One of the greatest spiritual disciplines you can develop in your walk with Jesus is a daily quiet time. A quiet time is a time set aside daily for Bible reading, journaling, and prayer. Every morning I sit down with my Bible, a cup of coffee and my hardcover lined notebook and spend time reading the Scriptures. If you struggle with a daily quiet time because you don't know where to start, here are a few suggestions.
Where do I start?
Currently, I have been reading through a Bible in a year plan. This makes it easy as you have somewhere to start reading everyday. I am using Nicky and Pippa Gumbel's plan from YouVersion on www.bible.com. You don't have to jump into such a big plan. Start small if you want. There are countless plans on the YouVersion Bible app. Find one that interests you and dive in!
You can also just pick a book of the Bible to read. The Epistles in the New Testament are fairly short. Try reading and studying Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, or the epistles of Peter and John.
The poetic books in the Old Testament are also a good jumping off place for starting a daily Bible reading habit. The poetry books include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Proverbs has 31 chapters. It is easy to read a chapter a day from Proverbs.
The Method
These are just a few ideas of how to begin a daily Bible study discipline. Now on to the read, reflect, respond method.
Read
Before I start reading each morning, I open my notebook and record the date and the passages I am reading that day. Today's readings included Proverbs 28:18-28, 1 Peter 3, and Ezekiel 45-46. I then begin to read these passages.
Reflect
As I read, I record what God is speaking to me about in the passage. I make bullet points for various take aways from the passage. Sometimes I record a verse word for word so it sticks deeper in my memory. Sometimes I write a note to myself about something I need to work on. Other times, I paraphrase a concept from a passage that teaches me something about God, others, or myself. Here are the notes I recorded from today's reading:
- People appreciate honest criticism more than flattery (directly from Prov. 28:23)
- Give honor to your wife (Paul's command in I Peter 3)
- Live with your wife with understanding (another command from Paul from I Peter 3)
- Keep a humble attitude (I Peter 3:8)
- Always be ready to share your faith in a humble way (I Peter 3:16)
These are the things that spoke to me today from these passages. I appreciate honest criticism more than flattery from people. As I thought about this verse I realized its truth. Honest criticism when done humbly can grow relationships. Flattery is a compliment wrapped in a lie.
I also need to watch my attitude and my tone with my wife and show her honor. I need to be understanding. I've struggled a bit in this area of late. I need to do better. I need to keep a humble attitude with her and others and I need to be ready to share my faith whenever the opportunity arises. Each day I go through this exercise and then I finish with a response.
Respond
In the respond section I record my take away(s) for the day. Today, I wrote a note to myself, "Honor your wife today, Brian." I finish with a short time of prayer and the respond section becomes part of my prayer that day. "Lord, help me to honor my wife today in the things I say, my tone, my attitude and my actions." I then try to be mindful about my response section throughout the day. When I'm talking on the phone with my wife, am I being respectful? How is my tone? Does she feel honored and valued?
A simple process of Bible study like this is how spiritual growth happens. It is how we learn to live a little more like Jesus each day. It keeps us in close relationship with our heavenly father and it changes us from the inside out. If you don't have a system or a method for a daily quiet time, give this method a try!
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