Leviticus 4-7; Acts 6

Chosen.

³ Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. ⁴ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ⁵ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit …

Acts 6:3-5a, ESV, emphasis mine

He was full of faith and the Holy Spirit, a man of good repute and full of wisdom. Full.

⁸ And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. ¹¹ Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹² And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, ¹³ and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, ¹⁴ for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” ¹⁵ And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Acts 6:8-15, ESV, emphasis mine

Stephen was doing, serving and he met opposition. Opposition that rose up and disputed. Opposition that secretly instigated. Opposition that stirred up the people. They set up false witnesses. All this against a man full of grace and power, who was doing great wonders and signs among the people. He was full of faith and the Holy Spirit.

Stephen was resilient. It’s likely the opposition’s efforts spanned days or longer. Stephen kept on. He kept his eyes on Jesus. (To the very end.)

Courtney (66books365)

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Revelation 9:12-14:8

Endurance is the ability to withstand hardship or adversity. It implies permanence or, at least, duration. It’s an act or an instance of enduring or suffering. It was my word for the year in 2022–mostly because I was focused on stamina, not so much the part about suffering. When I think of endurance, I think of physical and mental toughness. I apply it to training plans and finish lines. Endurance goes farther and deeper than that.

It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. ⁸ All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.

¹⁰ “If anyone is to go into captivity,
    into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
    with the sword they will be killed.”

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

Revelation 13:7-10, NIV, emphasis added

An enemy is given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And this familiar refrain from the gospels “whoever has ears, let them hear” tells me to pay attention. But it’s the word endurance that really grabs my attention.

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

It causes me to ponder endurance and faith when it comes to my walk with Christ, and how my example, effort, and attitude not only affect my ability to endure, but are seeds sown into future generations. I was 47 years old when I bought a pair of running shoes. I couldn’t even run .25 mile without stopping to catch my breath. Now, at 53, I run half marathons, and I’m signed up for my first triathlon in 2023. That progress took consistent, intentional effort. I factored in cross-training and rest days. Some days I was enthusiastic. Some days I went through the motions just to get started. But what it all taught me was that there was growth outside of my comfort zone–and that I was capable of way more than I ever imagined.

This year, an Advent study on 1 John sparked new intention in my Bible studies. I’m grateful and excited to read through the Bible on 66 Books again in 2023–and expectant of what God has in store. So grateful to have his words in my hands and in my heart. So grateful that he can do way more than I ever imagined.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV)

Did you have a word of the year in 2022? Do you have one in mind for 2023? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Courtney (66books365)

Psalms 135:15-138:3

How can we sing the songs of the Lord
    while in a foreign land? (Psalm 137:4, NIV)

Psalm 136 tells a story of God and his goodness. And each account has a supporting verse: his love endures forever. Perhaps the writer liked the way this refrain repeated throughout, but for me, I take it as a reminder: His love endures forever. In the good times and in the bad times, I can remember that God is in control and that his love, in fact, does endure forever.

So that way, when I find myself in the despair of Psalm 137, perhaps my heart will remember and sing, “His love endures forever.”

Courtney (66books365)

2 Chronicles 29; Revelation 15; Zechariah 11; John 14

I chose the word “value” as my word for the year. I think of how my thoughts, perceptions, and actions were influenced by it. I noticed that even though I may value the same things as other people, our approaches to (and even definitions of) things/concepts valued were sometimes very different.

Last week, I read about a coming battle (2 Chronicles 20:13-17), and while the Lord fully intended to fight that battle, the warriors were still called to show up and hold their ground. I remember that today as I read Hezekiah admonishing the people:

¹¹ My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.” (2 Chronicles 29:11, NLT)

Then Hezekiah proceeds to call out the men by name. They all set to work with a common goal, and there was rejoicing because the work was completed so quickly.

Jesus tells the disciples,

¹⁵ “If you love me, obey my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. ¹⁷ He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. ¹⁸ No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. ¹⁹ Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live. ²⁰ When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹ Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” (John 14:15-21, NLT)

Lord, thank you for helping me to get clear on what I value. I sit with you now to get clear on my heart. Help me to push past the obstacles that hinder me from obedience and focus. Help me to live and love in action and in truth.

Courtney (66books365)

2 Chronicles 2; 1 John 2; Nahum 1; Luke 17

December is the month I look back and look ahead. I think about valuable lessons I learned, places where I grew, other areas that need improvement, the books read, the memories made. I’m going on my fourth year of intentional goal setting/getting. So when I look ahead into a next year, I want to live intentionally.

Contemplating a new year, I wondered in the margin, “What would God think of my goals?”

¹⁵ Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. ¹⁶ For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. ¹⁷ And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. (1 John 2:15-17, NLT)

I watched from a distance this year as people closed goal books and set aside plans when momentum hit the Horse Latitudes. But God has repeatedly whispered to me, “Kingdom focus.”

²⁰ One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. ²¹ You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.” (Luke 17:20-21, NLT)

I gather the thought bubbles across a goal page to find themes and similarities, and words ripen unexpectedly in my hands: running, relationship, reimagining. These words rich with meaning.

²⁴ So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. ²⁵ And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.

²⁶ I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. ²⁷ But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

²⁸ And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame.

²⁹ Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children. (1 John 2:24-29, NLT, emphasis added)

Thank you, Lord, for putting a focus and desire in my heart, and reminding me repeatedly to keep a kingdom focus, to remain in fellowship with you. Help me to steward well all that you have put in my care. I stand and kneel only before you. Give me courage.

Courtney (66books365)