Sweeter Than Honey: If My People

What if we spent a few quiet moments with God each morning? What if we were intentional about making time for it? What if we committed to doing that all year long and by the year’s end we found that we had read the entire Bible!?

How many times, on January 1, have you committed to reading the Bible from cover to cover in a year? I have made that commitment too many times to count, and I have failed too many times to admit.

​A few years ago though, I used a one-year, chronological order of book authorship, Bible Reading Itinerary.

Did you know that Genesis was not the first book of the Bible written? While plans like this vary somewhat, because it is simply impossible to put an exact date on some books of the Bible, the plan I used begins with the book of Job.

Sweeter Than Honey is a 365-day devotional journey ​that leads the reader
​through God's Word ​in chronological order of book authorship.

AVAILABLE AT AMAZON [PAPERBACK | KINDLE]

Let me introduce you to Sweeter Than Honey, friend. It is patterned after that Bible Reading Itinerary.

On Tuesdays, now through the end of the year, I would love it if you and I could take a trip through Sweeter Than Honey together! I'd also like to encourage you to Join us over at the private, Sweeter Than Honey Facebook group and share your thoughts. You'll find like-minded, Christian friends there. Let’s do this! Come join us as we move through the book and God's Word together.

We're waiting for you!

​2 Chronicles 7-9: If My People

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

We hear and read the second part of those 2 verses quoted a lot! But how many times have we read it in its full context? Here we find, in 2 Chronicles, that King Solomon finished building the house of the Lord, his own house, rebuilt cities, and settled the people of Israel in them—a 20-year project. Now, he and all of Israel dedicate the house of the Lord, the Temple, and the Lord appears to Solomon and this is what He says to Solomon:

“Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time. And as for you, if you will walk before Me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping My statutes and My rules, then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.

But if you turn aside and forsake My statutes and My commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from My land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house? Then they will say, Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore He has brought all this disaster on them.’” (2 Chronicles 7:11-22)

The charge the Lord gives Solomon is not any different than the charge He gives us today. If we will humble ourselves, pray, seek God, and turn from our wicked ways, He will hear and forgive.

I find it inspiring that King Solomon finished building the house of the Lord first. Then, he built his own house, rebuilt the cities and settled the people. He had his priorities right! How often do I get my priorities all out of whack and do "my thing" first and then the Lord's work?

About Sweeter Than Honey

When I read God’s Word each morning, I find inspiration and insight that keeps my day on track. Join me on this journey. Let’s settle in with His Word—it’s His Love Letter to us. Did you know that? Let’s read it like a Love Letter, expecting to glean something for our walk with Him every day. Let’s look for peace in the chaos and strength for our weaknesses. Even on our busiest days we can carve out a few minutes to refocus on the important. Can’t we? We may have to get up a little earlier, when the house is still and quiet, or stay up a few minutes after the others are tucked in for the night, but we can do this! I know we can!

Let's be intentional about focusing on God’s Word and the truths found there. Let's let it inspire us to live out our faith each day in a way that causes those we come in contact with to want what we have found. God sees you. He knows you by name, He knows the number of hairs on your head, and He cares about every detail of your daily existence. He wrote you a Love Letter. Let’s dive in! ​

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