Newsletter January 13, 2017

Dear Friends,

At the beginning of every new year, you often are told or fall under the conviction that you need to be spending more time in God's Word. I have rarely met a Christian who didn't wish they read their Bibles more often. And so many well-intentioned brothers and sisters set off on the journey of finding a Bible reading plan - or the even more ambitious among us will strive to read the Bible in one year! (I know I've read Genesis 1-12 many times in January each year).

But then life hits. We get busy, we get sick, we get tired and time in God's Word gets pushed further and further off the list of our top priorities. Why is this? I think there are many reasons but one of the chief reasons that we often fail at regular and consistent Bible reading is because we set ourselves up for failure. We do this by setting unrealistic goals or by trying to put a plan in place that will be nearly impossible for us follow through. So what do we do?

This is where is vitally important to know yourself. What I mean by this is that it is paramount that you take a step back and examine who you are and where you are. Who are you? In other words, what's your personality? Are you a disciplined person? Are you a morning person or are you a night owl? Are you a flexible person? Are you a focused person? All of these questions are vital to answer when it comes to setting realistic goals for yourself.

Additionally, it is important to know where you are. Where are you in life? Are you single? Married? Empty nester? Depending on where you are in life should and will dictate what your margins in life are and what your capacity to do certain things is. For instance, if you are a busy mom with young children at home, the expectation that you may actually have "quiet" time each day is probably unrealistic. If your job requires you to report for work at 6am each morning, the expectation that you are going to read God's Word for an hour each morning may be unrealistic if you also wish to get a good night sleep. We are all in different seasons of life. Where are you in life right now? How much flexibility do you have or don't have in your daily schedule?

All of this is important to think through in order to set realistic goals for yourself if you desire to spend time in God's Word daily. Furthermore, let me give you some tips that have been invaluable to me when it comes to setting realistic goals for myself. These tips can apply to many areas in life, not just Bible reading. These three tips are characterized by three words: simple, repeatable and transferable. In other words, everything we do in our lives, if we want to set realistic expectations and goals, should fall into these three categories.

First, is it simple? Is the discipline that you want to start in your life natural or easy to accomplish? Is it easy to understand and follow? Is it doable?

Second, is it repeatable? Do you feel confident that you can start this thing and keep doing it because of the simplicity of it.

Third, is it transferable? Do you feel this goal or this thing is so simple and easily repeated that you can pass it along to someone else for them to start doing it and accomplish the goal?
When it comes to Bible reading, why not include these three tips. Is your plan simple? Is it something you feel that you could accomplish every day? Is it something you can get excited about and pass it along to someone else to try?

If you are struggling with where to start, let me suggest Psalm 119. It is the longest chapter in the Bible so don't try to read it all in one sitting! This chapter is broken up into 22 sections with 8 verses in each section. My recommendation would be to just read 8 verses a day, one section at a time. Since this is so short, read each section 3-4 times so that you will not only read it but meditate on it and perhaps pick out a verse to memorize.

There are many other ways you can implement these tips. When you are on the go, listen to the Bible in your car. You can listen to the Bible for free on the ESV Bible app on your smart phone. As always, if I or any of the other leadership can encourage you, please let us know!

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalms 119:105 ESV)

See you Sunday for worship!

by His grace and to His praise,

Wilson