The church that I am a member of produces a resource called the Daily Life Journal. In that book is a short six-lesson study that teaches the reader how to begin and cultivate a meaningful and impactful daily relationship with the Lord. Also included in that resource is a two-year reading plan, that when followed, will take the reader through the entire Bible – once through the old and new testaments and twice through the psalms and proverbs.
That resource was first published two years ago – and two years ago on January 1, 2020, I began a new journey through the scriptures. At that time, I really sensed that the Lord was calling me to not just go on that journey myself, but to bring others along by publicly posting my daily journal entries as an online daily devotional. This blog site was a product of that assignment that I had from the Lord.
My daily devotional posts, beyond an act of obedience to the Lord, were to hopefully serve a couple of purposes. Many people that I know struggle with having a consistent and meaningful time with the Lord through His word. I hoped that my journey through the word would encourage other believers that a meaningful and consistent time in the word of God is possible. I am not a professional minister. I did not go to Bible School or Seminary. I do not have a theology degree. I am simply a person who loves the Lord – and by loving the Lord, desires to know as much as I can through studying His word. If I can read through the Bible with insight, understanding and application, then anyone who loves the Lord can do the same.
Many people, if not most people, who claim to follow Jesus and believe the Bible are Biblically illiterate. Even some professional full-time pastors and church leaders have not read through the word from cover to cover. Those who do not read the Bible, sadly, do not know what it says, nor do they know how to apply its truths to their lives. By journaling and publicly posting the insights I received through my cover-to-cover journey through the Bible, I hoped to expose what the Bible actually says to those who would otherwise not know or attempt to find out.
Tomorrow will mark the end of 2021, and the end of my two-year journey through the word. As I sought to be faithful to the assignment that God gave me, He was faithful to open my eyes each day to truth from His word that was worthy of writing about. As of tomorrow, this site will contain 731 (2020 was a leap year) daily devotional posts with commentary from my cover-to-cover journey. Tomorrow will also mark the end of the specific assignment that the Lord gave me two years ago. That being the case, tomorrow will be my last daily devotional post.
As has been my habit for over a decade, I will continue reading through the Bible, as I begin the two-year reading plan again on January 1st. I will also continue journaling the things that the Lord shows me as I journey with Him through the word. I just won’t be posting those journal entries to my site. I plan to keep the site up and will continue posting to it from time to time. I haven’t determined what that will look like yet, but I trust that the Lord will show me in His time.
Thank you to all of you who have subscribed or followed my posts, and taken this journey with me. I hope that they benefited you as they benefited me. Please continue to study God’s word, and feel free to check back from time to time to see what God is showing me. God bless!
Jamie Hicks 