Stand up if you like to make New Year’s Resolutions. Great. There are quite a few of you out there. Now, if you typically fail to keep them past the end of February, take a seat. Hmm. It doesn’t appear they often survive the test of time. Resolutions are disciplined habits, and unless we do something regularly for at least six weeks straight, we aren’t apt to stick with it. According to Brad Zomick of goskills.com, 46% of people who make New Year’s resolutions fail to follow through. For those of you who abhor math, let me make it easy. It’s almost half.
I’ve never been a resolution-kind-of-girl. I figure why wait until January 1st to do something worth doing? So, it follows, when the heart-felt need to dig deeper into God’s Word came upon me, I started a year-long program in July. Of course, that means I’m on Day 164 right now when most in that group either finished on December 31st or started on January 1st. It doesn’t’ matter to me, because we never know what tomorrow will bring, and that hasn’t been more true than it is in these tumultuous times. To be perfectly transparent, I was experiencing moments of fear which motivated me to draw closer to the only One who is in complete control. Knowing God gives me the confidence to live each day for Him rather than for myself or what others may deem important.
According to Lifeway Research, only 11% of self-proclaimed Christians have read the entire Bible, and only 9% more than once. You can read the rest of those statistics here. I realize reading the Bible is not a “requirement” for being saved, but if so few of us know His Word, how can we know Him or be obedient to how He calls us to live our lives? How can we understand which political platforms are important, and see that the way we vote today will impact generations to come? We have a guidebook about how to have a successful marriage, raise our children, be financially wise. The more I learn God’s character and understand His grace, the more life-altering decisions become easier to maneuver.
I’ve tried several ways of reading the Bible: Cover to cover; pick-and-choose books; book-specific Bible studies; topic-specific Bible studies; chronologically. It doesn’t much matter if we’re getting into the Word. I realize people are busy with the business of life, and it’s not always easy to find the time to squeeze one more thing into our schedule. But with all the chaos and upheaval these days, I want to be prepared for what’s to come. I want to be armed with God’s Word and guidance so I am living as a warrior instead of a timid mouse. Matthew 24:44 says “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
This is not a blog post meant to create guilt. Believe me, I’m pretty good about heaping that on myself, which is why I so desperately need to know God’s character to my very core. Instead, I want to share a couple suggestions for those of you who desire to be in the Word more regularly.
First off, I’ve never felt like an effective pray-er. What I have found to be beneficial is starting each day with a couple of devotionals. One is Chris Tiegreen’s One Year Walk with God Devotional. I love it because each day has a scripture verse and a quote which he discusses in a couple of short paragraphs. But he also ends it with suggestions on how to apply the Word, which I really like.
The second devotional I use is L. B. Cowman Streams in the Desert. This one touches my writer’s heart. It’s a collection of short devotionals from different time periods—some narrative, some poetry—all beautiful. These were the devotionals that Mrs. Cowman used in her years as a missionary, the last six of which she was caring for her dying husband. I know, not very uplifting, but if you love beautiful prose, this is one you’ll treasure.
Once I’ve read both of these, I take a few minutes to process them before I journal my prayer. The reason I write my prayers is two-fold: I don’t get easily distracted when writing as I do when praying in my mind. I would pray aloud, but that might disturb my sweet husband who is in the middle of his own prayer time. Secondly, I like to be able to revisit my journals to remind me how faithful God is to respond to all of my prayers, whether He answers yes, no, or wait.
Now for the actual program. A good friend of mine, who is in women’s ministry, got me hooked on this one. It’s a two-parter: First, you’ll need the YouVersion Bible App. Once you have it loaded on your phone or tablet and opened, click on Plans at the bottom. The program I use is the Bible Recap with Tara-Leigh Cobble. Even though I jumped into the program mid-year, I started on Day 1. Later, Chris, who was already reading the chronological Bible, decided he wanted to use this instead, so we matched up where he was in his Bible on this program, and he started there. It doesn’t really matter, as long as you start.
The second part of this is the podcast where Tara-Leigh Cobble does a recap (hence the name Bible Recap) in a short five to nine-minute segment. This is hugely beneficial for me. I find it just helps me to home in on things I might have let pass. She’s upbeat and extremely informative. You will need to download the podcast through your podcast app, whatever that is for you. Mine is Apple Podcasts (iTunes), but you might use something different. You can even stream both the program and the podcast directly from your computer, so you don’t need the app. Search for The Bible Recap by D-Group and jump in wherever you like. They’re starting Season Three, but the other two seasons are available for those who would like to start in the middle of the chronological Bible as Chris did.
I know for many of us we have a tendency to put off things until tomorrow. When I was a child, my mom had a nine-inch, round piece of wood with the words “Tuit” stamped on it. She said it was for those people who had a habit of saying, “I’ll get around to it eventually.” Make yourself a round Tuit, and don’t put off too long what’s most important.
