I have to laugh at the beginning of the year when all you hear about is weight-loss programs and exercise machines. We’re all guilty, probably, of eating too much during the holidays, then when New Year comes we make a resolution to shed those pounds, plus the ones that have somehow attached themselves to our waistlines during the year. We are determined to discipline our bodies and our appetites. However, have you ever seen how many exercise machines are listed in the want ads by spring? Those good intentions got fogged up by perspiration and fatigue and the desire to discipline ourselves wanes away with the last of the Slim Fast. Our life verse becomes I Timothy 4:8 – “Bodily exercise profiteth little”!
If you’ve been a believer for any amount of time at all, you’ve heard that in order to grow as a Christian you need to read your Bible daily. Maybe you’ve made a New Year’s resolve to do better at that this year. Devotions also require discipline, and most women I’ve talked to have struggled with this at one time or another. How can this commitment stay fresh and help you to grow instead of becoming overwhelming like the weight-loss program? Let me offer a few suggestions:
- Begin your Bible reading time with prayer and ask God to give you a desire for and understanding of His Word. Pray some of the verses in Psalm 119 such as verses 9-11. “Oh Lord, help my way to be cleansed by taking heed to your word today. Show me where I’ve gone astray. Help me to seek You with my whole heart and know your Word well enough that I wouldn’t wander from it. May I hide your word in my heart that I won’t sin against You today.”
- Follow a pattern in your Bible reading rather than just reading randomly each day. Read through a book of the Bible, follow a schedule to read through the Bible in a year, or use a study guide (more about that later).
- Keep notes on what you’re reading. If you’re looking for something it will be more meaningful to you.
- Look for the attributes of God and keep note on them – what verse tells you that God is all-powerful, omnipresent, or eternal? Keep a notebook of His attributes.
- Look for SPECS – Sin to avoid, Promise to claim, Example to follow, Command to obey, or the Savior. Keep these things in a notebook as you’re reading through the chapter in the Scriptures.
- If the Lord gives you a devotional thought about what you’re reading write it down.
- If you are convicted about something as you read, record it.
- When you “see something new” make notes of what the Lord showed you
That notebook or document on your computer will be precious to you as you make daily notes. You’ll look back on the year and see your personal growth when you read the Scriptures with intention.
We’ll continue this thought tomorrow…in the meantime why not take a walk around the block? =)
RefreshHer 