A Fresh Look at Podcasts

It must be five years that I have listened to The Daily Audio Bible--four years blogging here. I love how they have helped me meditate on God's Word.

See http://www.dailyaudiobible.com/

In 2011 I recorded my Scripture highlights for the whole year. In 2012 I even got their Passages Bible on my Nook. It tracks with the Daily Audio Bible podcast so you don't have to turn pages in your Bible:

• Old Testament reading
• New Testament reading
• Psalms--goes through twice in a year
• Proverbs

If you have a goal, dare I say a resolution, to go through the whole Bible in 2013, you can do an iTunes download for Daily Audio Bible on your computer and then put it on your device. I have both an iPhone and an iPod, but just put podcasts on my iPod and can listen at home or in the car. Then if someone calls me, I can simply get off the road,  stop my podcast and take the phone call. Today I am at home and listened to the Daily Audio Bible on my computer. At times I also pick up on some of their prayer requests.

Every few days on my iPod I love to listen to

http://www.albertmohler.com/category/podcast/

Al Mohler delivers news from a Christian persective. His first podcast of 2013 includes:

• Story 1 - US Congress Passes Fiscal Cliff Deal, Financial Times (Richard McGregor); A Showdown Long Foreseen, New York Times (Jennifer Steinhauer); Wonkbook: Everything you Need to Know about the Fiscal Cliff Deal, Washington Post (Ezra Klein)
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  Story 2 - New year, new laws, and new challenges for constructive Christian thought  Measures to Rule the Land—From Marriage to Marijuana, Wall Street Journal (Dan Strumpf)
• Story 3 - The greatest threat to religious liberty in modern times:  Hobby Lobby to Defy Law on Contraception Insurance Coverage, Los Angeles Times (Shan Li)
• Story 4 - Christians need to pray for Hillary Clinton’s full recovery

I learn so much from Dr. Mohler. I also just ordered his book on the Ten Commandments, Words from the Fire and look forward to reading it.

You have to be careful, however, listening in your car. One day an officer stopped me.

"Sir, I didn't notice that STOP sign because I was changing podcasts."

"Show me your iPod," he said. I did and noticing "Safe Driver" on my driver's license he let me go with a warning.

These days some ministries have gone to YouTube, but that takes time to listen to on your computer, or smart phone. If I get a chance to listen to YouTube, I would listen to

http://www.youtube.com/user/NiceneCouncilcom

Nicene Council produced the most viewed posts of all time on this blog for their best-selling DVD Amazing Grace.

But for now, time wise, I get my daily Bible reading in on my podcasts. Listening causes me to go back and meditate and pray more--just a desire of my heart. Many reformed folks, I fear, just seem to read theology, but not the Bible. Many Christians do neither, I also fear.

What is your favorite medium for input--blogs, podcasts, books, serious Bible study? What books did you get recently to recommend to me?

I do not have the Bible as  a resolution, because it has become a habit now.

On Resolutions

“Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.”― John Heywood

I finally kept a resolution last year. Yes, I did start with January 1, 2011, and finish December 31, 2011. The resolution involved my devotions--a rich practice of applying Col. 3:6. Highly edifying in my life. Study of the whole Bible, with more than just listening to the Daily Audio Bible all year as I have for several years; in 2011 I found my highlight verses for year. Much more punch in my life than just listening to the Bible all year.

I actually typed them up and that list is 164 pages single spaced 11 point type. I used the New Living Translation. In 2012 I will use the NIV Passages Bible in  an e-Book that lets me highlight and shows those highlights in context. Just this week I put this on my Nook and every day it will open up to the OT, NT, Psalm and Proverbs without my having to do much. A comment I heard about e-Bibles is that it is hard to find your way around in them. Not for with this Bible on and e-Book for my purposes on continuing letting the word of Christ dwell in me richly (Col. 3:16).

Jesse Johnson has said much about resolutions in the Cripplegate blog Self-examination and Resolutions post. Go there! Nathan Busenitz also wrote on the same blog  about Top Ten .

But the problem with resolutions is the same as a "to do" list. It depends upon human will. Rather I think we need to have a heart towards God and find out what He wants us to do. Be WITH HIM.

Four years ago this blog was started and my goal was theological. Now I am pretty fed up with theological debates because people are all consumed in the debate. My brother says it's a "guy" thing.  Rather as I age I just want to have that quiet relationship with the LORD, to meditate on His word and to concentrate on prayer--rejoicing, intercession and supplication. This is what I should have been doing all along instead of depending on my efforts of the flesh.

I just started a small journal that I am carrying around in my purse now with prayer for the week:

• Sunday--My church family and other congregations I have been a part of
• Monday--My sibblings and their families and two recent widowers
• Tuesday--My husband's family
• Wednesday--People who are acquaintances and friends
• Thursday--My cousins and the few older persons in the family (we are seniors now)
• Friday--My social media friends
• Saturday--My neighbors, our politicians, legislation, the election of 2012, and the world

This doesn't leave me much room to be self-centered, but I am requesting special prayer from a few friends about my husband's Alzheimer's. On my computer desktop I created Word documents for each day of the week so I can check back. Some of the daily prayers I have also posted on people's blogs. I also am writing prayers that praise God in the book and cherishing this time WITH Him.  Hopefully a new attitude of prayer with come into my life even as Bible meditation did last year.

LORD, make me willing to follow your bidding in 2012.
Help me be with Your program.