Happy New Year! 

Thank you for joining us on this journey through the Bible this year. The reading plan I have chosen for myself, and invite you to participate in, is the BibleProject: One Story That Leads to Jesus. You can find this in the YouVersion Bible app. This reading plan provides daily readings that will take us on a journey through the full text of the Bible. There is a wealth of explainer videos supplied by the BibleProject team.

The Bible translation I am using as my primary source this year is the New International Version (NIV). From time to time, I will compare and contrast other translations along with The Message paraphrase.

Who do you know who would benefit from joining us on this journey? You can forward these emails via the tools in the box at the top of the page. You can invite them to sign up via the form at davidgbowman.com.

As you know, there is no charge for these daily devotionals, and there never will be. There will never be any financial solicitations in this space.

Pray with me now that God would give us ears to hear and willing and obedient hearts to follow his words of truth and life.

With gratitude,
David Bowman

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Genesis 17:1, 2  When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” (NIV)

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Where does true success in life begin? 

It begins when we take God seriously and learn to walk with him. 

Our baby granddaughter is learning to walk. She has been pulling up for a while. She is learning to balance. She can push her cart across the room. Successive steps are coming soon. She loves this new independence, and we love watching her gain it. 

Learning to walk is a big deal. 

Adam and Eve walked with God until they decided to go their own way. That path led away from all they needed and longed for.

Enoch walked with God so closely that he probably didn’t realize he had crossed over from his homeland into God’s. 

Noah walked with God blamelessly until he couldn’t walk a straight line under his own power. 

Abraham walked with God for a good, long time. He walked off the map at one point. He walked a wrong path or two, until God redirected him. Then, after he learned to fully follow God in faith, God told him to walk before him and live blamelessly. 

Where are you in your walk with God?

Learn from Adam and Eve how God’s path is always better than the alternative.

Learn from Enoch to walk so closely with God that life becomes so much heaven on earth until those two realms overlap so completely that you can’t tell the difference. 

Learn from Noah to avoid those things that make you stumble into the kind of error that wounds everyone involved.

Learn from Abraham to trust God the first time and every time. Trust him with every thought, word, and decision. Know that where he leads involves his highest purpose and fullest meaning.

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I will continue learning to walk with God and before God.

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Our Father, may Psalm 32:8 be true for me in this season of life: Instruct me and teach me in the way I should go. May Psalm 143:8 continue guiding me as it has for decades: Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Amen.