Facebook Question: How do we prepare for the Lord's return? Can we hasten His return?

Recently I have started asking some questions on facebook, partly because I want to know how my friends on Facebook think / feel about some things, and partly to see how much of the Word of God and the ministry gets into us and becomes part of our constitution. We read the Bible, we live a daily life under the divine dispensing, and we do our best to enjoy the Lord both personally and corporately. And from time to time, whether through people around us or in the church life, there are some of these questions being asked - how do we answer them? Here are some of the previous questions which were posted online:

1. What would be your prayer to the Lord for the new year 2012?
2. What do you love the most in the home meetings of the church?

And now, here's another question I asked my friends on Facebook: 

HOW do we prepare for the Lord's return? He wants to return, but He's waiting for us to be prepared - how do we / you prepare for the Lord's return? How do we hasten His return? 

And here are some of their answers :) 

• Brother, I would do my best to share the Gospel of Jesus... As much we do this, His return would be closer. Amen!
• I've just read something like this, "All of our hope rests in the coming of our Lord. When He comes, all problems will be solved. Instead of focusing on problems, we can turn our eyes upon Jesus (Hebrews 12:2). He has already taken care of the problem of sin and today we can receive Him as our Saviour and as our new life. To do so, simply open your heart to the Lord and pray: “Lord Jesus Christ, I need you to solve all my problems. Thank You for dying to save me. I open to receive You as my new life. Lord Jesus, come quickly!”
• The Lord is waiting for His Bride to be prepared. The Bride is a matter of love. We must love the Lord, our dear, lovely Bridegroom with all our heart, and all our mind, and all our soul and all our strength. We must tell Him a thousand times a day: Lord Jesus, I LOVE YOU! I still love You. I love You more today than yesterday and not as much as tomorrow. Lord keep me in this bridal love for You all the days of my life. When we love the Lord, His heart is duplicated in us, and we long and yearn for His coming, and our entire life becomes geared toward this. Eventually, we become the Shulamite and then the Bridegroom will return! (Also, check out hymn 1159.) 
• A very good question, brother. Our sister answered for us already: the preparing is our living. We are preparing for His return through many experiences, just as the bride prepares for her wedding day. The garment must be readied, stitch by stitch beautified. But likewise, we need to ourselves be matured, for the Lord will come back to a bride who is "ready." If we are immature, the Lord cannot come back. The practical way, as our sister wrote well, is to have a loving and turning heart toward Him, to seek after His heart continually and to even live unto His appearing. This means a continual kind of living, allowing His heart to be our heart, and allowing Him to work in the inward and outward ways to make us more ready. This also would involve our personal prayer for this regard: "Lord, make me ready."
• preaching the Gospel to all the nations....
• We prepare and hasten the Lord's return by lovingly being in the enjoyment of the Lord continually.
• We need to love Him and do things not for Him but with Him and through Him by telling to others about the One we love (Rev. 22:17 note 2) preaching the gospel requires also shepherding for His corporate expresion because He desires marry not a little girl but a Bride which will match Him.
• The 2 greatest prophecy in the Bible are in Matthew 16:18 which says "...I will build My Church, and Rev. 22:7...."behold I come quickly.." Untill the Church is built, the Lord will still tarry. The church is built directly by the Head Christ and indirectly thru the members of His Body. We are the members of His Body, and for us to build the Church as the Kingdom of God, the gates of hades must be shut. Three main gates of hades frustrating the building are: the self, the soul life and the mind. And if we shut these three gates by taking up the keys of denying the self, taking up the cross, and losing the soul life through exercising to always turn to the spirit, the church will be built and the coming of the Lord will be hastened
• Amen dear saints! Matthew 28:19-20
• That's right, we really don't know yet, because we need to depend on Him for He is the One who will make the way and make the preparation on His returned. We don't have the power to make our own plan for His coming back but He has! Praise Him...

It is so wonderful to have such friends on Facebook! We can pursue the Lord, remind one another about His Word and His life, speak His word and open up to Him, share songs and hymns, and even ask questions that remind us to turn to Him - even on Facebook! How Wonderful!

The Lord's desire is to return soon. When? We don't know - but He says, I am coming soon! Therefore, we need to be those faithful slaves who are giving food to others at the appointed time and manage things in God's house in faithfulness (while preparing for His return in the long-run) and at the same time we need to be the virgins who gain oil in their lamps, eagerly awaiting the return of their Bridegroom to enter with Him at the feast (see Matt. 25). ... 

This is NOT a comprehensive and all-inclusive answer, but the answers given by the above listing is quite good. What do YOU think? How can we prepare ourselves for the Lord's return? How can we hasten His coming? Leave a comment below...

Lord, prepare us! Lord, grow in us! Lord, gain us! Make us the overcomers You need that will bring You back! O, Lord, how we long to see You again and even hasten Your return! We give ourselves to You, dear Lord, that we may be prepared!

I've been busy these days - encouraged by many Christian Students on the campus

My apologies to all the readers of this blog, but these past few days and the next few days coming up I've been / will be very busy. Almost every night before going to bed I am thinking to update the blog, but there are some other things that recently came up. As many of you know, there are many Christian students on the campus all around the world, and here in London there's a bunch of them also :) so I've been helping with them, and there's the College Age Conference in Bower House coming up next weekend... Anyways, before getting into details, here's the picture for today - if you follow me on twitter and on instagr.am you will be up-to-date with the pictures I take and share :)

The Houses of Parliament - on the 5th of November 2011

Remember, remember, the 5th of November - on Guy Fawkes night here in the UK I went to see it with my own eyes, and it's true - the Houses of Parliament are STILL up and there was no blowing up! It's still a conspiracy ;) and V for Vendetta didn't take place. Anyways, that's a simple picture of the Houses of Parliament in London, UK, very close to Big Ben :) Read more about the Palace of Westminster, visiting the Houses of parliament, tourist information, etc.

Encouraged - the Christian Students on Campus, their testimonies

When you go to university that's when "life starts", or at least the part where you are FREE from your parents, you're on your own, and you can basically do whatever you want to do. But if you love the Lord and enjoy Him every day, even though you're free to do whatever you want to do, you still fellowship with the Lord about the little things, the big things, the invitations and words of your colleagues, the matter of having certain people as your friends, the relationships with the other students, the morality and ethics of the other students of professors... - there's so much to talk to the Lord about! And even more - you can enjoy the Lord with the other Christian students on campus! You can "flee youthful lusts and pursue" the Lord with those who call on Him out of a pure heart!

But as our experience tells us, our life is full of ups and downs, happiness and sadness, lots of failures, giving in to our friends, etc.... Also, university keeps people VERY busy, and the assignments, course study, essays, seminars, course work, etc... - so that even after classes are finished you need to stay up late at night to study... What's worse is seeing all the other students at the end of the week or at the end of the day going out, doing things, getting involved in things - and you may think, O, Lord, maybe it's OK to do this or that, or to go there with them... Or maybe you feel like, I have no time for the church life or meeting with the Christians on campus - I'm too busy with work, with the clubs I joined, the coursework, friends, etc... Well, along this line, a dear Christian student asked me this question,

How do we balance our Christian life / church life with our study life? How do we give the Lord the preeminence in all our studies?

I thought about it, and it really makes sense - is this possible? Should I take care of ONE, or the OTHER? Are they mutually exclusive? Does loving the Lord help or hinder your studies? Can I study without paying attention to the Lord, and when I finish university, I will come back to Him? - there are so many questions like these... - so I found some very good answers given by some dear Christian students on campus via, Being a Christian Student on the Campus (some of which I'm quoting below):

God, our education, and our character - We as human beings need to fulfill our duties. As students, we need to study and do our best while we can. However, we need to strike a balance between these two things. We cannot say that we only want to love the Lord and attend all the meetings but cast our studies aside. This is not right. On the other hand, we should not love education more than God. God must have the first place in our being.

Practically applying the Life-Giving Spirit to Our Lives - Recently, I’ve been learning to enjoy the Lord as the Life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). We’ve heard this many times, but so many times in my experiences I do not stand on this fact. I’ll wait until the Friday night home meeting to enjoy the Lord, or wait until some sister calls me to read the Word. But the Lord went through a marvelous process so that we can enjoy Him anywhere, anytime, and at any place. We can practically apply this through prayer – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tell us to “unceasingly pray”.

take care of the Lord first and make a schedule! If you give the Lord one hour, He will give you two hours back. Writing an essay is not a matter of ‘quantity’ of time, it’s a matter of ‘quality’. I’ve found that once I’ve enjoyed the Lord, my mind is calm and I’m able to sit down and actually get something done! If I start an essay without touching the Lord, it’s really like untangling a big ball of spaghetti!

Love the Lord and gain Him – there is no other way! Given the insurmountable workload, the constant stress, and the many “attractions” that university life has to offer, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that we have been called out of the world and into Him – we have been called to be a lover of Christ. To this, I have many a times fallen victim. Yet, the Lord is gracious. If we only turn back to Him (by reading His word, calling on His name, and touching Him in our spirit), He is faithful to be our daily moment-by-moment supply.

seeing our studying in the light of God’s economy - In Matthew 6:24 the Lord says “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Mammon is usually associated with wealth and riches, but as students our “mammon” can become our education. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God and live according to His purpose (Rom. 8:29). Therefore we should not be anxious but diligent to study and not neglect our love of the Lord Jesus.

enjoying the Lord and testifying Him! Throughout the years there have been many difficult situations both in university and in my personal life, but the Lord has been shepherding me to turn to Him, to just take Him as my All, my Person, the living One in my spirit. Through Christ in us we have access to the Father, and in Christ we lack nothing! He doesn’t “dispense virtues” to us – He dispenses His very Person into us and this wonderful One solves all the problems! My top enjoyment from my college years is learning to turn to the Lord and leaning on Him in everything, from small things to big things – practical things and things I’m going through inwardly.

[I hope YOU enjoy these testimonies - read them in full via, Being a Christian Student on the Campus - and leave me your comment below concerning the question above. How is it for YOU as a student / working saint / parent / child? How is YOUR enjoyment and experience of the Lord and the church life?]

what can I do to show my love for the Lord? (1 picture + 1 experience with the Lord)

The 30-day challenge is kind of phasing out, and more of a burden is coming in. There are days when it's simply not practical to write something on the blog because you are either too tired to do it or maybe you're too late in meetings with the saints, shepherding the new ones, or taking care of practical matters. It's not a "law" and I don't want to make it to be "do it every day or else...". I want to learn how to do things in life. Enjoy Christ as life, live Christ, and even while blogging - learn to enjoy Christ and express Him in the way of life! So today's portion is about a simple question... before that, here's,

1 Picture for today - Fish and Chips, Britain's Beloved Food :)

Sorry for the quality of the picture, and also for maybe mis-representing Britain's most beloved junk food / fast food, Fish and Chips! The name of the place and the location doesn't matter - almost every major street in London has at least one of these "Fish & Chips" places. Together with the donner and the fried chicken places these are the most popular fast food all-day open in Britain. I love the chips, but many times I think the fish is way too expensive for my budget... :)

1 Experience with the Lord Today - What can I do to show my love for the Lord?

Have you ever asked yourself this question? Or, have you asked yourself / the Lord this question today? The Lord loved us so much that He came and gave up His own life for us. Even more, He still loves us so much that no matter where we are and what we have done, no matter the condition we are in, we can always turn to Him and repent, confess, apply His precious blood, and we enjoy life! He is always shepherding us, always taking good care of us, always and continually imparting the divine life into us, and always interceding for us. Many times we don't see how much He is to us and how many things He does for us, but when the Lord shines on us and we see, then we realize His love for us....

I grew up in a Christian family and I read many biographies of the martyrs, the early Christians, the saints who went to preach the gospel in heathen lands, those who lived and died for the Lord, and about the ones who followed the Lord even unto death. It became clear to me that these ones loved the Lord so much and this was expressed in a practical way in their living.... The Cambridge Seven for example were rich, famous, smart, very talented, and also were Stars in England in their age. But they gave up everything and left it all - they all went to foreign countries as missionaries to preach the gospel and bring others to know the Lord. Others like Hudson Taylor left England to go to China to bring the Word of God to the Chinese people - out of love for the Lord...

What about me? What about us? What about the Christians today? Do we love the Lord only with our lips? Do we just say from the tip of our tongues, Lord Jesus I Love You!? Or... what do we do to show the Lord how much we love Him? What did these ones have that we today don't have? Why did they love the Lord so much and did such things for Him in their lifetime? Well, we may say that we can't really go to those foreign countries because of this or that; or maybe we don't have a burden or commission from God to go, etc... But how many times during a day do we just stop and tell the Lord how much we love Him, and how much we want to give Him some time to spend with Him to enjoy Him?!? And in our time with Him, isn't there something that He puts on our heart to do for Him?

You know, throughout the ages, thousands of heart treasures, golden futures, and precious lives were poured out upon the Lord Jesus - because these loving believers considered Him more precious than even their own life! I don't know about you, but when I read the Bible and when I read the biographies of these dear forerunners in the faith, I ask myself and I pray to the Lord, What about me, Lord? What great work do You want me to do for You, so that I would show You my love for You? I don't want to love You just in word, but also in my action, my living, my attitude, in the way I speak, and in the way I spend my time and my money! Lord, how practical are You to me, and how much do I show that I love You? Lord, before Your second coming, before You return to receive Your Bride, Your overcomers, how can I express my love for You and all that You are + have done for me?

... I don't want to go too far with this, and I don't want to stir up anyone or anything. But it all starts with our heart, it all starts with now - right now, whenever the Lord speaks something to us or when we have a break during the day and we turn to Him: we can give Him our time and allow Him to touch us in many practical ways... There are so many ways to show our love for Him! Love always finds a way to be expressed and be shown... Reading His Word, being faithful to be in the meetings of the church every week, praying for the saints and for the church, taking care of the young ones and the new ones, cooking for the saints, inviting some saints over for dinner, ministering to the saints, having scheduled times of prayer, pursuing the Lord with our companions, going out to preach the gospel, etc... To each one of us there's a capacity / a talant entrusted, and we CANNOT put it in a handkerchief + bury it in the ground!

Those who know their God have great searchings of heart and great resolutions of heart. They know their God and take action. Yes, it starts with the small personal things like spending private & intimate time with the Lord often and regularly.... - but it continues with practical expressions and actions, even a more thorough consecration to the Lord as the days go by. We can't just stay passive, and we can't do nothing! Lord, right now, as I turn to You and I finish this article, what do You think - what can I do to show You how much I love You???

It is worthwhile to waste your life and your time on the Lord (1picture + 1 experience with the Lord today) 30-day challenge

Especially at the end of the week, when everyone on Friday night wants to go out and party, I ask myself the same question again and again, Is this Worthwhile? Is it really worthwhile to waste my time and my energy on the Lord and on the church life? - or should I just "slide along" and drift along the current that sweeps everyone... or maybe just stay at home and catch up with some work, some rest... At least until now, as far as I see it and the Lord allows it / shows me concerning this, I think it is definitely worthwhile to waste my life and my time on the Lord. And I hope He will continue to strengthen this vision in each of His believers - His worth, His preciousness, His excellence, is so much more precious and worthwhile than anything or anyone else can offer...

1 Picture for today - The Corner Cottage, somewhere in Coventry

This is the Corner Cottage somewhere in Coventry. Very close to the campus. Some saints live there. They open their home for the visiting saints and for the students. This home has lots of bedrooms and a nice backyard, great for children to play. What really is nice about this house is the open heart and open fridge the saints have for the new ones, the students, the saints, everyone! Many people live for themselves, and they care ONLY for themselves, but these saints do not really care that much for themselves. I have been recently touched with the high price some people pay to be open not only to the Lord personally but also to be open with all they have towards the other members of the Body...

1 Experience with the Lord Today - It is Worthwhile to Waste Your Life and Your Time on the Lord

In the Gospels we see this particular lady who listened to the Lord Jesus when He was speaking, and she understood that He was about to die very soon. What she did was so sweet - she bought an alabaster flask with pure ointment and poured it on Him, "wasting" close to 1 year's worth of pay on the Lord Jesus(Matt. 26:8). To her, He was not just the Teacher, the Master, the Messiah, or even the Son of God - to this one, He was the most precious One, the most lovely One, and the One whom she loved. What she had most precious, she poured out on Him. [read the footnote on this verse] Others considered it a waste - to her, it was NOT a waste!

The Lord Jesus commended this woman saying that this is the story of the gospel - not only that God became a man to redeem man and bring man back to God, but also that man loves God and treasures God to such an extent that they pour out on Him what they have most precious. There is such a group of seeking ones and Jesus-lovers on the earth that don't look at the others, at the price, or at the time - they just "waste themselves and all they have" on Him. To those who love Him in such a way, He is altogether worthy of their offering - and they don't "waste" things on Him, but offer a sweet fragrant sacrifice to Him as a testimony of His beauty!

Practically, when it comes down to our living, how can we waste our life on the Lord since we see that He is so precious? This lady sought the opportunity and grabbed it so that she would do this. We also can grasp the opportunity today to waste ourselves on Him, especially as we see that His second coming is drawing near. The Lord Jesus is the most precious and lovely One, and it is worthwhile to waste our life and our time on Him. When we taste Him in the morning and we continue to contact Him throughout the day, He becomes so precious to us. The worldly things fade away, and their value decreases when compared to Him. Even more: we would gladly give up things, relationships, positions, golden futures - "wasting them" on the Lord Jesus....

Going even more practically into our daily life, I realized that making it to the home meeting on a Friday night, though I'm dead tired and super-loaded with things to do - wasting this time on the Lord with the saints is a worthwhile thing to do. It's not a waste - the Christ you gain and the fellowship you enjoy far surpasses anything or anyone else can offer you. Even while coming back from the home meeting last night, the view London had to offer... - drunk young men and women, people standing outside of the clubs and waiting, people smoking, some people being taken to the hospital while others are arrested because of the fight they got into... - though these things may seem "cool" outwardly, they rather make you empty inside and don't add up to an eternal meaning and worth....

Setting up a regular schedule to read the Bible, contacting the Lord early in the morning to enjoy Him, spending time with the Lord to confess your sins, praying with your companions, praying for your friends, talking to the Lord as you go through the day, opening your situation to some older saints for more fellowship, visiting the saints, being in the homes of the saints, etc - these are just some simple examples of how you "waste your life" on the precious and loveable Lord Jesus. He's worth it. He's so much more precious than words can describe! How I love Him...

it's all going down unless you're growing in the Lord(1 pic + 1 experience with the Lord) 30 day challenge

There we go again, a quirky title, just like many of the catchy phrases you see on the advertisements on the streets, on the bus, at the tube stations, and literally everywhere in London. Sometimes even on the way to the Lord's Table meeting, as you're praying within and contacting the Lord, if you look around on the tube and glance at the advertisements on the wall, you get out of your spirit! Everything is catchy, gives you something to think about.... but today it's simple:

1 Picture for today - Topshop in Oxford Circus in London

This is a "twisted picture" of the Topshop in Oxford Street in London - Topshop Oxford Circus London - one of the most desired-to-shop-at places for many youngsters today. Everyone in London wants to go to Oxford Street, because anything you want can be found there: jeans, snickers, t-shirts, sports shoes, suits, electronics, mobile phones, jackets, underwear, etc. Among those shops is the TopShop - one of the many very expensive shops there, who sometimes has some reduced prices on stuff and everyone goes there! They sell clothing, designer collection, shoes, accessories, make-up, gifts, etc - visit their website to find out more (including pictures of skinny people wearing their clothes).

1 Experience with the Lord - It's All Going Down if You're Not Growing in the Lord!

I don't really know whether the title explains what I'm trying to say, but it's something like this: if we are not growing in the Lord every day, we don't "stagnate"; rather, we are "going down". The reason the picture above is slightly inclined is that the whole world today, with all the shops and the shiny stuff, is GOING DOWN. Morality is not present anymore, ethics are up to you, respect is not found unless you're a close friend, love is re-defined to include all kind of perversions and twisted inclinations, and people are not pure anymore.

No one is seeking God - not even one(Rom. 3:10). They think they re-define God just as they try to re-define love and marriage. There's a trend today towards immorality, disrespect, not caring for anyone but yourself, reading and doing your best to be influenced by people who think the way you do, refusing to think about God or talk about God, rejecting and despising those who believe in God and love God, ... - and, in general, doing what YOU want but in such a way that you ignore God and His Word.... - the world is going down to the extent that they would rather believe a lie than believe the truth(2 Thes. 2:11)...

WHY am I saying all the above? It is simply because if we as believers in Christ, as lovers of the Lord, as saints in the church life, and as young pursuers of Christ - if we are not DESPERATE to grow in the divine life every day, we are being swept away by the trend in this world, the current that culminates in the lake of fire! If we ignore the Lord today, if we don't pay attention to His speaking within us tomorrow, and if we are not willing to pay the price to meet with our companions and with the saints, then we are not "surviving" or "stagnating" - rather, we are being little by little swept away by the strong current in the world!

In these last days, before the Lord returns, we do not have time to waste. I waste too much time on meaningless things, and especially after a home meeting like tonight - where we enjoyed the Lord Jesus as the Good Shepherd as revealed in Psalm 23, we had some new ones, we all shared something of our enjoyment in the Word, and we had fellowship with one another around some nice Thai Green Curry and some healthy fruits as dessert... - I realized this even more: I need to Grow In Life More Today! I know I can't grow faster than the speed of life, and I can't grow by just "desiring to grow"....

Lord Jesus, grow in me! Gain us as mature young saints who are here as a stepping stone for Your return! Save us from being influenced or swept away from You by the current of this age! Lord, keep us close to You! Keep us in the middle of the church life. Make us those who seek You with our whole heart, those who are willing to pay the price of their soul life that they may gain You!

Whether we like it or not, whether we believe it or not, or whether we want to hear this / know this or not - the whole world - with all its glitter and its mud - is lake-of-fire-bound, and unless we are actively building the testimony of Jesus today (like Noah did in the old days) no matter how strong we are, we will be swept away in this flow! Daniel HAD TO refuse the king's food so that he would not defile himself. We HAVE TO stay away from certain places, certain people, and certain situations - so that we would not be defiled. But we also can choose the Lord right now - today! We can turn to Him right now so that He would continue to grow in us more today!

Making a 3-months Commitment to Read the NT - one meaningful thing I did today (30 days challenge)

Wow, it's not easy to keep up with this, especially when the home meetings are so sweet! Tonight we enjoyed the Lord so much - just appreciating how much God loves us! God fell in love with man - for only God's love can make man just the same as He is in life and nature! ... What made You, Lord, to die for me... - I was Your enemy! Lord now I love You more and more each day - Lord I love You more this very day!

Believe me, the greatest joy on earth is that on Friday night you get together with the saints of all ages, races, colours, cultures, and backgrounds... and just enjoy the Lord! This is THE BEST thing you can do! Of course, on the way home you see Satan's usurping the humanity created to contain God - especially young ones being usurped and spoiled by Satan.... but there's One in us who is the most lovely One - and in the whole universe we just love Him! O, Lord.... nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus! But coming back to the 30-day challenge for today, here's

One Meaningful Thing I Did Today - 

Making a 3-month Commitment to Read the New Testament!

Being raised up in a Christian family - with seeking parents who infused in me a desire to read God's word and a love for the Bible, I have to admit that the older you get, even though you know the importance of it, the reading of the Bible tends to be put aside again and again. I long for this, to have a schedule of reading the Bible consistently, consecutively, and even with a companion that would check on me and encourage me. Recently even more, after listening to some messages from the Team Reunion (saints from Christian Students on Campus), I was convicted, exposed, and enlightened + encouraged at the same time: I can do it!

Since I'm online a lot, even though it's better to read the Bible as THE BOOK, the physical book, sometimes it helps to be reminded online / by email about it! So these days I found these two great tools that help us with reading the Bible according to a schedule, in a consecutive way, and even in a consistent way:

• ReadHisWord.com - a website in "beta", with free registration, which helps you create your own schedule according to the time period you want to allocate to a certain reading. If you want to read the New Testament in 30 days / 90 days or any number of days, there's a filter there and a result that shows you what chapters you need to read every day! There's a calendar, a journal, and even alerts by email. Very simple, but this tool helps you set aside some time - in a scheduled way - to go through the Bible!
• LetTheWord.com - a website in development, recommended especially to the students - you can login with your Facebook account and form a group with someone(either by inviting them, adding them, suggesting it to them, giving them the key, etc). The website is simple - you just post your reading there - your smiling face (your facebook profile picture, unless you change it) shows up there on the board as having read that chapter. What's nice about it is that, according to the burden of the website, this is for READING the WORD with COMPANIONS! So you need to grab one or two companions and remind one another about it! I wish there would be more integration with facebook, as in allowing this api to post on facebook your reading, etc.

But coming back to this Meaningful Thing I Did Today - the Lord has been burning in me to start this, to get on a regular schedule and read the Bible! I began a schedule so many times... and I gave up either weeks or a few months later! But as I did this, I prayed, Lord, have Your Way! Be the initiator! You need me to do this and I also need to do this! - and there was a desperation growing in me... 

So here I am, I found a dear brother to be my companion, we formed a group on the LetTheWord, and now we're going on little by little! Even though I promised myself NOT to start with big bites, I want to go ahead with a 90day reading of the entire New Testament. Lord, what about my time right before I go to sleep?!? I want to learn to redeem my time - and also to fall asleep in a nicer / more positive / more constructive way than browsing, watching, or other things! Amen to the Word of God! Remember: 

Christians love to read the Bible! As loving seekers of the Lord, we will read the Bible every day until we will meet the Author of the Bible in person - face to face!