As we launch into this season of devoting ourselves to knowing God more through his Word, we want to put resources in your hands to help.
Time
The best resource we can encourage you to take advantage of is time. As busy as most of us feel, the reality is that we have plenty of time in a day, we just don’t tend to steward it all that well. While we can’t give you any more time, you already have it in your day…you just have to use it wisely and put first things first.
Bible Before Phone
One easy way to prioritize your time is to begin to live by the mantra “Bible before phone.” For many of us, our first urge in the morning is to grab our phone. Maybe it’s because it’s our alarm. For a lot of us, it’s easy to mindlessly scroll news or social media or see if we missed any texts while our brains are still coming online. Whatever the reason, what’s coming at us through our phones can quickly hijack our mind and our day.
One of the first and easiest things you can do is cut the cord to your phone and grab your Bible first. Maybe it’s to spend time studying, or maybe it’s to read a Psalm while the coffee’s brewing. But make a commitment not to grab your phone until you’ve grabbed your Bible.
Note: If your phone is your main tool for reading the Bible, I want to encourage you to grab a hard copy of the Bible. It’s just too easy for that text or notification to distract and hijack you (and that’s exactly how they are designed).
10/5 on the way to 40/20
There’s really no exact number for how much time we ought to spend with God in his word and prayer. It’s more about the relationship. But imagine how much we would grow and the things God would do if all of us set aside an hour a day to be with the Lord. So we’re making that our hope and prayer: that each of us would spend an hour with the Lord most everyday, 40 minutes reading and studying his Word and 20 minutes in prayer.
You might be thinking, “I will never get there.” If so, take heart…you can, and you get there by setting little goals and taking little steps. So if you aren’t there yet, consider this: add 10 minutes in the Bible and 5 minutes in prayer to whatever you are currently doing.
If you do not consistently spend time in the Bible or in prayer, don’t beat yourself up. God loves you! Confess it to God, ask for his help and guidance, and start a routine of spending 10 minutes reading the Bible, followed by 5 minutes in prayer. Make it your aim to do it everyday. Once you are consistently doing that, add another 10 and 5.
Resources
Women of the Word, Jen Wilkin
This is written by a woman to women, but guys, don’t let that scare you off. This is the best overall book I’ve seen on how to study the bible and the why behind it.
Knowing Scripture, R.C. Sproul
Living by the Book, Hendricks and Hendricks
How to Study the Bible resources, Kelly Needham
Fighter verses | Apple app | Google Play
Scripture memory. Lots of verses to memorize, set to music through the apps. Especially good for kids.
Holy Ghost Stories | Podcast
Holy Ghost Stories is a podcast where Justin Gerhardt brings Old Testament stories to life through dramatic storytelling that is biblically faithful, well-researched, and delivered with intrigue and passion.
Comments