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Happy New Year! I’m excited to announce the launch of the Thy Kingdom Comma podcast. [And, hey, as of March 2020 we’re now Grace and Peace Radio! So how cool is that?!]
Lord willing, for at least the first half of 2020 I’ll be posting weekly podcast episodes so that readers (and now LISTENERS!) will be encouraged and God will be glorified.
UPDATE: It took a few weeks to figure out exactly what the podcast would be exactly. What I eventually landed on was to say:
Grace and Peace Radio is a Christian living blog and podcast about applying God’d Word to Everyday Life.
This introductory episode answers the question: Why “Grace and Peace Radio” and discusses new year’s Bible reading plans. Enjoy!
[Updated with show transcript]
Anthony Russo 0:01
Welcome to Grace and Peace Radio. Grace and Peace Radio is an evangelical Christian blog and podcast, encouraging Christians in their biblical worldview, their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to active participation in the further into His kingdom for great condition. Thanks for joining us for today’s episode. I’m your host, Anthony Russo. And it’s my hope that you will be encouraged, God will be glorified. And with that, let’s start the show.
Anthony Russo 0:36
I wanted to go ahead and take a minute and explain why Grace and Peace Radio? I have to admit it, it’s funny name. I get a lot of compliments on it like hey, that’s pretty good. So it’s funny because really, the first reason I’ll give you I have three The first reason is I couldn’t think of anything else. Like all the good Bible-like Christian-type names for a blog were all already taken, and then I came up with that. So that was the first thing.
Anthony Russo 1:03
Second thing is a comma in punctuation is used to set off a new clause, something important to the sentence. So, I want us to think in that way that there’s something important here, you know that we should stop and think and contemplate whatever is is being said, because hopefully, it’s all about Jesus. And so He is worthy of our contemplation. It’s certainly not anything I have to say that’s for sure.
Anthony Russo 1:35
The third thing is a comma is used in writing also for pause. Think of William Shatner, right, who famously uses pauses at all kinds of unusual places in a sentence. Hopefully, we won’t do that. But I do want us to pause. Like I said, it’s it’s a pause to consider something significant in the sentence.
Anthony Russo 1:59
So those are also reasons why Grace and Peace Radio makes sense. And of course, it is. It’s all about the Lord and told him that his kingdom and so I pray that this would be to the furtherance of his kingdom for His glory, not for mine, and I hope that you are blessed by it. I hope that you are encouraged. And I hope that you frankly just enjoy it. There’s no reason that we really need to be wringing our hands about things the Lord certainly isn’t. And we are His. If we are in Him, we are His, and we have nothing to fear. So To God be the glory.
Anthony Russo 2:37
I am recording this on January 1 2020. New Year’s Day. I got up this morning, and I read started out on my new one year Bible. I’m on a one year Bible reading plan. And I bought this copy of the Bible, this actual Tyndale One Year Bible at the recommendation of one of my seminary professors this last semester, so I thought I would try it out. I bought one of the original the 1984 and NIVs. I’ve been getting into the NIV lately, and so I just thought I would stick with that. I wasn’t really sure what I would think when I got into it. But I really liked it. And here’s why. Let me let me tell you some things.
Anthony Russo 3:23
First of all, as you might expect, January 1 starts out with Genesis one, and it goes through creation and it goes into Genesis two. And first of all, you know, then it jumps into Matthew, and then you’re reading about the genealogies and normally those kinds of Old Testament New Testament Bible reading plans I don’t do well with maybe you do but I don’t seem to it gets kind of schizophrenic to me. It’s a it’s a lot to keep track of. So I wasn’t really wasn’t too into it, but I thought, Okay, I’m going to give this a go.
Anthony Russo 3:59
Funnily enough It really wasn’t that bad. And I really enjoyed it. Let me let me tell you a little bit.
Anthony Russo 4:05
So I go through Genesis, I’ve read rereading the story of creation. And again, you know, I haven’t visited it in I don’t know, since last this time last year, or whatever it was. So I’ve really enjoyed seeing just God’s order of creation, how everything was so perfect and logical and everything, the way he laid it all out. But then also, again, I’m thinking, you know, this really is the best explanation of how we got here. Where did all this come from? There is no better explanation found anywhere on Earth than Genesis one, Genesis two. So there’s that I’m seeing about how God gave Adam work to do in the garden. And work is something that God gave before the fall even. So that was interesting.
Anthony Russo 4:55
And then of course, I get into Matthew and I’m reading about the genealogy of the Lord. And I’m thinking to myself, of all that transpires in Scripture and in history, from the time of creation, to where I’m at now and Matthew, reading, the genealogies and just again, all of God’s promises, and then all of God’s promises fulfilled in what I’m now reading, and will be reading as we unfold the Lord’s life and his earthly life.
Anthony Russo 5:26
Then after that, and the story of the wisemen, it goes into, has you read someone Now normally, I wouldn’t really read the Psalms at New Years, wasn’t really the first thing I would have jumped to. But I’m so glad I did. Because in someone like what a perfect song for the new year, bless it is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stay in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit and season, and whose leaf does not wither whatever he does, prospers.And then of course, it goes on and talks about the wicked.
Anthony Russo 6:11
But as far as the blessed man, the righteous man, what do I want to do this new year? What do you want to do this new year, right? We we want to grow in the Lord, we want to grow in the knowledge of Him and in His Word. And again, there’s that promise that not that everything’s going to go great all year long, or your whole life long. But it’s this idea that in the overall plan of God, we are like a tree planted by the rivers of water when we’re in God’s word, and following after him. So that was encouraging.
Anthony Russo 6:45
And then it has me read the first six verses of Proverbs. And there again, I mean, it’s really the kind of the beginning of Solomon’s prologue to Proverbs, and I was just amazed just really realizing what I was about to get into It I dig into proverbs over the next however long it is. But even in that it says, the Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel, and listen to all the reasons he gives for these proverbs and why we should be in God’s word and why we should be in these Proverbs,
Anthony Russo 7:15
“for attaining wisdom and discipline for understanding words of insight for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair, for giving prudence to the simple knowledge and discretion to the young and let the wise listen and add to their learning and the discerning guidance for understanding proverbs in parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.”
Anthony Russo 7:42
So again, how important it is that we’re in God’s word every day right? I hope you are. I hope this year you’re making a commitment to be in God’s word. Every day. I know life happens and sometimes we oversleep or we’re sick or whatever, and we miss a day here or there, but I hope that you’re in it every day. And I hope that I am too. And so I just wanted to share a little bit from that one year Bible. How about you? What do you What’s your Bible plan for the year? What’s your reading plan? Contact me here at the kingdom comment. You can email me at Anthony at I kingdom, comma, calm, and let me know what your plan is. What version? Are you reading? Do you change up versions? Or have you read the same translation for years? Some people do just because they’re, they’re comfortable with it. Nothing wrong with that. So yeah, let me know have just be kind of curious.
Anthony Russo 8:35
Well, that wraps up our show for today. Be sure to join us next time as we dig deeper into God’s word, apply it to our lives. If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve heard, please tell others you can visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/GraceandPeaceRadio, or you can visit us on the web at GraceandPeaceRadio.com. Until next time, I’m your host, Anthony Russo. Jesus changed my life.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Thanks for listening!
Grace and Peace,
Anthony & Amy
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