Nathan Neighbors
Follower of Christ, Husband, Father, & Youth Pastor
Today is our first day in our 90 day walk through the Bible. My prayer for you this summer is that you will not only be able to read God’s entire Word to you, but that it will change the way that you think and live out this abundant life that He has given you. Today’s passages spanned a great amount of time. Genesis 1:1 begins our passages for the day and is the “beginning” of it all.
What stood out to you in your reading today? What passages jumped out at you? Here are two things that stood out to me.
First, I was reminded of our sinful nature in these passages. Did you notice how quickly it went from Eden to evil? It seemed like every chapter had someone doing something that displeased God. From the disobedience to Adam and Eve to the murder of Abel to the evil of those in the time of Noah. These chapters are a great reminder of a Savior.
Secondly, I was impressed by Enoch. In Genesis 5:24 it gives the account of Enoch (one of the ancestors of Adam). When giving the account of his life it simply says, “Enoch walked with God: then he was no more, because God took him away.” Wouldn’t that be a great thing to be said of all of us? …that we walked with God. Let’s spend this summer walking closely with God as we read His Word.
Today’s my 34th birthday. Birthdays are great opportunities to celebrate life, but also reflect on what was done over the previous year. I noticed that this month marks my fourth year of blogging. I wrote my first blog on May 12, 2006 just after our son, Ellis came home from the hospital. Read my first blog by clicking here.
Over the last four years I’ve written 280 blogs on every major happening in my life and there have been nearly 30,000 hits on my site. I’ve posted family updates, videos, pictures and even artwork from our children. I’ve posted articles about youth ministry. I’ve written updates on youth summer camps, spring retreats, and even mission trips from across the globe. But what about the next four years?
I heard it said recently at a ministry training seminar that we can either use our blogs to record history or help write the future. For most of the past four years I have simply documented my life and ministry (recorded the past). Maybe in the next four years I should write blogs that not only record history, but also spur people on to change their futures.
Starting on Tuesday, June 1st I will blog daily for 90 days as we read through the bible together. Join me this summer as we journey through the whole of scripture. Each day after I read the scheduled 12 pages of text, I will post my thoughts. Join me each day here at my website and make comments about what God’s teaching you.
Today, six of our students celebrated their high school graduation at Morningside Church. Here is a video montage of their years at the church. Congratulations Class of 2010. Thanks to Mark Alexander for the great video work.
Nathan Neighbors 