I'm the kind of person who rarely reads a book twice. I'm the same with movies. Once I know the story and what's going to happen, I'm done. Without the mystery and emotion that carries me page to page, I'm not interested in spending my time on it again. I know that many of you don't share this feeling - you have books that you have read over and over again, each page is dog-eared and you can quote from it. I respect that, I've just never experienced it for myself!
Two related facts that have no spiritual value in this devotional:
- I get 98% of my fictional reading material from the library (go KPL!). The other 2% I borrow from friends. Why buy a book when you'll never read it again? Right?!
- The only movie I have intentionally watched multiple times over the decades is... can you guess? Maybe I'll save this answer for Sunday morning.
I'm telling you this so you'll understand that when it comes to the Bible, it's kind of against my nature to read the same chapters and books over and over again. Maybe you can relate. How can I get excited about reading my Bible day after day?
On Sunday, I gave you the three pointers that help the Bible to stay "alive and active" in my life: Stop, Drop, Roll On. (Listen to me explain that here at about 23:55.) But I also have found that having a plan has helped me tremendously.
Here are a few reading plans that might be useful to you:
DIGITAL: I don't know of a better resource than YouVersion. Thank you Life.Church for making so many resources available for free!
Online: https://www.bible.com/
YouVersion: https://www.bible.com/app (or search your device's app store)
BOOK: Solo: An Uncommon Devotional - a simple way to start Stop, Drop, Roll On because of its lectio divina style.
PRINTABLE: http://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/
This is a website that gives you a whole bunch of choices. You can choose different durations, different things to focus on, number of days of the week you will read for, and so on. All of these are downloadable and printable! (Thank you Ligonier Ministries!)
When we are people of the Word, it changes so many things about our walk with Jesus. I am committed to equipping you in any way that I can so let me know if I can help you make the study of scripture a regular part of your day.
“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
See you on Sunday!
Pastor Tracy
This Sunday...
Erin will be sharing the end of Gideon's story in her part two message. It's interesting to see how Gideon's path unfolded after his great victory and how his actions seem to show a lack direction and conviction like he had after God called him. Judges 8:22 is the starting point for this week's message. Read this section ahead of time and get ready for Sunday!
You can also follow along with the message on YouVersion.
