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#BibleShred2022 Key Takeaways

Each year when I attempt to complete the 30 day Bible Shred I try and keep my spirit open to hearing from the Holy Spirit as I’m racing through the scriptures. Usually 2 things happen:

  1. Lessons I’ve learnt about and forgotten from the previous year get highlighted.

  2. Recurring themes that I haven’t noticed before become a lot more noticeable.

In the 2022 Bible Shred there were 2 themes that stood out to me that I’m planning on exploring more this year.

Make room for God

Throughout the second half of Exodus, all of Leviticus, and in significant portions of Numbers and Deuteronomy the author Moses spends a lot of time explaining the organising and the culture surrounding the Tabernacle - their temple to God.

It was a way for God’s people to be holy and set apart from the other nations around them (Leviticus 18:3), and for God to be present among His people (Leviticus 26:12).

The New Testament authors, especially Paul, picks up on these similar themes and explains that Christians are now the new “mini-temples” who are to be holy and set apart, and to bring the presence of God to our worlds (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

But sometimes we can fill our temple with other idols and distractions. This happens to the extreme in Ezekiel as God’s people had filled the temple with foreign gods and worship practices (Ezekiel 8:9-10).

So we need to clean out the temple and have regular encounters with God.

Make room for God.

This may look different for you, it’s both personal and communal. For me it’s making time to study the Bible, having quiet times, praying in tongues, and going to prayer meetings. Making room for God is both personal and communal.

What could this look like for you?

Messianic themes

For some reason a lot of the podcasts and books I consumed in 2021 focussed on topics of Messianic themes throughout the Old Testament. This is significant as it informs the expectation that many of God’s people had for a Saviour and how they believed God would redeem them.

This also has an impact on the world of Jesus’s time and how people received Him. Various people groups had different expectations of how their Messiah would appear to them.

Yet the way that Jesus encountered people was profoundly impactful. He wasn’t a military leader who destroyed the governmental opposers, He came alongside the rejected and the broken and brought them wholeness and peace.

The more I learn about the messianic themes throughout the Old Testament, the more I understand the powerful actions of Jesus in His time, and how I should be treating others.

I’m gaining a much wider appreciation for Jesus and how I have a relationship with Him.

Conclusion

My Bible study goal for 2022 is the become more familiar with the central themes of reflecting the image of God and Messianic imagery.

These are areas that I’m discovering more about and it is having a profound impact on how I not only read the Bible, but live out what I’m learning.

Praying that your own journey of building your Bible roadmap goes well in 2022!

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