Just because you’ve failed along the way doesn’t mean you still can’t succeed.
Last summer I was hanging out at my parent’s house while helping my dad put a new ceiling on the family room. One of the evenings we were sitting around the family room, and my mom and little brother started talking about their Bible reading program. What part of the Bible were they in? How was it going?
I tried to sink into my chair. Because despite writing books about studying and reading the Bible, I wasn’t doing it regularly myself. I did not want to look at me and ask how my reading program was coming along, because it wasn’t!
This was a wakeup call for me.
When i got home I bought a One Year Bible and started reading. It was August, and I started out in the middle of Job. Didn’t matter. I knew I needed to get into God’s Word. Period.
That was a year ago.
I just came across the first verse I underlined in that Bible. So that means I’ve successfully read through the Bible in the last 365 days!
I want to get one of those party poppers that shoots streamers and pull the string right now.
So let’s be clear. I read from Job to Revelation, then from Genesis to Job. All in, it’s all the books of the Bible. You don’t have to go Genesis – Revelation to make it count.
And yes, I failed a lot along the way. Failure looks like missing a day and not doing the reading. Maybe because I was traveling. Maybe because I got busy in the morning and didn’t read at the set time.
I failed a lot, but I still succeeded in making God’s word a priority over the last 12 months.
When I started reading I made a deal with myself. If I missed a day, I wouldn’t go back and try to make it up. I’d just call it a miss and keep on going.
So yes, there are bits that I missed during the year. But my goal was to make a new habit, not achieve perfection. And I’ve done that.
Now I’m on my second time through. It’s exciting! I’m looking forward to seeing the verses I chose to highlight along the way the first time.
Now, here’s the part where I turn the mirror on you. I’ve spent a year looking into this mirror, and I’m excited to keep going for another year.
Are you reading God’s Word regularly?
That’s a very serious question. We’re in a war with culture and sin and the forces of spiritual darkness in high places. And if you’re not regularly connecting to God – and His love letter / instruction manual to you, then you won’t be effective in that war.
It’s a function of attrition. Life will just wear you down.
In Romans 12, Paul lays out the ONLY way you can succeed:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”
He is not talking about a one-time-good-forever kind of renewal. He means a continual (read: every day) renewal of your mind.
If you answered the question “Are you reading God’s Word regularly?” with a “NO”, then there is an action you need to take. Yes: NEED.
The people of God need to read and dwell in the Word of God. How else can you resist the continuous, persistent, relentless, unavoidable drag on your spiritual life?
You can’t. You won’t.
So here’s the offer. Follow my footsteps. I was just like you, saying I was a Christian – but not doing the basics I needed to build my faith day in and day out.
But I picked up a Bible and started to read. I didn’t wait for the time to “be right’ – because the time was right. In fact it was starting to border on too late!
I’m not asking you to do something I didn’t have to do myself.
I strongly recommend the One Year Bible. It just makes the process easy – and I didn’t need any extra challenges to overcome on this journey. I think this is the best, and easiest path to follow.
I created a page on my website to make it all really easy for you. I’ve got a link to the Bible I use – and frankly the Bible I recommend.
Click here to get started on your own Bible Reading Journey:
https://www.dennis-stevenson.com/oneyearbible/
If you’ve already got a Bible Reading plan going, that’s awesome! Would you be so kind as to tell me what kind of system you’re using? Just reply to this email and let me know if it’s a specific program (like the Navigator’s) or an all-in-one Bible like mine, or even a program on your phone/tablet that breaks it all down for you.
Thanks, and happy reading!
Dennis
