Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8

I’ll be honest here, sometimes, days go by and I haven’t picked up the Bible one time. There have also been weeks and months when that happened.  I can say I treasure the Word of God, that I believe in the Word of God, that I have been transformed by the Word of God, that I have been healed by the Word of God, but sometimes, it’s just easy to put it aside.  There, I’ve said it. Rick Warren has this incredible reminder for me, perhaps for you as well:

“The Bible is far more than a doctrinal guidebook.

God’s Word generates life,

creates faith,

produces change,

frightens the Devil,

causes miracles,

heals hurts,

builds character,

transforms circumstances,

imparts joy,

overcomes adversity,

defeats temptation,

infuses hope,

releases power,

cleanses our minds,

brings things into being,

and guarantees our future forever!

We cannot live without the Word of God!

Never take it for granted.

You should consider it as essential to your life as food.

Job said, “I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread”. 

Perhaps, reading the Bible and studying it and praying and meditating on God’s Word are called spiritual disciplines because we have to discipline ourselves to make use of them.

Recently, I heard a neuroscientist share some amazing information about moving from simply reading to actually having the word imparted more deeply in us. Because of distractions, he said the first 15 minutes of reading any book are pretty easy to forget the next day or so. He suggested reading one half hour a day and reading out loud for deeper retention. He picks one book from the bible and reads it over and over again, for a half hour each day, out loud for the entire month.

I recently started this journey with the book of John and experienced the word more deeply than I would have imagined. This practice created a much more intimate perception of Jesus. I treasure that month and the impartation I received. Next is Luke!

Lord, You know my heart so much better than I ever could. If there is something there keeping me from Your Word would You cause me to see it? Would You also forgive me for being lukewarm and being so easily distracted from spending time in Your Word. Help me, not to just purpose to read, but help me to fall in love with Your Word all over again. Please. I ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

I would truly love to hear from you and learn of your journey in the Word. God bless you!