Daily Bible Journal

not a scholar, not a theologian, just an ordinary guy trying to journal every day

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  • Day 7: Genesis 22, 23, 24

    Summary

    • Genesis 22: The sacrifice of Isaac
    • Genesis 23: Sarah’s death and burial
    • Genesis 24: Isaac and Rebecca

    Observations

    Cost of Obedience

    • God doesn’t just say “take your son.” He says: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love” (22:2). Then He asks for him as a burnt offering and directs to “one of the mountains which I shall tell you.” Abraham steps out in faith, not knowing which mountain.

    • Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, took his men, and cut wood for the burnt offering (22:3). He’s not leaving any room for excuses. If God asked me to give my daughter as a sacrifice, I wouldn’t want to wake up early in the morning and get prepared.

    • Abraham saw the place from afar on the third day (22:4). This was a journey, not immediate. Three days to think of the promise of Issac, three days to recollect the way God led so far, three days of answering Isaac’s question about the lamb for the offering.

    Obedience is Worship

    • Abraham says, “I and the boy will go over there and worship” (22:5). Obedience is worship to the Lord. Faith statement: “I and the boy will go…and come again to you.” How did Abraham know they would both come back?

    • Isaac was likely a teenager by now. Abraham bound him and laid him on the altar (22:9-10). Abraham reached out with the knife – he was not playing around.

    • Obedience is faith in action.

    Instead

    • My focus is on the word “instead” (22:13). On that day, instead of Isaac, God provided a ram. Today, instead of me on the cross, the Lord gave Jesus, His own son. In my place, on Mount Calvary, the Lord did provide for me.

    The Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio, 1603 CE Uffizi, Florence

    • On that day, the son was spared, but on Mount Calvary, the son was offered. The knife did not stop.

    Blessings After Obedience

    • We see the blessings, but we don’t know the sacrifice behind them (22:15-18). There’s a time of testing, a call for obedience, and then a time for receiving God’s blessing.

    • I don’t believe that there is a pattern or requirement to go through testing and obedience, but it’s evident that when we go through the testing and obey God, He definitely acknowledges that.

    Prince of God Among Foreigners

    • How did a sojourner, a foreigner, get recognized as “a prince of God” (23:6)? The Hittites did not see his personal obedience. They did not see the encounters with God. They did not see the difficult choices that Abraham had to make. But they saw the blessings. And they acknowledge God.

    • Abraham not only gets a burial place. His blessing has gained him respect and recognition. The Hittites valued his relationship more than money.

    • We are all in a foreign land. How do we conduct ourselves so that we are seen as children of God? How do we live a blessed and respectable life? We are all strangers and sojourners in this world. But how does one in the world see me as a prince of God, someone who belongs to the living God?

    Building a Holy Legacy

    • The first command of God is to be fruitful and multiply (24:1-4). It discusses how to raise holy generations, a thought embedded in Abraham’s heart.

    • He lives in Canaan. He sees the sins of the Canaanites. I think that’s why he doesn’t want to get a girl for Isaac from Canaan, but rather to go back to his country and get a bride for Isaac.

    • What do I learn from this?

    • How focused am I on building a legacy?
    • What values of faith am I passing on to my children?
    • What practices am I building in my home?
    • What habits am I forming that enable them to grow up as kingdom-focused people who are set apart from this world, and to raise generations who are likewise set apart and continue doing so until Jesus Christ comes back?

    • Abraham is so adamant that his son should not go back (24:8). We usually think that would be the right thing, because God wants his generation to be here in Canaan, but still have the godly values. This is a classic example of how we can be in this world but not of this world.

    The Servant’s Prayer

    • The servant is given a task. When he’s prepared and just got into the city, what’s the first thing he does? He prays (24:12-15). What a learning from the servant. Before he had finished speaking, he saw the answer to his prayer. Rebecca came that way. “While they are yet speaking, I will hear”- Isaiah 65:24

    Representing God

    • How does the servant know Rebecca is a virgin (24:16)? Maybe she was wearing something like a bracelet. This is similar to the woman at the well, who looked at Jesus and knew He was a Jew. How did she know that?

    • What do we learn? When people look at us, are we representing God? Or should we keep saying, “God looks at my heart”? Of course, God looks at your heart, but people are looking at you. Represent God in your dress, in your tattoos, in the car, in your sticker, and in your Facebook post.

    Gazed in Silence

    • The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not (24:21). I know this feeling – when you see an answered prayer, you can’t speak. You gaze in silence, meditating on what the Lord has done.

    • Lord, I pray for such moments in my life where I stand in silence and see answered prayers. Families getting saved. People’s lives are getting turned. Souls are getting added to the kingdom. Those are times I want to gaze in silence.

    Starts with Prayer, Ends with Praise

    • Another beautiful thing to learn from the servant (24:26-27): He starts the task with prayer and ends the task with praise. What a great habit. What a great attitude that I need to learn.

    Focused on the Task

    • The servant is focused on his task (24:33-41). He could be hungry after all that travel, and the food was before him. But he says, “Before we eat, let me tell you what I wanted to say. Why am I here?” Now they know this is a marriage proposal. But the way he articulates – he gives the context, then he tells the request or the task that was set, and then he speaks about the divine encounter. Such a beautiful way to convey this.

    • I’m convinced that God prepared their hearts, but I cannot ignore how the servant beautifully conveyed the context and summary, how he narrated his task and his pursuit.

    Applications

    • What is the cost that I’m willing to pay today to obey God? What is God asking me to lay on the altar?

    • Is God testing me today? What is God asking me to lay down on the altar? Do I have excuses, or do I have my knife and wood ready?

    • Do I have faith in God during my tests and trials? Am I just speaking, or am I taking action?

    • What is my attitude when I obey? Am I doing it with grudge or resentment, or with an attitude of worship?

    • How do I live as a Christian who is respected and accepted?

    • How do I build a legacy? How intentional am I in raising generation after generation who would obey Christ?

    • Do I have the servant’s attitude? How focused am I on the task? Obedient to the master, starting everything with prayer, acknowledging God every time, praising God for every success.

  • Day 6: Genesis 19-21

    Brief Summary:

    • Genesis 19: God rescues Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah
    • Genesis 20: Abraham and Abimelech
    • Genesis 21: Birth of the promised child, Isaac

    In the World, But Not of the World

    • We see Lot living in the sin-filled city of Sodom, but he has kept himself away from the practices of the Sodomites. How can we be in the sinful world but not take part in the sinful practices of this world? That’s a great learning from Lot.

    • Another thing I learned from Lot is his hospitality. In Hebrews 13:2, we read, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.” How do I entertain strangers? Are my dinner gatherings and my social networks just a group of close-knit friends? Or am I open and hospitable to strangers? Newcomers to the country, Students, People living by themselves? People who really need someone. That’s a hard reality check.

    He Lingered…

    • I’m focusing on verse 16. And I compare it to my life situation. When God, in His abundant grace, is making a way for my life to be spared, for my situation to be changed, to protect me from a coming danger. How is my response? How many times have I lingered? Many times, I have procrastinated and said, “Maybe next time, Lord. Maybe next week, Lord.”

    • God relentlessly pursues me, just like how the angels brought him out of the city. Verse 16 reads, “The men seized him and his wife and his daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and brought him out.” I think my life is like that. If God had let me go in my own way, I would have just lingered and procrastinated God’s plan in my life. But many times, God intervened. I thank God for His mercy.

    The God Who Remembers

    • I’m focusing on verse 29. It is crucial for a believer to follow Abraham’s example by sincerely interceding for his brothers, fellow believers, and non-believers, because God remembers our prayers. “God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out.” This is similar to Genesis 8:1 – “God remembered Noah.”

    • God is such a great God that He never forgets. He remembers us and our prayers. Not a single supplication made to God goes unheard.

    The Integrity of the Heart and the Innocence of the Hands

    • I’m learning this from Abimelech, King of Gerar. Abraham dropped the ball. The faith giant was afraid again and told the people that Sarah was his sister. God warned Abimelech in a dream and told him not to approach Sarah because she’s someone else’s wife.

    • Abimelech has the boldness to tell God that he has integrity in his heart and his hands are innocent. I want to be someone like that, to have integrity in my heart and innocence in my hand, but the beautiful thing is that God kept Abimelech from sinning.

    Abimelech returns Sarah to Abraham, Elias of Nijmegen, 1731 (Rotterdam Museum, Wikimedia commons)

    • God has a way of bringing about a miracle in a man’s life. This king of Gerar needed to take someone else’s wife, and God had to intervene through dreams. The one who lied ended up praying. Then God healed the womb of his wife and all his female slaves. God definitely works in strange ways.

    The Promise Keeper

    • I am meditating on chapter 21, where it says, “The Lord visited Sarah, and the Lord did to Sarah as He promised.”

    • How many times do I wait on a promise? And He did it at the time that He found it right. At the time that He promised, not when Isaac wanted, not when Sarah needed it. When God found it was the right time.

    How to Obey When I Don’t Feel Like

    • This is an observation from Abraham. Sarah wanted to send Hagar and Ishmael away. It seemed unfair, and Abraham was not in favor of this request, but God told Abraham to listen to her. How can I obey when it appears unjust and I disagree? How can I obey when I cannot see the bigger picture?

    Open my eyes, Lord!

    Loneliness and the fatherless son are Hagar’s only companions. The supplies are empty. As a single mother, she gave up all hope and decided to leave her son to die and move away, because she does not have it in her to see him die.

    At the wit’s end, God showed up, opened her eyes to a well of water, and reignited the Hope she had lost.

    Applications:

    How can I be like Lot? How can I minister to and welcome strangers?

    Am I taking God’s warning too lightly?

    How clean are my heart and hands? My thoughts and actions?

    God, keep me from sinning as you did for Abimelech, and open my eyes as you opened the eyes of Hagar.

  • Day 5: Genesis 16-18

    Desperate Housewife, Passive Husband, and the Poor Egyptian Servant

    Sarah Presenting Hagar to Abraham by Louis Jean Francois Lagrenee Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
    • In chapter 15, the Lord said to Abraham, “Your very own son shall be your heir.” I don’t think Sarai was there, but knowing that they would have a son, Sarai made a desperate attempt to get a son through her Egyptian servant, Hagar.
    • What happened to Abraham’s faith? The one who started the journey to an unknown mountain. The one who trusted God with everything. What happened to that faith when it came to his son? Why would Abraham take a shortcut?
    • I see this passivity even stronger when Abraham said to Sarai, “Hagar is your servant. Do whatever you please,” letting that poor Egyptian servant Hagar run away from her mistress, mistreated her.
    • We see the sovereign Lord who looks at all these things. The Lord who will correct the course but still be gracious. Just like Abraham and Sarah, we still make a mess today. We have the promise, but we don’t have the patience. We want things done our way and in our time. But God’s grace, God’s sovereign grace, is above our mistakes, above our shortcomings, above our thoughts, and way above our timeline.
    • And He meets Hagar and promises a future. And this is the God who sees us today. And just like Hagar, we can say, “You are the Lord who sees me.”

    El Shaddai

    • We see this dramatic scene. God visits 99-year-old Abraham and introduces Himself: “I am God Almighty.”
    • This God says He’s going to make a covenant. There are many blessings here. Abraham will multiply greatly. Abram is changed into Abraham. Abram means “exalted father,” Abraham means “father of a multitude.”
    • The blessings continue. In verse 6, Abraham will become exceedingly fruitful. Nations and kings shall come from Abraham.
    • There are so many blessings, but the everlasting covenant is that this El Shaddai will be the God of Abraham and his generations.

    Radical Obedience

    • God asks Abraham to obey and circumcise as a sign of this covenant, Abraham and every male.
    • In chapter 17, verse 22, after God finished talking with Abraham, the very next thing Abraham did was take every male in the house and have them circumcised. Abraham was 99 years old, and Ishmael was 13 years old.
    • It didn’t matter if it was a teenager. It didn’t matter if he was 99. He did what God asked him to do. That’s radical obedience.

    Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?

    • Every possible chance for Sarah to get conceived was gone. Abraham was 99, and Sarah was 90. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. She was worn out, and Abraham was too old.
    • But the Lord said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

    Application:

    • How well do I wait for God’s promise to be fulfilled in my life, or am I rushing his timeline?
    • How radical is my obedience to this El Shaddai, everything is possible God?

  • Day 4 – Genesis 12-15

    Brief Summary:

    • Chapter 12: The call of Abram
    • Chapter 13: Separation of Abram and Lot
    • Chapter 14: Abram rescued Lot
    • Chapter 15: God’s covenant with Abram

    Key Observations:

    The Faith Walk

    Chapter 12, verse 1 – God asked Abram to go to the land that I will show you. And in verse 4, Abram went as the Lord told him. Now, where is he going? Did God tell him, and it’s not recorded? We don’t know. All that I can understand is that Abram started – I mean, that’s the faith that is the bedrock of Abram’s character.

    Abraham Leaving Haran (The Calling
    Abraham Leaving Haran (The Calling by artinstitutechicago is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

    Blessed to be a Blessing

    Verse 2 – Abram is being promised that he will be made a great nation. And God says “I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.”

    • So the purpose of the blessing is that Abram in turn will turn out to be a blessing
    • verse 3 – “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”

    I Have Faith, But…

    Verses 12 and 13 – Abram had a wonderful faith. He started walking. And when there was a famine, he came to Egypt. What a wonderful, providing husband. But when he knew that his life was gonna be in danger, his moral was shaken. He asked his wife to lie for him so that his life would be spared. How many times have we compromised and become complacent when we know there’s a threat to our comfort or security?

    The Deception of the Eye

    Chapter 13 – We observe that Abram wanted to peacefully separate from Lot because they had grown, and their wealth had become immense. Here, Abram was kind enough to let Lot choose his portion.

    The scripture says in verse 10, Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered like the garden of the Lord. I don’t know how Lot knew how the garden of the Lord would look like. He saw it was pleasing in his eyes.

    Sometimes what we see is deceptive. How are we making our choices? Are we going after the value or the character? Or are we going after the looks?

    The Other Side of Conflicts and Separation

    Chapter 13, verse 14 – The scripture shows that the Lord made the covenant with Abram after Lot had separated from him. If we rewind, Lot and Abram had a fantastic relationship – uncle and nephew. And then they both became wealthy, and both their livestock grew. Then there was a conflict between these two men, at least the men under them. And they peaceably separated.

    What I realized is that sometimes in life, we could start the journey together and such relationship could thrive together. And sometimes there could be conflicts and even that could end up with separation. But God still has plans for us. After Lot was separated, God met with Abram and promised him that all the land that he sees, He will make it as his possession. And there will be numerous offsprings that no one can count. Let’s not give up. Things might look bleak, but God will intervene and continue with the promise that He has in our lives.

    Zeal for the Brethren

    Chapter 14, verses 13-16 – When Abram came to know that Lot has been taken as a captive, he went with 318 trained men and went in pursuit. He strategized, he divided his forces, and then he defeated those who held Lot captive. Then he brought back all the possessions and also brought back Lot with the possessions and the women and the people. How zealous am I towards my brethren?

    Faith, Firepot, and a Flaming Torch

    Chapter 15, verse 6 – It reads “And he believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.” Abram has great faith. Ever since he moved to a mountain that God said He would show, he stepped out in faith. I believe it was his faith in God that he let Lot choose his portion. And even now, when he is childless, and when God said that Abram would have his own son, his very own son, as his successor, it was the faith that he had in God that he believed. The Lord acknowledged Abram’s faith and met with him, accepted his offerings, and made a covenant that he and his offspring would possess the land.

    Application:

    • Do I have a faith like Abram? Do I just obey God radically? Or am I asking God for blueprints?

    • What am I doing with my blessings? Am I being a faithful steward towards the blessings that God has given to me?

    • How am I making life choices? Do I value character or the essence? Or am I too quick and carried away by the looks?

    • How am I handling conflicts? Am I looking at the bigger picture and knowing that God is sovereign?

    • How is my zeal towards the brethren? Am I praying for them? Am I taking care of them? Am I ministering to them?

  • Day 3 – Genesis 8-11

    The tower of babel

    Brief Summary:

    • Chapter 8: The flood is subsided and God makes a covenant with Noah that he’s not going to do that again – like, you know, remove every mankind
    • Chapter 9: Continuation of God blessing Noah and Noah’s descendants
    • Chapter 10: Noah’s descendants
    • Chapter 11: The Tower of Babel

    Key Observations:

    Continued Obedience

    Chapter 8, verse 15 – God said to Noah, “Go out from the ark.” What I clearly see is a normal human intention – when we see the flood has stopped, we want to go outside. a. Because you are in the ark for a long time b. You are with your family inside the ark for a long time – imagine that, spending so much time with your family in the same place. When you are given an opportunity, you just want to go out

    But Noah didn’t do that. So it’s interesting to see how we have to obey God throughout our life. It’s not good to just start well, but continue well in obedience.

    God of Second Chances

    Chapter 8 verse 17 – God says “be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” God is a God of second chances. This was God’s initial commandment when he created the first man and woman. It’s recorded in chapter 1 verse 22, and again in verse 28. Now after he has blotted out every human from the earth – I mean, every living thing from the earth – and when only Noah has found favor, God gives us a second chance, commanding us to be fruitful and multiply. So praise God for the second chances in our lives.

    Altar of Gratitude

    Verse 20 – When Noah came outside, the first thing Noah was to build an altar and offer burnt offering. How does Noah even know how to build an altar? Where did this building an altar concept come from? And burnt offering – who taught Noah to give a burnt offering?

    That being said, the observation here is that he worshiped God as a response, as a sign of gratitude for the second chance that has been given to him.

    Frailty of Mankind

    Verse 21 – Noah drank wine and became drunk and lay naked in his tent. What a pathetic human race that I belong to. God spared us, God gave us a second chance. And we, just like Noah, responded well by worshiping him. But then, as days go by, we derail, we sin, we fall short of his glory and then become arrogant.

    Arrogance of Mankind

    Chapter 11 – We see the pride of mankind in verse 4 where the emphasis is on the word “us.” They said “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower, and let us make a name for ourselves” so that they will not be dispersed over the face of the whole earth. But the Lord’s intention is that they get dispersed. So as we continue reading, God comes and confuses them – they end up not understanding each other. In verse 9, the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

    Application:

    • Believe in a God of second chances.

    • It’s good that we start in obedience, but it is essential to continue in obedience.

    • Realize the frailty and the arrogance of mankind. To self reflect – how frail I am, how many times I’ve failed. And my arrogance – how many times that I’ve thought that I could do life without God.

  • Day 2 – Genesis 4-7

    Brief Summary:

    • Chapter 4: Cain and Abel – sibling rivalry
    • Chapter 5: Adam’s family line all the way from Adam until Noah
    • Chapter 6 & 7: Flood chronicles – the corruption of the world, how God decides to bring in the flood, and how the flood covered the earth

    Key Observations:

    • First & Best: Chapter 4 verse 4 – Abel brought the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. So, some specificity is mentioned here. But Cain brought the fruit of the ground – it could be like, you know, any fruit. But there’s some specificity mentioned on Abel’s offering. So, it was intentional. That’s my first observation: I need to be intentional in my offering.
    • It’s funny how God asks questions as if he doesn’t know. Like, he asked Abel 3 questions. Now he asks Cain 2 questions. When Cain murdered Abel, God asked a couple of questions to him:
      • “Where is Abel your brother?”
      • “What have you done?”
      • God knows these questions. But he still asks. Could be the work of the Holy Spirit. Even today, when I’m found in my sinful state, God asks questions.
    • There’s a pattern that we see here. After men fell because of sin, God came and convicted them, asking questions to draw them back to him. And then we see acts of God’s compassion. God stitched clothes for Adam and Eve. With Cain and Abel, when Cain said that “Lord, the punishment is too much for me,” I see God’s compassion – that he puts a mark on Cain and says that if anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.
    • As we continue to read, life goes on after Abel’s death and God’s meeting with Cain. People started building a city, and people began tending their livestock. We read about musicians. We read about metalsmiths, forgers of bronze and iron. We even read about crude men like Lamech, who was a murderer. Then Adam is blessed with another son, whose name is Enosh. The Bible says that at that time, people began to call upon the name of the Lord. And there’s a pattern here – that we mess up, but God draws us back to him.
    • As we reach chapter 6, we encounter one of the most profound verses here. Chapter 6 verse 5 – “The Lord saw the wickedness of the man was great in the earth.” And this is a significant part of the verse – that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
    • Another observation is where Noah walked with God – chapter 6 verse 9, like Enoch – chapter 5 verse 24.

  • Day 1 -Genesis 1-3

    Brief Summary:
    Chapter 1, 2: Creation
    Chapter 3: The Fall – the first sin

    Key Observations:

    In Genesis 1:4, the Bible says, “God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.” My key observation is that God is always in the business of separating light from darkness.

    God created plants, vegetation, and fruits on the 3rd day. However, the sun was made only on the 4th day. It’s interesting how it is put up. God is beyond the laws of nature.

    Verse 26 – where God says “let us make man” – I believe this is the first occurrence of the Trinity. I am made in His image, after His likeness. And verse 28 – it reads, “and God blessed them.” The very first thing God did after creating man and woman was to bless

    Chapter 2, verse 7 reads: “God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” And that’s how I became a living creature.

    Chapter 2, verse 15 says God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. So God plans that man should have a vocation. I should do work and earn a living.

    Chapter 2, verse 18 – the God who saw everything good, the very first time He says something that is not good, which is that the man should be alone. He said, “It is not good that the man should be alone, and I will make him a helper fit for him.” It’s a good thing to get married.

    Chapter 3:

    • It’s interesting that there is a serpent that can speak – a speaking serpent
    • It’s more interesting that the woman would obey or believe this lying Satan over the God who created her
    • She doesn’t even stop at just eating it – she also gave some to her husband, and he ate too

    In Chapter 3, verse 8, the second portion says that the man and the wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. That’s what sin does to a man – hiding from God, which is separation and alienation from God.

    Chapter 3, verses 9-11 – This is where the Lord visits Adam after they have sinned. And God asked three questions:

    • Verse 9: “Where are you?”
    • Verse 11: “Who told you that you were naked?”
    • Same verse: “Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you not to eat?”

    The compassion of God:

    • Chapter 3 verse 21 – where God made Adam and his wife garments of skin
    • God sending them out of the garden is God’s compassion, God’s love and grace. Because now that he has sinned, if Adam and Eve can go and eat from the tree of Life, they will live forever in this sinful condition. So, God has to send them out of the garden, and I believe starting here, until Jesus was put on the cross, God plans to bring salvation so that man doesn’t have to live forever in a sinful state.
    moody nighttime scene under streetlight glow
    Photo by Aether In His Pocket on Pexels.com

    Application

    • Surrender to God, ask God to separate the darkness of my life
    • Believe and pledge my allegiance to this supernatural God, who is above nature.
    • V26: What a reminder that God chose to bless me. This is an assurance and an encouragement when the days do not look promising. I am created by a God who loves to bless me.
    • Reminder to stay grounded and always remember that I am nothing but dust.
    • My work is God’s plan. Be diligent and truthful in the Job that God has given me.
    • Embrace, appreciate and be grateful towards God’s compassion. Yet we were still sinners…

  • Why I’m writing

    When Everyone Else Is Scrolling

    We live in the age of brevity. Thoughts compressed into 280 characters on X. Videos condensed from full-length to Reels and Shorts. Everything designed for the scroll, the swipe, the next dopamine hit. Attention spans measured in seconds, not minutes.

    So why am I doing the opposite?

    Why am I starting a daily blog in 2026, when blogs feel like relics from another internet era? Why commit to long-form writing when the algorithm rewards quick hits?

    Here’s why.

    1. I Like Writing. I Like Reading. I Like the Literary Art Form.

    There’s something sacred about the written word that doesn’t translate to a 15-second video or a tweet thread. Writing forces you to think slowly, carefully. It demands that you sit with an idea long enough to understand it, wrestle with it, articulate it.

    Reading does the same for the reader. It asks for your attention, not just your eyeballs.

    I grew up loving books, loving stories, loving the way words can capture something true about God, about life, about ourselves. In a world racing toward brevity, I want to move toward depth. I want to practice the literary art form—imperfectly, honestly, daily.

    2. This Blog Is My Accountability

    Here’s the truth: I’ve tried to read through the Bible many times. And I’ve failed many times.

    I start with good intentions. Genesis begins strong. By Leviticus, I’m losing steam. By Numbers, I’ve given up entirely. The guilt sets in. I tell myself, “Next year. I’ll do it next year.”

    But next year becomes the year after. And the pattern repeats.

    This time, I’m trying something different. This time, I’m making it public—or at least, putting it out there. My wife and I are following The Bible Project’s one-year reading plan together. And every day, I’m going to write about what we read.

    Not because I’m a Bible scholar. Not because I have all the answers. But because writing creates accountability. When you say you’re going to do something publicly, even if no one’s watching yet, it changes things. It makes it harder to quit quietly.

    This blog is my commitment device. My daily check-in. My way of saying: I’m showing up. I’m doing the work. I’m eating this scroll, one day at a time.

    3. Maybe, If I’m Successful, This Will Help Others Too

    Right now, this blog is for me. For my wife and me, really. It’s our journey through Scripture in 2026.

    But maybe—just maybe—if I actually pull this off, if I write every day for a year, someone else might find it helpful. Someone else who’s tried and failed to read through the Bible. Someone who wants to see what it looks like to wrestle with the text daily, honestly, without pretending to have it all figured out.

    I’m not starting this blog to build an audience. I’m starting it to build a habit. To cultivate discipline. To encounter God’s Word every single day for a year.

    If others benefit along the way? That would be a beautiful bonus. But first, I need to prove to myself that I can do this.

    My Hope and Prayer

    I really hope and pray I do write every day.

    I know there will be days when I don’t want to. Days when the passage is difficult, confusing, or seemingly irrelevant. Days when life is busy, when motivation is low, when the excuses pile up.

    But that’s exactly why I’m doing this. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s worth it.

    — R
    Toronto, Canada
    December 2025