I want to give testimony
which means that I also need to be transparent and honest…
I really suck at
reading my Bible regularly.
It is and always has
been a struggle of mine. I so easily get caught up in the busyness of life, the
busyness of ministry even, that I feel like I'm doing good if I can even manage
to take 2 minutes out of my day to read a quick YouVersion devotional. And not
that there’s no merit at all to that, but it definitely doesn’t impact my life
with the word of God. Let me tell you, I felt the impact of this in my
spiritual life.
I have definitely been in
a spiritual dry spell for some time.
Recently we got a
desk/bookshelf together and so I finally got around to organizing some of the
boxes we had just left in storage in our second bedroom/office. In one of those
boxes was an extra journaling Bible that was the result of an ordering mishap
for our wedding. (We used one as a guest book but ended up with a second one
because Patrick’s friend, Andy was concerned the one he ordered online wouldn't
come in time). So we had this extra one lying around the house. As I picked it
up and thumbed through it, I thought how convenient such a Bible made doing
devotions because there was room to journal right next to the word, which is
ideally how I like to have my devotions. So I decided to start using it for my
personal devotional Bible.
This is how I know my
brain is a weird place…
Just the idea that I
could journal right in Bible was enough motivation for me to actually get into
the word again. Knowing that I could hold one book instead of both my Bible and
my journal made it seem easier. It makes no sense, because it still takes just
as much time and sometimes I still write a reflection in my journal, but
whatever… it works for me.
As I picked it up to
decide which chapter I wanted to start in, Patrick suggested, “Just start in
the beginning…” Immediately my brain starts coming up with excuses, “I already
know so many of the Genesis stories…” “But I could be reading something from the
New Testament…” But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that the
beginning did in fact seem like a pretty good place to start.
Would you believe I made
it through 5 years of Bible College, and I still have not read the Bible entirely?
It’s somewhat
embarrassing actually, though I know many Christians are in the same boat as
me. I actually had a non-Christian ask me one time, “How can you be sure you
believe it if you’ve never read the whole thing?” Now of course I still have
read much of it and know the themes and meaning of the Bible as a whole, but I
have always known reading the Bible in its entirety is important.
I’m not a fan of
one-year Bible reading plans.
They don’t work well
for me and they often make me feel like I’m reading just to accomplish a goal
of reading it. Plus it usually has me reading so much at a time that I have a
hard time applying and gaining the meaning out of it. So I decide to make a
simple goal for myself…
Read straight through
the Bible at least one chapter a day, every day.
I know it may not be
the most practical plan. I know it will take a long time (3.25 years). But I
want to soak in the word of God. I want to take it one chapter at a time and
truly meditate on that chapter. I don’t want to read it just to finish it in a
certain amount of time, but read it to truly learn it on a personal level and
to know God. I know there will be long days and short days. I know there will
be painfully boring books and really exciting ones. But it’s all in the Bible
for a reason, so I want to read it.
I’ve missed a few days
already.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t
been perfect so far. But I have done SO, SO, SO much better than before. So far
I am on Genesis 5. And guess what, already I am noticing the power that being
in God’s word on a regular basis has made in my life. I feel like I am hearing
from God again. I am gleaning more from speakers of God’s word and I have a
passion for living life for God again. I don’t feel like I am just going
through the motions but rather that I am passionately living life for God. I’m
actually finding that I want to spend time in the word and I look forward to
reading the next chapter.
And that’s only after a
few days.
Not only that, I am
getting so much out of it. I mean I’ve read stories like the creation account,
Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel… all stories that I’ve heard time and time again.
And with every chapter I read, I have gained something new out of it. I have
been able to pull out an application for my own life from the Word of God. I
feel like God is truly speaking to me through his word as I step out in
obedience and challenge myself in this way.
At first I didn’t want
to tell anyone about this challenge…
I was nervous to tell
anyone that I had challenged myself to do this because I didn’t want people to
know if I failed. Tonight, I changed my mind. On my own, I will most certainly
fail. I need the help of others to hold me accountable. I need people to ask me
how my Bible reading plan is going. I’m not going to prepare for failure but
rather set up and plan for success. So please, hold me accountable. Ask me how
the plan is going. Ask me where I’m at in the Bible. This is at least a 3 and a
quarter year journey I am embarking on. I know I may miss days here and there,
but I know I’ll stop altogether if no one helps me.
And maybe… MAYBE I’ll do
blog updates as I continue on this journey.
If God has done this
much work through just 5 chapters of his word, I’m interested to see what other
changes I will see in myself as I continue reading. There truly is power in God’s
word. It is definitely living and active. I wonder what it will activate in me.
Please join me in this.
Hold me accountable and
ask me about it. Maybe you need to challenge yourself to read a chapter a day
all the way through too. And you can also subscribe to a Daily Bible Message
that I send out. I have been writing these daily devotions based on my reading
for the day and based on my personal reflection of the word. And look for blog
updates about what God continues to do in me as I stay in his word.
