I can trust God to keep me safe from harm Ceilon Aspensen, January 2, 2024January 28, 2024 The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is that I can trust God to keep me safe from harm. My primary take-away from each of the passages was this: Genesis 3 & 4 – Even when we make potentially fatal mistakes God still provides for and protects us. Matthew 2 – When I’m listening to God’s voice and doing my best he directs my steps and keeps me safe. Psalms 2 – God is a place of refuge and is in control of everything–I should not fear. Proverbs 2 – God is the source of all wisdom and when I center myself in God’s wisdom I am protected. Many people read the passages from today’s readings in Genesis and interpret them as warnings to not make mistakes, or else. One of the reasons I like to read the Old Testament and New Testament books at the same time is that they frequently provide balance and perspective when attempting to interpret the meaning of the scriptures. I spent the first thirty years of my life living in fear of the angry god that was preached from the pulpits of my childhood. After a life-changing experience in my early thirties (that was when I started reading the Bible every day) I began to see things more from a perspective of grace and mercy than of crime and punishment. The first reading for today shows the ways that God still provided for Adam, Eve, and Cain, even though the author portrayed him as being angry that they had broken his laws. The second reading shows the ways that God went ahead of Joseph and warned him of dangers which Joseph was able to successfully avoid because he was listening. The last two remind us that when we need safe harbor and wisdom for handling difficult situations, God is right there with the answers if we are listening. That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today? You can join us in our private Facebook group that I set up specifically for sharing what we take-away from the readings each day. If you haven’t gotten the FREE “Read the Bible in a Year” worksheet yet, you can download it here. It is not necessary for you to start on January 1st–you can start from the beginning on whatever date you get the worksheet. Join us! Please follow and like us: Read the Bible in a Year Spiritual Practice christianchristianitykeep me saferead the biblesafe from harmspiritualtrust God