Finding Satisfaction in Bible Reading
“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:14)
That’s my prayer for us as we start the new year with a commitment to read God’s word together each day. Daily bible reading is more than checking off the box each day; it’s more than exercising a spiritual discipline. It is cultivating a relationship with God of the Word who nourishes us with his truth that is sweeter than honey. It is being satisfied with his grace and love each morning as we start a new day. It is a pathway towards joy and gladness in the Lord each day.
We will use a two-year version of Robert Murray McCheyne (RMM) Bible Reading Plan that will take us through half of the OT, plus all of NT and Psalms in year 1 (2022) and then through the rest of the OT, plus all of NT and Psalms in year 2 (2023). Each day we will be reading through a chapter from the Old Testament (OT), and a chapter from the New Testament (NT) or Psalms. If two chapters per day feels too much for you, you can begin with a chapter from either book of the Bible.
Here are four suggestions as we commit to read the Bible together in the new year:
1. Resolve to read the Bible daily. You must set your heart to do the Bible reading. Just like Daniel “resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food” (Daniel 1:8), you must “resolve” to be shaped and sanctified by God’s word. I am not talking here about exercising willpower without depending on God and his grace. We make a resolution—out of dependence on God. We ask God for his grace to empower our will to have this resolute heart to know him through daily reading of the Bible. And he will help us; I believe God delights in such a resolution. One practical resolution for me has been to do the Bible reading the very first thing in the morning. Giving the first hour of the day to God’s word is one practical thing you may want to do as well. For some of you, it may be 20 minutes during your lunch hour or 30 minutes before bedtime. However you do it, you must have a resolute heart to start and continue with the daily reading.
2. Don’t give up quickly. Even with a firm resolution in the beginning of the year you may miss your daily reading here and there. And just because you missed a day or two or more, it doesn’t mean that you just give up on reading the Bible for the rest of the year. Failure is part of the process. Nothing of value is achieved without a certain measure of perseverance. So when you miss a day or a week, don’t give up. And don’t try to catch up. The goal is not merely checking off the 365 tiny boxes; the goal is to know, love, trust and follow Jesus. So if you miss a couple of readings, just go on to the reading of the day. You will get what you missed next year. Over the course of years of reading the Bible, you will eventually cover all the bases. Just read the readings for today. And press repeat each day.
3. Pray with the Bible. The Bible is God’s word to us. God speaks to us and we hear his voice through the word written in the pages of Scripture that is inspired by the Holy Spirit. We should pray as we read that God will open our heart and mind to understand and know the heart of the Father. And as the Spirit opens up the word to us, we should respond to God’s word in prayer. One of the best ways to grow in our relationship with God is to pray with the Bible. For those of you who would like to learn how to pray with the Bible, I encourage you to take a seminar on “Praying with the Bible” on January 8th.
4. Be part of an accountability group. Everything is easier in a team. As with exercise—as with anything—so with reading the Bible. So do everything you can to build community into your Bible reading routine. One brother shared the following in a Bible Reading Accountability Group: “I would be an utter failure without accountability, period. It’s vital for me to be plugged in and actively receive and provide accountability, not just for ensuring that I am reading the Bible daily, but to ensure that I am actively living out the Bible.” Do it with your family members or friends. Do it with your Life Group. Create a group to keep each other accountable and to encourage one another.
As we read and pray with the Bible together, my pastoral vision is to see our church to be so satisfied with God’s steadfast love. That we will be joyful disciples who walk in the path of righteousness and spread the aroma of Christ in our lives. That we will know, trust, obey and share the Word of God. And that we will be transformed from one degree of glory to the next as we behold the glory of Jesus Christ revealed in the Bible.