Week One: Day Three
The Story
Matt had no routine that mattered. In fact, the only thing he did routinely was tell people about how chaotic his life was. This all had to change when he got his first job outside of college. Matt knew that showing up whenever he felt like it might not sit well with his employer. He decided he needed to create some sort of governance over his time or he may find himself back on the job market.
For being someone who boasted about living a life of chaos, Matt found out that getting up at a specified time was good for his body. He began to sleep better and could concentrate more efficiently. He began to wonder what other arenas of his life could change and operate in better order. While Matt loved Jesus, he rarely read the Bible. At least, he did not do so consistently. He made a covenant with God that he would read at least one chapter a day for a month and see what he could accomplish.
To Matt’s amazement, things in life seemed to be going better for him now that He was reading the Word consistently. Because he was getting up earlier to read, he was more cheerful with his new coworkers. While they had begun their day just an hour before work, Matt had done so two hours before. After the month of reading the Bible was over, he decided to do another month, but at a rate of two chapters a day. Things only got better from there for Matt. His boss promoted him.
Then the shoe fell. Matt’s favorite aunt passed away suddenly. No one in the family saw it coming. Amidst his grief, Matt happened to be reading in Psalms. Matt found out about Aunt Mary around 9:00pm. The next morning Matt’s reading plan found him in Psalm 23. As he read, “Though I pass through the valley of shadow of death, I will fear no evil,” he couldn’t believe it! He had heard of these set of verses before, but here they were the very day that he needed them. How clever is God? He knew right then and there that he would never miss a day without the Bible. He didn’t know when he might need it again.
The Devotion
Below are five tips for reading the Bible. You may wish to implement a few of these or all five. They work for me and I imagine that at least some will work well for you.
*These are subjective and in my favorite order. Change them around and I bet they will still work.
1. Get up a little earlier in the morning to give yourself a little extra time to read your Bible. If you are not a morning person, I would still try to give yourself a few minutes at the beginning of each day to set the Word of God in motion in you before you begin your day. Getting up earlier develops discipline.
2. As you step out of bed, just as your feet first hit the floor, begin your day with thanksgiving. Thank the Lord for the day at hand. Use Psalm 118:24, “This is the day that the LORD has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Thanksgiving opens the door for blessing. It should never be attempted the other way around.
3. Situate yourself in a comfortable and easy to focus place. One of the worst ways I have ever tried to read my Bible was on the couch. I need a desk. I need a pen. I need my coffee. Find out where your best location is and go there.
4. Don’t go digital. While this one is rather subjective, I would tell you to use the printed Word of God. Oops, I just lost my under-20-year-olds. I think the ease of use of the Bible on smartphones is incredible. In fact, when Jesus said, “The word will be preached in all the world,” he was probably referring to the latest smartphone. However, for me, there is something to be said for the pen-to-paper underlining of passages that stick out to you. Plus, your hardcopy Bible, with all of your underlining and notes, is one of the greatest gifts you can leave your children. I have a printed Bible in which I’ve underlined passages for each of my kids. You can too.
5. Pray beforehand, “Lord, please let Your Spirit rest on me while I read Your word today.” Then get started. You do not need long, drawn out prayers before God to stretch your Bible-reading muscles. However, I would always invite the Holy Spirit, who helped write the Good Book, to be present while you read. He makes a difference. Believe me.
These five tips are a great start! You could easily add five more. Instead, let’s all go read our Bibles today.
Share this with friends who love the Bible and want to further their Bible-reading momentum. Developing this routine is like pushing down the first few dominos in a series. Eventually, momentum becomes your friend.
The Bible
The Prayer
“Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your Word and the Truth it speaks to my life. I pray that as I commit to reading it, You will give me revelation beyond the words I am seeing on the page. May I learn to know the heart of the one true and living God. Thank You for being the Word and dwelling among us. Please go before me and let Your Spirit rest on me as I read Your Word today. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
