Friday morning as I was preparing to leave for Deeper Still I read this post by Jon at SCL. I was so challenged by his post and discussed it with my accountability partner, Beth, on the way to the conference.
Reading the Bible consistently has been a struggle of mine for most of my adult life. I won't get into listing my excuses or explanations. The bottom line is that I have not been passionate about the pure, unadulterated Word of God. I really do want to know about God...but if I am honest, I want someone else to do the research, pick out the important stuff and spoonfeed it to me in a way that is entertaining, encouraging and challenging.
I left this weekend convicted about the fact that I make time to read all kinds of things everyday, but the Bible itself is not an everyday, absolute priority. I loved how Beth Moore described her need to read the Word first thing in the morning in order to "settle the matter of Authority in her life." Kay Arthur challenged me further when she said that if we have time to read novels or Christian books but are not in the Word daily, we have things mixed up.
Friends, I confess, I have things mixed up.
Seeing Beth, Kay & Priscilla's love of Truth and knowledge of the Lord was a real encouragement to me. I need Him. My children need to see me reading the Bible, not just books or blogs. As I spent the last 24 hours in the Word I felt a change in my Spirit. I want more of that.
Priscilla Shirer spoke of the development of true spiritual discernment and the fact that it comes from KNOWING God. The way to know Him is to immerse ourselves in His Word. It is there for the taking. Yet, I, like the Israelites, want to send Moses up the mountain to bring it back for me when I have the access to God myself.
I prayed this weekend that God would make me like Moses. As I sat in that arena with 19,000 other women, praising God with all of my soul, I was able to hear God beckoning me to draw closer to Him. I want that.
"Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." Deuteronomy 8:3b (NIV)
So, I committed today to not read another book until I have spent at least one month consistently in the Bible--just me & the Word of my Lord. My accountability partner and I are also going to start reading through the Bible, in hopes of finishing in one year.
The best part is that I do not feel 'guilted' into this. I am excited. I cannot wait to see what God does as His Spirit falls afresh on my heart through the exploration of His Word. As Priscilla said, "We turn to the Scripture to find out who He is and, ultimately, who we are."
I am fired up and looking forward to it!
11 comments:
Blessings to you as you start this journey. I've had to take a "fast" from the innocent pleasures of the world to refocus and its been a blessing.
Best wishes, you won't regret this!
I was there too and came away with the same conviction and excitment! I need to be back in God's word to receive daily bread and stop trying to live, let alone thrive, on days old, stale bread! I am so grateful for their challenge! And wasn't the music powerful and amazing! What an awesome 24 hours to think, sing, listen, talk about how AWESOME God is.
Awesome! I'm anxious to hear about your journey through the Bible! It's the best non-fiction novel out there! :)
Also--I love, love, love Priscilla Shirer. Have you ever done any of her Bible studies? Her teaching & the study books are AWESOME!
I have never heard of Priscilla Shirer - I guess I need to look up her study books!
You just put into words one of my recent convictions.
I agree with Beth, the morning is the best time to do it...now if I could just program my clock to wake me exactly 30 minutes before the children!!!
there is actually a Bible that is already separated by day in order to finish it in a year, if you are interested!
I am NOT a morning person, but after being blessed with three early rising children, God decided that a morning person was who He wanted me to be.
It was hard at first,waking when everything is still dark, but I have never been disappointed. God has revealed things to me through His Word in the morning that made me wany to jump out of my chair to tell somebody....except everyone is sleeping. : )
In the still of the morning, with His Word opened in your lap, powerful things occur. It's a spiritual phenomenon I can't bear to miss.
And the best part? Your children begin to recognize the importance of the moment, yielding their time to the quiet time between Mommy and the Almighty.
http://jonisjoy.blogspot.com/2008/02/interruptions.html
I was at Deeper Still too!
LOVE your blog - it is a daily read for me. You share some of the most amazing things here - and I never leave without feeling challenged and inspired - this challenge hit me close to home. I too feel His tug into His Word. I just linked my blog back to yours for the previous post He Is! I LOVE that song. I heard it a few months ago and remember being stunned. I had tried to write it all in the front of my Bible but forgot half of it. I am so glad your posted it here - the lyrics really leave you speechless when you think of all that He is! What is even more amazing is that this is just a drop in an ocean of who He is.
Thanks for a great post. I have just made the Bible year.com my homepage. And I also like that the writing is big enough for me to read.
Fabulous post. I had hoped to attend Deeper Still but it just didn't work out this time. I applaud your effort to have your children see you reading the Bible. I wish I'd done that when my son was younger. "Do as I say, not as I do" doesn't work very well with a tweenager.
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