The Power of Reading the Bible and Journaling
This blog looks at the power of reading the Bible and journaling, discussing how it can change one's life. It examines the two responses to Jesus that we can have, and how the story of the sinful woman shows this.
Brent Beshore
@PermanentEquity // @CapitalCamp // @MainStSummit // Author of "The Messy Marketplace" // Former atheist who now follows Jesus
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18 months ago I asked a wise older man for the #1 piece of advice he would give his 30 year old self. He said:
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 3, 2023
"Read the Bible every day, then journal what you should know, who you should be, and what you should do based on what you read. It will change your life."
I thanked… pic.twitter.com/lc5cfCmsJY -
Judges 19-21; Luke 7:31-50 – Know: Wisdom is justified by all her children. The story of the sinful woman shows the two responses to Jesus that I can have. The Pharisees were considered the wisest and focused on right behavior, and yet their hearts were far from God. They could…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 3, 2023 -
Ruth 1-4; Luke 8:1-25 – Know: To be free is to be fully known and fully loved, with nothing to fear and nothing to hide. That is life and life abundant! We are looking for an unfailing love that is independent of utility and accepting of our faults. It is a love that is steadfast…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 4, 2023 -
1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 8:26-56 – Know: Jesus didn’t come for the cleaned up, well put together, successful, and healthy. Jesus came for those who see their own faults and failures and want to be healed. Jesus is willing and able. Am I? Do I see myself as the mask I too often wear –…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 5, 2023 -
1 Samuel 4-6; Luke 9:1-17 – Know: God’s sovereignty extends far beyond human capacity to understand. An infinite creator who stands outside of time couldn’t be known fully by the creation. Like the disciples, we are stewards on behalf of God, reliant on him for provision and care…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 6, 2023 -
1 Samuel 7-9; Luke 9:18-36 — Know: Every day there is a choice to be made with the free will I have been given. Do I surrender to God’s will and God’s way, and take up my cross? Or, do I work to build my small kingdom? This has always been the choice. Stay in the garden, or try…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 7, 2023 -
1 Samuel 10-12; Luke 9:37-62 – Know: Today is a day of darkness and lament, in-between the tragedy of the Cross and the joy of resurrection. It is a day of longing for what was and of mourning for what had been. Hope has been lost. It is a day to reflect on brokenness. This world…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 8, 2023 -
1 Samuel 13-14; Luke 10:1-24 – Know: Circumstances always present opportunity. In tough times, am I willing to wait on the Lord, rely upon his provision, and trust in his care, or do I take matters into my own hands, relying on my strength and judgment? In good times, do I fall…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 9, 2023 -
1 Samuel 15-16; Luke 10:25-42 – Know: “Go and do likewise” is the basis of following Jesus. Like Martha, I’m tempted by religion – to earn my relationship with God, to prove myself and do good works out of a desire to gain favor and acceptance. Religion says, “Do this list of…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 10, 2023 -
1 Samuel 17-18; Luke 11:1-28 – Know: God is my heavenly father, with abounding and perfect love for me. He loves me now, as I am in all of my faults and failures. I can come to Him in simplicity because I’m not earning, but receiving. What I ask for isn’t out of getting what I’m…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 11, 2023 -
1 Samuel 19-21; Luke 11:29-54 – Know: I can operate with God or without. I can surrender and let the Lord fill me with His Spirit of patience, gentleness, wisdom, and self-control, or I can operate under my own strength. Without God, I am finite and fearful, self-concerned and…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 12, 2023 -
1 Samuel 22-24; Luke 12:1-31 – Know: I have a choice to fear God, or to fear everything else. Fearing and reverence go hand-in-hand. If I fear someone, they have power over my life. There’s some authority they can assert that I worry will be used against my desires. God’s…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 13, 2023 -
1 Samuel 25-26; Luke 12:32-59 – Know: I am a steward, not an owner. God provides me time, talents, and resources to grow the garden, to build the kingdom. Even my body is not mine, knitted together in my mother’s womb and was bought for a price. I am called to steward the…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) April 14, 2023 -
1 Chronicles 7-9; John 6:22-44 – Know: No one can come to Jesus, except if called by God. So, no man can boast. It is not my job, or anyone else’s, to bring someone to Jesus. All I can do is point to the one who rescued me and tell them what he has done for me. I can only make…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) May 19, 2023 -
2 Chronicles 4-6; John 10:24-42 – Know: God desperately wants to dwell amongst his people. This communion was shattered in the Garden, restored intermittently through the prophets and kings, and became an unending reality in Jesus. I hear Jesus’s voice. It is powerful and gentle,…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) May 28, 2023 -
2 Chronicles 21-22; John 14 – Know: Jesus is the ancient path, the good way of Jeremiah 6:16. In Jesus, we see the very heart of God, and it is good. God loves us, is full of grace and mercy, and it pleases him to give us good desires. Through the eyes of Jesus, the world becomes…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) June 4, 2023 -
Ezra 1-2; John 19:23-42 – Know: Jesus became all as a substitute for all we need. He became human to save humanity. He became righteousness to give us that which we couldn’t earn. He became captive for our freedom. He became thirst to take away ours. He became broken for our…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) June 11, 2023 -
Nehemiah 10-11; Acts 4:1-22 — Know: A great sign is done. A well know disabled man is healed. There should be rejoicing and there is. But, among the most educated and most religious is it cause for concern. The facts don’t fit the storyline that benefits them, even if it is…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) June 19, 2023 -
Nehemiah 12-13; Acts 4:23-37 – Know: The believers’ prayer is a picture of genuine faith and the way followers of Jesus should see the world. We should pray for God’s good work to be done through His people for the good of his people and for God’s glory. We should be bold and…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) June 19, 2023 -
Esther 3-5; Acts 5:22-42 – Know: There is no secular/sacred divide. Every person is placed by God in a particular time and place, and like Esther, a time and place such as this. We’re called to do our work, serve our friends and family, and build our communities, knowing that…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) June 22, 2023 -
Esther 9-10; Acts 7:1-21 – Know: It’s important to mark and remember the work God has done. Like the Israelites taken out of slavery, saved from an advancing army through the Red Sea, and provided food and water daily, we are quick to forget, stray, and complain. The end of…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) June 23, 2023 -
Job 5-7; Acts 8:1-25 – Know: As followers of Jesus, we’re called to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). In rejoicing we are not envious, because we know that God’s gifts are given according to his purposes, each of us receives differently,…
— Brent Beshore (@BrentBeshore) June 26, 2023