height from which they have fallen.  And to get back to that place through genuine, Biblical repentance.

To me, that’s the essence of repentance.
Re=back
Pent=top

To repent means to get back to the top.  Back to God’s perspective.  His ways.  His truth.

There’s a time to kneel and bow down in repentance.
But there’s also a time to rise up, move forward, and get back to your rightful place in God.

Most of us normally associate grace with weakness.
In fact, a lot of times, grace is portrayed as a sort of sheen to cover our shortcomings.

So we access God’s grace to cover our mistakes, sins, and failures.

But Paul tells Timothy to be strong in the grace of Jesus.

The grace of God is not a commodity just to cover our weakness.
It is power to change our lives.

Be strong in the grace!

Most of us give up on God too easily.

Martha was very frustrated with Jesus.  Her situation was hopeless.  Her brother, Lazarus, had been dead four days.  It doesn’t get much worse than that.

But there was something about Martha that didn’t allow her confusion and despair to overwhelm her faith.

Even now…she insisted, I believe in your power to resurrect the dead.

It’s one thing to trust in God when your situation is on life support.  It’s another thing to trust God when your dream is dead and in the ground.

Maybe a relationship in your life just fell apart.
Maybe you lost your job last year.
Maybe you’ve made some terrible mistakes that have cost you a lot of time and opportunity.

But it’s not over as long as Jesus is on the scene.

Even now He can restore your relationships.
Even now He can supply all your needs.
Even now He can forgive you and make you whole.

Trust Him, believe Him, hope in Him…
Even now!

For example, if you only study certain parts of the New Testament, you could find ample support for the position that since we are saved through grace alone, our own works mean nothing.  And that’s true in the context of our salvation and right standing before God.

However, if you only study other parts of the Bible, you could come to the conclusion that if there are no works to accompany our profession of salvation, we aren’t truly saved.  And that’s true too-in the context of our response to the grace of Jesus.

I guess what I’m trying to say is-when you really read the Bible, and consider some of the theological extremes that divide people in the body of Christ, you discover that they’re both in the Bible.

The sovereignty of God…
and the free will of man.
They’re both in the Bible.

God’s promise to prosper and bless His children…
and the certainty of hardship and suffering in the life of a believer.
They’re both in the Bible.

The mandate to preach the Gospel…
and the responsibility to care for the poor.
They’re both in the Bible.

The body of Christ would be so much more united and the people of God would be so much better equipped for life if we’d read the whole Word of God with humble hearts and open minds.

To appreciate Paul’s point here, we have to clarify something first:

How did you initially receive Christ Jesus as Lord?
By working hard? By doing good? Getting it right? Hitting your mark?

Of course not. You didn’t achieve Him as Lord.
You received Him as Lord.
By grace.

Paul says:
The same way you received Him initially-by grace-
is the way you’re supposed to live continually from day to day.

Many people freely receive the forgiveness of Jesus at the point of salvation, then spend the rest of their lives trying to pay God back.
Like: “Thanks for the jumpstart of grace, God. I’ve got it from here.”

Stop trying to achieve His love, blessings, and favor through ridiculous, frantic, fleshly, performance based self-righteous rigmarole.

Continue to live in Him the same way you started your life in Christ.
Receive it. By grace.