By: Odessa Criales-Smith
Phone: 540-822-3906
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A Letter to the Loudoun Community 2011

The 4th Annual Bible Reading Marathon | A Judeo ~ Christian Event

Leesburg, Virginia

When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. (Psalms 27:8 KJV)

Come one, come all…allow the Word of God to shed light into your hearts that you might know the love of the Father for you. I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Risen Messiah. We welcome you to the 4th Annual Bible Reading Marathon, held on the Loudoun County Courthouse grounds in Leesburg, Virginia. We will be reading the Bible from cover to cover (Genesis to Revelation), over a six-day and night, 90-hour period. The opening ceremony will be at noon on April 30th, on the steps of the County Courthouse, then move over to the Loudoun Awakening tent positioned on North King Street on the north side of the law library. The readings will conclude on Thursday, May 5th at noon. This will lead us into an informal gathering, in observance of the National Day of Prayer, which is Thursday, May 5th at noon. There will also be a formal observance of the National Day of Prayer at Prison Fellowship in Lansdowne at 7 PM.

Family, friends and residents of Loudoun, who do not yet know of God’s love for you, come…hear the Word of God read aloud; share in the reading; let the Word of God wash over you and bring life. God’s promise is that His Word shall not return unto Him without having accomplished that which He has purposed (Isaiah 55:11). We proclaim the Word of God as authority in our hearts, salvation unto our souls, healing to our bodies and armor to stand against the attack of the enemy. Ideally, we would like for each church or group to fill an hour block of time by providing four or more readers (15 minutes each) to help proclaim the Word of God by reading it out loud from Saturday through Thursday.

To participate, please visit our website http://www.LoudounAwakening.org to sign up and choose a preferred time slot for which you and/or your group would like to participate. Your commitment and participation are truly needed and appreciated, as our goal is to successfully complete the reading in 90 hours, to the glory of God. Equally as important as your “physical” participation is your prayer coverage as we seek the face of God for His will in this Bible Reading Marathon and in our local community.

About the Faith Writer:

Odessa Criales-Smith is a wife, a mother, a daughter and a sister. She attends Chesapeake Church International in Leesburg.  Odessa’s desire is that all would come know the Father heart of God and that this revelation alone would break the chains of bondage and every stronghold of the enemy, in Jesus’ name, causing each of us to walk in the wholeness and power and authority given us by Jesus Christ. Odessa believes the Word of God is Spirit and Life…it, alone, has the power to bring hope to the hopeless, to heal, to transform lives, and to provide instruction for righteous living…God’s promise is that His Word will not return void…proclaiming God’s Word over our community will transform hearts, homes, schools and community. 

Bible Reading Marathon
April 30, 2011 – May 5, 2011
Saturday: 12 PM - Midnight
Sunday - Wednesday: 6 AM - Midnight
Thursday: 6 AM - 12 Noon

As written in the Tanach (Old Testament), this type of event traces its roots to a period in 444 B.C, where the first group of Jewish exiles returned to Israel (Palestine) from Babylonia (Iraq). This included a teacher of their law, named Ezra. Ezra, the scribe and a spiritual leader of this fledgling nation assembled the returned group of new citizens of the Land to hear the reading of the law, The Torah. According to the Tanach, the Book of Nehemiah 8:1-12 records this assembly of people who stood listening to the reading of the Torah (the five books of Moses) from daybreak until noon. In the New Testament churches, Paul exhorts Timothy to devote himself “to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching” (I Tim 4:13).