2022-12-28 - Edgar Chang

2022 in Review

The year 2022 comes to an end and 2023 is peeking around the corner. It has certainly been a challenging year and I would be lying if I said I wasn't glad that 2022 is over soon. But as with all things, we trust that God knows the plans he has for us (Jer. 29:11) and that all things occur according to his will (Eph. 1:11).

In 2022, we focused on "sharing the gospel with one person each month." The intention was to spur our faith into action and to prevent falling into the temptation to be passive and aloof. When we find ourselves in times of challenge, it is easy to hide away and worry about ourselves, and when we find ourselves in times of comfort, it is easy to become complacent, so we strived to prevent such careless faith in our lives.

How did we do? Only God will know. Each of us struggles in different ways. The sins that tempt us most varies. We react differently to the attacks of Satan and he craftily targets our greatest weaknesses. Therefore, we must trust that God knows our hearts and God knows our efforts. We are responsible only to him and we will stand before him to be judged. May our hearts convict us honestly and spur us forward to an ever increasing reliance on God birthed in the form of faith.

Looking forward to 2023

With that in mind, God continues to lead us in 2023. In 2023, our goal will be to "read the Bible in its entirety at least one time." It is a simple goal, but as I often like to remind myself, the simplest things are often the most profound.

There are a number of reasons for this focus:

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• There is nothing better than God's words for teaching and correction. (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
  
• God's words for the basis of being fed spiritually. (Matt. 4:4)
  
• God's words are alive and active and are powerful to change lives. (Heb. 4:12)
  
• God's words lead to faith. (Rom. 10:17)
  
• God's words are a sactifying truth. (John 17:17)
  
• God's words are to followed carefully for his glory and our benefit. (Josh. 1:8)
  
• God's words light our path and guide us in the right way. (Ps. 119:105)
  

And the primary verse that we will hold onto throughout the year is Psalm 119:105. Though there are many beautiful verses that we could choose that give great cause to our goal, it seems that now more than ever we are in need of a lamp to show us our way in these times of exceeding darkness. In the midst of the darkness we are prone to experience on a societal and personal level, it seems most fitting to rely on the confession that:

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105 (ESV)

Now we must not overlook the fact that David wrote this as part of a confession to keep all the commands of God, to regard them as righteous and to live according to them all the days of his life. It is not a simplistic confession that blindly believes that God will make a way for us out of our difficulties. It is a profound statement that if I remain faithful to God, God will remain faithful to me.

May we pursue God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength in this way in the year of 2023.

Resources for Bible Reading Plans

Now some of us may not have ever read through the entire Bible before, so below I have provided a few resources that might be helpful. Keep in mind that our goal is to read it at least once 2023, so you will want to use a plan that allows you to complete the entire Bible in a year or shorter. There are multi-year plans, which are great, but will not lead us to our goal.

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• Ligonier Ministries: https://www.ligonier.org/posts/bible-reading-plans
  
• Navigators: https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/
  
• ESV: https://www.esv.org/resources/reading-plans/
  

Of course, you are welcome to search for any other plans that you think will allow you to accomplish this goal.

Personally, I will be following a 90-day reading plan by CSB: https://csbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/CSB90-DayReadingPlan.pdf

This is primarily because I will be striving to complete a reading of the Bible twice in 2023. However, prior to using this plan, I have used both the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan as well as the M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan, and can recommend both as great plans to follow.

To my dear EM friends, God loves you dearly and that love desires for you to draw closer to him so that you can taste of his goodness, experience his grace, be enraptured by his love, and to live in the hope we have in Jesus Christ our Lord.

The LORD bless you and keep you;

the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24–26 (ESV)