The NT Challenge and Beyond

I sincerely apologize that it has been over a month since I've updated my blog! I have truly missed doing so, yet never do anything to change my habit... :( Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know what I've been up to recently before I jump into Acts 24 (can you believe it? How are we already almost done with Acts???) Just this Thursday, I began writing a novel for NaNoWriMo. For those of you who have never heard of this, it is National Novel Writing Month where people all over the world attempt to write their own 50,000 word novel in the month of November (that's right, only 30 days!). This is my first year attempting to do something so crazy, but I am loving it! So between NaNo, schoolwork, and everything else that keeps popping up, my blog is continually pushed to the back burner. I've noticed that when I don't blog, I end up skipping reading the NT, which in turn affects my daily life. I won't promise that I'll keep up with this faithfully, especially ...

It's been a while since I last posted, and I have no excuse. I've been lazy and forgetful, and I'm sorry for not posting! :( But I'm back today, and I hope that I can share what God has taught me from His Word today. We're in John 9 already. Can you believe it? It feels like we just started with Matthew 1!! Wow, time really does fly! I want to look at the first 3 verses of John 9. The rest of the chapter is definitely important, but I want to just focus on the beginning. Here's the verses (from the ESV) so that you can read the verses that I will be talking about: As he (Jesus) passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." (John 9:1-3) How many times do we think something bad has happened to us because we have sinned? I know ...

Hey everyone! :) I want to talk to you guys about something that God has been laying on my heart recently: being still before Him. It's hard to do, isn't it? We live in such a busy world, so many things to do and see every day. But God tells us multiple times in His Word to be still and listen to His voice (Psalm 46:10 for example). Easier said than done! Now that I'm in college, I'm finding it much harder to find time to just seek God and spend time with Him. Whether there is homework to be done, movies to be watched, or friends to be socializing with, it's easy to be distracted from what my true focus should be. I don't have the answer to fix this, unfortunately. I wish I did, though! I just wanted to share with you guys my struggle to be still and listen. Do you have that struggle? I'd love to hear ways that you have found to avoid those distractions or ways you've found to just be still!

Tonight I want to just ask you guys to check out Luke 16:10-13. It is such a good reminder to be faithful in the things that God gives us now! :) 10  “One who is  faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.   11  If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?   12  And if you have not been faithful in  that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?   13  No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Have you experienced this in your own life? I'd love to hear from you! I want this to be a two-way street!

Hey readers! Glad you're back again today! :) Ready to dive into Luke 12? Let's go! As a college student, life has gotten very hectic! Between classes, homework, studying, laundry, and trying to have a social life, there's not much time to just relax and chill. Because of the lack of "chill time", I've been finding myself very stressed and anxious about the work load. It doesn't help that a majority of my scholarships will only continue if I do well in school, and that without such scholarships I would never be able to attend PBA. But God tells us multiple times in His Word that we have no need to be anxious about anything, for everything is in His control! Why don't I remember this?? It would make life so much simpler, don't you think? It would save so much trouble and stress... yet I still worry. I'm so thankful for God's reminder to me to lean on Him and wait for His timing rather than being anxious about things I can't control! ...

Hey everyone!! Hope you all are doing well! Glad you're back with me today! If you aren't sure, we are in Luke 11 (I know, so far already!). Today, I want to do something different. Instead of me sharing my thoughts, I want to hear from you! Is there anything in Luke 11 that jumps out at you? What do you think about what God's Word has in store for us in this chapter? I really want this blog to be a two-way communication, not just a one-way journal! Hope to hear from you!! :)

I know, it's been way too long since I've posted, and I sincerely apologize for my lack of posts recently. There is no excuse, only my laziness and forgetfulness... Sorry!! :( But I'm back today, and I'm writing lots so hope you can stay with me today! When I opened my new window to post today's blog, I had my topic all picked out and knew exactly what I wanted to say. It wasn't about Luke 10, though... it was about what it really means for True Love to Wait. A friend posted a link to another blog that talked about True Love Waits and what it really meant in her life. I thought about what she said and I began to see how it applied to my own life, so I thought I'd share my reactions with you here. Now here's a catch: I hadn't even read Luke 10 today yet when I opened up this page to write. But for some reason (that is, God's prompting) I though, "I should probably read the chapter for today, there might just be something about my planned to...

I know what you're thinking: it's been forever since I've posted!!! :( I've missed it and plan to get myself back on track before college starts!! I hope you've still been reading a chapter each day. I have been reading, just not posting and I sincerely apologize!! If you have been reading along, can you believe we already finished Matthew?? WOW!! I can't believe we are already done with this first book!! Hopefully you'll be starting Mark with us soon if you are still trying to get caught up! Let's jump in to a new book! :) The first four books of the New Testament are all very similar: they tell the story of the life of Christ. But each author writes in a bit of a different manner, so we get to see the same story through different perspectives! I love those kinds of stories! Anyone else with me? I read some stories and wish there were a sequel of another character's perspective on the same story (like Mr. Darcy's version of Pride and Prejudice...

Hey! Welcome back! It's late, so I won't be writing too long, but I'll share my thoughts on Matthew 19. Again, I encourage you to read the chapter before continuing reading this post! :) Doing good: it's something that's been emphasized recently I've noticed. There are tons of scholarships for high school seniors, offering money to kids who "do something good" and send in a video or essay about it. But can a person really do good? In human eyes, it might be possible. But in God's sight, there is no way to be good. Jesus tells us so in Matthew 19:16-30. The rich young man is asking Jesus how to reach heaven and thinks that salvation can come through keeping "the law" (10 Commandments). He probably hadn't murdered anyone or committed adultery. This guy probably thought he was pretty good, and with good reason. He seemed pretty good to any human. But God's standards are a bit different... ok, His standards are WAYY different! There...

Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've been in North Carolina for a week with my youth group at summer camp, and it was a great week! I had the chance to spend time with old friends, make new friends, and hear the Word of God preached! When I got back, though, I didn't feel so good. By home diagnosis, I think I have a cold... not fun! So I've been resting the last couple days to 1)recover from camp, and 2) knock out this cold! I'm feeling better, so I decided it was time to return to my blog. I'm going to be away from my scheduled plan for a few days in order to catch up, but I'll be back to where I am supposed to be by the end of the week I hope! :) Today I will post about Matthew 15 (this was supposed to be posted on Sunday, July 29 if you are keeping up with the reading plan!)  I am choosing this passage because it was something we actually talked about at camp, and I thought it might be a good topic to get me writing again! If y...

Hey guys! Alright, time to wrap up the Sermon on the Mount. I did not have a chance to write any more on Matthew 6 today; not sure if I ever will, but I want to go through it again someday. Maybe when I finish the challenge I will come back to passages I want to highlight more! We'll have to see! :) Before today ends, I'd like to share with you my thoughts from Matthew 7. Again, there are so many things I would love to touch on, but my time is limited. So for now, I'll focus on verses 15-20: "A Tree and Its Fruit". There are so many things to say about this, but I'll stick with just one. This is a tough topic I think because it has revealed some things about myself that I realize I need to change. Now I know that these verses say to watch for false prophets whose lives may seem committed to Christ but they show no signs of that commitment. But I think it means more than just nonbelievers; I think that it applies in some way to Christians as well. I think t...

Today's post is going to be shorter. Why? Because there are so many wonderful things to write about and if I don't cut it down, I will practically write a novel. So what I am going to do is write about this chapter in pieces: one tonight and probably two segments tomorrow (that's planned between packing for camp, so we'll see how much really gets written!)   :)  There are a few topics I plan to cover, but the first one I'll choose is the last one mentioned: worry/anxiousness.  Who here worries? I expect every single person reading has their hand raised for this one! If you don't, I want your secret! There are so many things we worry about. I worry about my college decisions, financial aid, what I will do with the rest of my life, what others think of me, and so many other things. Why do I worry? The answer can be found in Matthew 6:25-34. Let's check it out! If you haven't already, I encourage you to read this passage before you continue reading. ...

The Sermon on the Mount... tough chapters! There are so many different ways to go with the teachings of Jesus in the next 3 chapters, where do I start?! I think I'll start with Matthew 5:1-2. These verses say, "Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them". The first thing that jumps out to me is how Jesus seized the opportunity to teach those around him. He didn't waste any time deciding where to go or what he should do. He just sat down and began to teach. Do we do that? Do we seize the opportunities we have to encourage others, to tell them about God's Word? I sure don't. There have been many missed opportunities that I regret second-guessing or waiting to see if a better time might come. There's another thing I see in these first two verses: his disciples came to him (verse 1). Now remember Jesus had just called them at the end of chapter 4. They were still new...

We live in a world where information is at our fingertips in an instant, where we can talk to someone in another country just by clicking a few buttons, where macaroni and cheese can be ready to eat in just three minutes! Yet we ourselves have not developed that quickness in our own personalities. I know I haven't. If my mom asks me to do something, the first words out of my mouth are usually, "I'll do it in a minute," although my actual response time is much longer. We don't do these things immediately. Why? Sometimes we can't get away from the project we are working on. But how many times do we say "in a minute" because we are too selfish to stop what we are doing and take the time to do what is required? I'm guilty of that probably 99% of the time! And you know what? Putting it off only makes it worse! If I don't want to do it now, what makes me think I'll want to do it in 30 minutes?! Yet I still postpone the inevitable because I...

I know it's late, but I'm finally writing today's post. Between setting up this blog and my grandmother's birthday, I haven't had a chance to just sit and write. That time has finally come, and I am so excited to share with you what I saw in Matthew 3! :) Matthew 3 begins with John the Baptist (Jesus' cousin). The Bible says that John was preaching in the wilderness and told the people to "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Just like Isaiah prophesied, John was preparing the way of the Lord. Now when I read this, it seemed to be the same story I've heard over and over again: John preaching in the wilderness, Jesus coming to him to be baptized, etc. But verse 4 caught my eye today, and I'd like to focus this post on this single verse. I know, here I go again with the little stuff in the middle of the passage. But I guess I've learned that from my pastor of 17 years through his example of going verse by verse or focusing on smal...

Ok, I'm back! Before I begin my observations of Matthew 2 I'd like to begin with an apology for the length of my first post. It was a bit longer than I planned, but I just couldn't stop writing! Forgive me? Whew! Thanks! Alright, now I can move on! :) Anyway, back to serious business. As I look at chapter 2 in Matthew, I see many subjects I could touch on. There's Herod's attitude and resulting actions, there's the wise men, the gifts of the wise men, and the flight to Egypt. Hmmm... lots of choices... Alright, I'll take... the gifts of the wise men for 100 please Alex. Now there are 23 verses with over 600 words in Matthew 2 (I would know, I checked by copy-paste to Word and used Word Count. Cheating, yes, but it's too late to count on my own!) You might wonder why, out of 600 words, I chose three tiny seemingly unimportant words smack dab in the center of the chapter. It's ok, I wondered the same thing too when I first considered. Why did I choos...

Matthew 1 is half names (genealogy of Jesus through Joseph) and the other half the Birth of Christ according to Matthew. Now normally I would just skim through a passage like this. Today, however, since I am reading the ENTIRE New Testament, I had to read all of it. I noticed several things in chapter 1 alone: 1) how God uses people with a messed up past to show His glory and perfect plan to the world, and 2) the character of Joseph.  We'll start with number 1, since that is how most people start. Now I wrote that I noticed how God uses people with a messed up past to show us His glory and perfection. Some of you may already know where I'm headed with this, but hear me out all the same. I know the names in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, can get confusing and therefore boring (as most seem that they were named in the midst of a sneeze...) However, today I saw a few familiar names in the middle: Rahab, Boaz, Ruth, Obed, Jesse, David and Solomon. Some may see this ...

Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog! I figured I should give you guys a heads-up on what this blog will be about. On July 16, 2012, I took the challenge to read the entire New Testament, one chapter each day until Easter Sunday 2013. My purpose for this blog is to keep you guys updated on my progress through the New Testament and share my thoughts on the chapters I read. This blog will also be a sort of accountability for me, a reinforcement and reminder for me to continue reading. I've tried challenges like this before, but never really told anyone about them. Without writing or updating my progress, I'd give up quite easily. I hope that this blog will keep me current on reading the Word and maybe complete the challenge. I'm so excited to start, and hope that you will enjoy reading my take on each chapter and that maybe you too will join me in taking this challenge! I, Grace Postorino, commit to complete the New Testament challenge, starting July 16, 2012, and ending Eas...