Day 2 on the Cross Way

"this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. Acts 2:23

"The predetermined plan" of God. The cross was no accident. But my approach to life is pretty accidental most of the time. That is, I tend to be spontaneous and will do just about anything on the spur of the moment. Once our family was driving to New England for a vacation and before we had gone three miles, I had suggested camping at Assageague Island along the way, even though Assateague was hours out of the way. That was 2 days after we had decided to go to NE instead of Florida. Another time we "stopped by" New Jersey on our way home to the Midwest from Florida. Still another time we (two adults and a teenager) camped out in our subcompact car on a mountain in France because we had neglected to make reservations for a hotel the first weekend in August. Now, here's the problem: Although we love the adventures that my impulsiveness provides, I have come to realize that spontaneity in seeking God is just not working well.

So for years I read through the Bible faithfully; starting again as soon as I finished. Ah, DISCIPLINE! But that got boring and I realized that my intimacy with my loving Father was suffering. So then I started reading one passage until I got as much as possible out of that. Some days I would read one verse or one phrase only and meditate on it. That helped for awhile, but eventually, once again I found that it was a chore, rather than a delight. So next I tried saying to myself, "Bible reading and time with the Lord is not a chore to be accomplished, so I will try skipping days so that my time with the Lord is spontaneous." Well, all I can say is that I think my Enemy liked that one a lot, because I found myself spending less and less time with my Lord.

This blog is my next step. I realized that if God planned the crucifixion from the ages past, then He values planning and goal setting. So I am going to commit myself to writing once a day and posting thoughts on the cross for a year. I will meditate on at least one passage per day and report here on my progress.