Where did January go???

Here's this weeks' reading!


Jan 31: Ex 4-6
Feb 1: Ex 7-9
Feb 2: Ex 10-12
Feb 3: Ex 13-15
Feb 4: Ex 16-18
Feb 5: Ex 19-21
Feb 6: Ex 22-24


Confession: I've gotten a little behind on my reading... Please pray for me to set aside time, no matter how busy my week is, to read God's word and to spend time in prayer!

March Uganda Trip Update

God is GOOD, ALL the time, and ALL the time, God is GOOD.


After getting involved with Invisible Children* nearly 5 years ago, both Teri and I have dreamed of going to Uganda, to live and aid the peoples, both young and old, of this war torn and devastated, third world country. About a month ago while sitting in "big church" at Riverside, we listened with open mouths and yearning hearts about a trip to Uganda with an organization called Global Refuge International. It so happened to be during our spring break, going to the part of Uganda that we dream of going to, with uncanny details that seemed to be perfect. We thought, maybe a little too eagerly, that God threw open the door for both of us and we were heading to Uganda this March!


As it turns out, there were many hinderances getting to the primary meeting and when we finally did have the meeting, we found, to our dismay, that the dates had changed. The meeting progressed, and we suggested that they move the trip back to its original dates so that we would still have the possibility of going... Surprisingly, they said they'd consider it!


So we continued to pray about it and pursue it... Teri checked with her professors and found out that the few days she'd be missing were crucial to her studies and would cripple her semester grades. So, to her dismay, she had to pull out. Me? Well, I filled out the application and handed it in to the group leader and am waiting to hear back from her.


Looking at this whole process, the hinderances have been... interesting. Sometimes, I wish that it was all smooth sailing, but these bumps along the way are, in actuality, one of the best things that could be happening. I feel like they cause me to pray harder about the trip and truly evaluate if this is simply MY heart and mind wanting me to go, or if it's God's heart for me to go. I pray that if it's really not His will, than he will not allow my application to be accepted and I will gladly save my money for another trip. However, if it IS His will, then I pray that the door will remain open and I will be heading to Uganda in a month and a half!


Please continue to pray for Teri and I; both in our future world travels and in our every day journey down the narrow path. We couldn't do it without fellow Brothers and Sisters helping guide our feet in prayer and encouragement!


*For those of you who do not know what Invisible Children is, please visit the website at www.invisiblechildren.com. There is too much to some up in a single blog, but if you would like further information about it, please feel free to contact Teri or me.

Week 4 Reading!!

Jan 25: Gen 38-40

Jan 25: Gen 41-42

Jan 27: Gen 43-45

Jan 28: Gen 46-47

Jan 29: Gen 48-50

Jan 30: Ex 1-3

Jan 31: Ex 4-6

Feb 1: Ex 7-9

Colorado's March for Life

Tomorrow, on the anniversary of Roe v Wade, we march. We march for life. We march to preserve the sanctity of life. We march to make a public statement to our commitment to the pro-life movement.


Join us as we celebrate life and advocate for a change. 11:30, at the Capitol. If, however, you are unable to make it, please commit to PRAA (coined by my previous Pastor and constant mentor Tim Fan, Pray Reverently Against Abortion) for this Cause!


Without Shoes, a great local band will provide the music, and there will be food, T-shirts, and great speakers sharing their pro-life testimony, including Eduardo Verastegui, start of the pro-life film "Bella."

New Readings

Well, we've moved out of Job and are now back in Genesis. Here are the reading assignments for this week!

Reading Assignments for Days 18-24:

Jan 18: Gen 19-21

Jan 19: Gen 22-24

Jan 20: Gen 25-26

Jan 21: Gen 27-29

Jan 22: Gen 30-31

Jan 23: Gen 32-34

Jan 24: Gen 35-37

PRAYER

From Voice of the Martyrs (persecution.com):

We are all praying for those who survived in Haiti, and for the rescue mission that is currently taking place. And if you've been listening to the news, people are saying all of the time that our prayers are with those in Haiti. People pray in times of trouble. The following is another story from the book Extreme Devotion, that hits on this very topic.

...

When the Public Security Bureau officer entered the Chinese prison cell, Sister Wong moved away. This heartless man had arrested and persecuted many Christians, and only days earlier had beaten her as he interrogated her.

“Please, Sister Wong, my sister is very ill. She has lost all feeling in her legs. Will you come and pray for her?” Was this the same man who had confiscated hundreds of Bibles and Christian books from her? Now he was asking for prayer? Truly God must have gotten his attention.

Days earlier, as the officer had questioned and abused Sister Wong, he received a phone call that his mother had been hit by a car. When he told his mother what he’d been doing, she told him that his harassment of Christians caused her accident. The officer deemed the warning mere superstition.

The next day, he resumed questioning Sister Wong but got another message that his brother had been injured in an accident. The brother also blamed the officer’s attacks on Christians for the family’s misfortune. But when his sister became ill, he asked Sister Wong for prayers.

Sister Wong saw the opportunity she’d been praying for, the chance to witness to her persecutors. God healed the sister, and through Sister Wong’s actions, he changed the officer’s heart. The officer returned all the Bibles that were confiscated and now supports the church.

Most people are strangely drawn to prayer—especially in times of hurt and pain. Barriers against anything remotely religious are dismantled piece by piece when someone requests or receives prayer. Rare is the person who will refuse a no-strings-attached offer for prayer. “I’m praying for you” can be the most powerful words a believer speaks to a non-believer. Why? Prayer is God’s agent of change. It gets results. Sometimes it changes circumstances. Sometimes it reverses decisions. Most often it changes those who are touched by prayer. The Bible says the first recorded action after the conversion of the former Christian persecutor, Saul of Tarsus, was prayer. Who knows the role prayer will play in the conversion of the “Sauls” throughout the world who are presently bent on Christianity’s destruction?

Word Vomit

There have been a few things tugging at my heart this past week, specifically the fact that three days into the semester, I find myself at the very stress level from which I departed less than one month ago. I think we can all learn from 1 John 4:1, which warns: “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” We need to make sure that through our stress and suffering we are not idolizing or inflating factors in our lives above the Word. It is important to remember that God’s greatest gift to us, his Son and our Savior, died so that we may burden Him with our suffering. I thought this week about how I would feel if every person in Boulder complained to me about every source of stress in their lives and have concluded that I would want to poke my eyeballs out with the tail of a sphinx and tie my ears to the back of a Schwann’s truck. Just a thought. I’ve been reminding myself that the fact that I’ve been blessed enough to BE busy is a gift from the Lord AND that he would listen to me complain and suffer for me is an even more mind-boggling phenomenon. This isn’t well written; it’s just words flung onto paper. I promise, I’ll be more interesting with my actual study passage.

In the meantime, please pray for Haiti. I can’t imagine our entire country being flattened. It’s a dark place, and maybe we can pray that through this tragedy some salvation might shine through.

The Persecuted Church

Another aspect of our blog is focusing on the persecuted church. In America, we often forget the trials and tribulations that our Brothers and Sisters around the World face every day. Periodically, we will post updates from the Voice of the Martyrs website (persecution.com) so that we can pray for those suffering in the name of Christ. Also, these Christians should be an encouragement to us as well as models for how to live in boldness and without fear of worldly pains.

Iran: Christian Arrested

On Dec. 17, security police and undercover officers attacked a Christmas gathering of more than 70 newly converted Christians in the city of Karaj, Iran, according to Farsi Christian News.

Officers photographed and videotaped the believers and also confiscated Bibles, Christian books and a computer. Christians were told they must be available during the period leading up to formal and legal interrogations and that they must appear before prosecutors when ordered. Two of the leaders of the group, Kambiz Saghaee and Ali Keshvar-Doost, were arrested.

At last report, Saghaee and Keshvar-Doost remained in detention at an undisclosed location, and their families had neither been able to contact them nor received confirmation from police of their whereabouts.

Pray that Saghaee and Keshvar-Doost will be released. Pray that the new converts who attended this meeting will grow stronger in their faith in Christ. Pray for the safety of Iranian believers celebrating the birth of Jesus and the beginning of a new blessed year, as many must gather in secret to avoid attention from authorities.

Week One

Well, week one is complete and we have read Genesis 1-11 and Job 1-23. The study we are doing is a chronological read through of the Bible, so naturally, it jumps around a bit. If you would care to read along with us, the complete list can be found here: http://www.ewordtoday.com/year/31/c.htm.

Additionally, we are doing a more focused study each month recommended and put together by The Annex. The Annex is CU Boulder's ministry that meets Tuesday nights and is a time of music, teaching, and fellowship with other CU students. While I'm not a CU student, I still attend the service with Teri, who actually IS a student currently enrolled at the University. They haven't kicked me out yet, so I assume it's open to anyone who wants to attend ;) The passages we have read from the first month's study (titled "31 Days to Know God's Plan for Us) are as follows: Genesis 3:1-19; Genesis 12:1-3, 28:10-15, and 32:22-38; Exodus 20:1-17; Leviticus 5:14-19; Deuteronomy 6:1-9, 11:13-21; Judges 2:10-19; 1 Samuel 15:17-23; and 1 Samuel 17-23. If you would like to follow along with this study as well, I will post the next week's reading at the bottom of this post.

Normally, we will try to post more than we have recently. This week we were just trying to get into the groove of reading as well as trying to understand how to use a blog! As for discussing the reading, there is too much to highlight everything interesting thing I noticed, so I will just focus on one thing that I came across that I have always skipped over in previous readings.

Many take for granted the story of Adam and Eve as well as the creation story. I always have. I figured that it was a story that was really straight forward, but on closer study, there are many "hidden" motifs and themes that I've always missed. One such example is seen when God kicks Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. We are first introduced to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as well as the tree of life in Genesis 2:8 and 9. God then commands man not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, warning him that the punishment is death, but He doesn't say anything or set guidelines regarding the tree of life. After Adam and Eve fall short by eating from the tree, they are ashamed and try to hide from God. God asks them, "Where are you?" in verse 9 (as if He didn't know... There're several times that I have noticed where God does even though He clearly knows the answer to the questions that He's asking. Why does he do this? I'm not totally sure but a speculation that I have is that it shows God's desire to have a relationship with us. God wants to build trust between himself and us so that even when we mess up, we're comfortable going to Him because of our intimacy with Him... Maybe?... Just a thought) Because the punishment for eating from the tree is death (and also a sinful legacy that forever separates us from God), Adam and Eve must not be allowed to eat from the tree of life. God states in verse 22: "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

In Romans 6:23, God tells us that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." This is why God had to remove Adam and Eve from the garden; so that they could not partake of the tree of life and live forever. Throughout history, people have always sought after things that could get them eternal life (ie, the sorcerer's stone, the fountain of youth, the elixir of life...), but in reality the only way to gain eternal life is through Jesus (John 6:47: "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.")

It amazes me how many little details throughout the Bible that I overlook. Every time I read or reread a passage, I seem to discover something new (or if I don't, I know that I'm most likely missing something!)

Here are the readings for out January study:

Day 10: Many Kings fail to heed God: Jeremiah 1-7

Day 11: The Sins of the People hurt God: Ezekiel 20:5-26

Day 12: An Eternal King Promised: Jeremiah 23:1-6, Isaiah 9:6-7, Zechariah 9:9-10

Day 13: The Promised Christ is Born: Luke 2:1-20

Day 14: The Word Becomes Flesh: John 1:1-18

Day 15: Signs and Wonders of Jesus: Matthew 9:1-8, Luke 13:10-17

Day 16: Jesus Fulfills the Law: Matthew 5: 17-20, Romans 8:1-14

Day 17: Jesus Teaches About our New Life: John 3

Thank you for all of your encouragement and support. Please feel free to start discussions and agree or disagree with anything we say. Healthy disagreements can lead to great discussion and deeper understanding of God's Word. Furthermore, please feel free to email any prayer requests, comments, concerns, etc.

His child,

sam wright ><}}}:>

How Our Blog Will Work

The format of our blog is pretty straightforward. Each week, we will post at least one discussion of a passage we have been reading through. We will discuss our thoughts on a specific part, and open it up for questions. If we have a lot of response, we will do a weekly mailbag to answer questions.

We will also relate our blog to the situation in Northern Uganda and Sudan, and hopefully will stir passion enough in our readers to instigate a response from them.

We will show the weekly readings so you can keep up; and might occasionally post videos or songs we feel appropriate.

The most recent blog is at the top of the page; you can read from the bottom of the page to the top for a chronological perspective. You can also look at the archives to find links to individual blogs.

Sam and I will have color-coded entries so you know which of us is talking. White means together.

Enjoy!

Who We Are

Sam

My name is disciple, apostle, supporter, defender, champion, believer, worshiper, follower, soldier, brother, friend, servant, adopted. But, I usually answer to Sam. As far as how else I am characterized: I’m now 18 years old (as of January 1, 2010!!) and am on my way to finishing my senior year at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado.

I was adopted into an amazing family (praise God) that consists of: an amazing, God fearing, and selfless Mother, Beth; an incredible, God following, and mentoring Father, John; a hardworking, learning, and searching Brother, Mac; our FINE (Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional) cat; and countless Brothers and Sisters in Christ who help guide my footsteps and encourage me in the toughest of times.

As far as my walk is concerned, I have grown up hearing the stories about Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, Jesus, etc., and asked Jesus into my heart at a very young age. However, as all Christians experience, I have had my highs and lows throughout these many years. My faith became truly real to me the summer following my freshman year when the Lord took me to Ukraine to work with orphans; this was by far the best thing that I have ever had the opportunity to do and through it, God opened my eyes and heart to His glory and power. He planted a desire to forevermore work with “the Least of These,” and since that summer, has molded me into the child I am today.

There is so much more that I would like to elaborate on, regarding my experiences as a Christian and how I’ve become who I am today, but, those stories must remain within my head until a later date. I hope you follow (or join) us in our Odos that we are partaking in and that this blog can be an encouragement to you as we run towards God together.

Teri

Some people are born knowing who they are and what they want to do. Not me. I change my mind more than a Nascar pit crew changes tires. I was born in Alberta, Canada 20 years ago to a loving family who knew right away to embrace my inability to make a decision. I’ve lived in many cities around North America, but I call Boulder, Colorado home.

My walk with Christ has been a tumultuous one, to say the least. I was born Catholic; however, my life as a follower of Jesus fizzled as I entered high school. I ignored His call in my life until this past summer, the beginning of my junior year of college and the start of a beautiful journey with God. Since accepting Jesus into my life, He has shown himself to me in ways I can only be astonished and amazed at. Six months ago I could never have guessed that I would be in this position today, writing about the Bible and sharing how Christ is present in my life.

While the children of Africa have always held a special place in my heart, it wasn’t until recently that my dream of going there to help finally had the opportunity to come to fruition. It is my goal to not only help personally, but also to spread the word about the conditions and ways to help central African countries from our own home cities. I also completely expect Jesus to weave his own desires into the thread that links us in our journey, perhaps leading me to mountains and oceans I had never thought myself capable of reaching before. Most of all, I hope this study of the Bible and exploration of world issues will help me learn and explore my relationship with my new Father and Christ family. I’m overjoyed that these opportunities have presented themselves, and I hope the Lord might help you find your passion in these pages and stir you to join us as we reach towards the Son together.

Introduction to our Blog

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name. Psalm 86:11

We are Siyahamba. We are walking in the light.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

We are on an Odos. A journey. A mission. Every minute of every day, we are sent to do His will. So let us do it. Let us do it without hesitation. Without trepidation. Without second thoughts.

For we sing:

Here I am Lord, send me,

All of my life, I make an offering,

Here I am, send me,

Somehow my story, Is part of your plan

Here I am

This blog will take us through a chronological, daily reading of the Bible as well as discussions of how it pertains to God's will for His children in helping others. We believe that through learning, we will become better servant leaders. We live life for God by living life with God. We hope that you will encourage our exploration, and lend us your voice as we all walk in the light of His Glory.