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Thats quite a promise: Time spent consuming the Bible brings success. (By the way, Joshua called the Bible he had The Book of the Law; it was Gods Word that had been given at that time, the first five books of the Bible we have today. And Joshua is not the only place where the Bible makes this promise. (See Great News! Consistent time in the Bible is Psalm 1:1-3, too.) Some think, I dont have the rather simple. Keep reading discipline to spend time in the Bible every and see how. If you dont day, so it really doesnt matter if I want hunger for the Bible now, to. I simply cant. They think they cant, dont let that stop you. so they dont. But lets slow down and Assume the promise of the recognize that wrong thinking may be the Bible is true and watch for the thing robbing us of the wisest of habits.
Dont Be Crazy!
With respect, Ill make another bold statement: It is nuts to neglect the daily consumption of the Bible! Listening to your Maker is a smart path! Like Wisdom calls out in Proverbs 8, To you, O people, I call out!, so I call out to you: To you, O People, do all you can to establish the habit of daily Bible consumption! This Bible C onsumption Guide is created to help you capture the treasures of the Bible for your own possession and benefit. The riches are there for the taking.However, like a check, you have to cash it in order to access the riches! Daily consumption of the Bible cashes the check!
Dont think this is about Bible consumption is not the consuming a book. Its not. This is destination; it is the path to about knowing the one who knowing Godto life! made you. I encourage you not to neglect this fresh opportunity to know the author of the Bible more deeply. John 17:3 equates real life to knowing God. Bible consumption is not the destination; it is the path to knowing Godto life!
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A prompt that triggers a behaviorlike waking up in the morning. A repeated behaviorlike consuming the Bible. A reward of some sortIt can be as simple as checking a box. An associated cravinglike the longing for a glimpse of God.
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expand (and contract) your consumption to as many minutes as seems appropriate. But a key to habitually consuming Scripture is to consume at least a little at least once each day. As we start our daily Bible consumption habit with one beachhead in our routine, we can then insert additional meals of consumption in our day. The Bible suggests we engage Scripture repeatedly each dayand night! Not only does it suggest this repeated daily activity, in Deuteronomy 6:7 Moses suggests four prompts to use during the day, each of which is already an existing habit: When waking up When sitting (at a meal) When walking (or driving!) along the way When lying down at the end of the day (Sometime in the next few days I think youll be very inspired if you read Deuteronomy Chapter 6 aloud to yourselfor to someone else. Yes, I suggest you read it aloud. Try it!)
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just how incredible and life-giving the Bible is. Joshua tells us that filling ourselves with the Word of God will lead to success in life (See Psalm 19; Psalm 119:9-11; Matthew 4:4; John 6:63; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12, just to name a few!) In spite of such a promise, most of us drift into seasons of neglect that shrivel our souls and rob us of spiritual power. Perhaps you are in one of those seasons right now. Before you finish reading this page, you can set yourself onto the adventurous path of habitual Scripture consumption. This fork in the road offers a lifetime of feasts and delicacies, appetizers and entres, vitamins and nutrients for growing that incredible asset within you: your own heart! Are you ready to jump into a fresh pursuit of daily Bible consumption? th Five minutes is one-third of one percent of a day, about 1/300 ! You might ask, Why just five minutes? Not just five minutesat least five minutes. Dont limit yourselfbut commit to a small minimum. The Bible is far and above the #1 bestseller in history. It makes sense to get to know it better, doesnt it? If you agree its a good choice, I have a proposal for you: Make a commitment to yourself to consume the Bible for at least five minutes a day for at least six days a week for a specific time period. Sure, you can read it seven days a week if you want. But give yourself some grace. Shoot for six days a week x just five minutes a day x 52 weeks. Seize this moment! Make a great choice that will impact your entire next year. Dont wait until next week or next month. Starting today, open it up and begin creatively consuming the Bible, each day using one or more of the 33 easy-to-use ways to engage Scripture in this Bible Consumption Guide.Make a great choiceCheck the boxes of your choice below and dive in!
Todays Decision
Check your choices below.
Im in! I plan to consume the Bible for at least 5 minutes daily for: one week one month one year
Use the chart in the front of this guide to track your journey over the next week, the following month, and succeeding year.
3) How will I reward myself after my consumption? With a simple check mark With my first bite of food or cup of coffee With a shower With sleep Other: _____________________________ 4) What craving will I cultivate to reinforce my habit? Craving for a glimpse of God Craving to express affection to God Craving to get to my daily check mark (Dont laugh! It can work!) Other: _____________________________ 5) Who will I tell about my minimum commitment? ____________________ ____________________
6) Who might I first invite to join me for a time in the journey of daily Bible consumption? ____________________ ____________________
Suggestion: Pause briefly to talk and listen to God about daily Bible consumption.
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schedules. Consume the Bible as you walk along the path, drive along the road, or sit in your favorite lounge chair. A great source of audio Scripture is found in the YouVersion smartphone app. The app can be downloaded at the new Bible.com. You can get also free audio Scripture with The Streaming Bible at FaithComesByHearing.com. Depending on the recording, one can listen to an entire audio New Testament in 15-20 hours. The whole Bible can be completed in 75-85 hours. (Heres an idea: Fast from TV and discretionary Internet use for 30 days and listen to the entire Bible in a month instead. Be prepared to have your mind restructured and your thought processes changed!) Starter Idea: Access the audio function on YouVersion and listen to a chapter a day from the Book of Romans or Hebrews until finished. Or, begin smaller with the book of Philippians or Ephesians.
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more engaging than silent reading. If this is a new idea for you, you might find it a little awkward at first. And if other people can hear you, they might think youre a little odd. Try it a few times! Starter Idea: Find a private place and read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) aloud with exactly the intonation you imagine Jesus would use if he were giving the sermon today in the English language.
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through multiple approaches. Analyze the grammar. Observe the facts. Find parallels. Note the verb tenses. Consult commentaries. Investigate the original languages. Post a question on a discussion forum. Compare with other Scriptures. Ask someone else for insight into a passage. Buy a Bible software program. Do a word study. Do a character study. Pick apart a passage. Investigate using the productive approach of Observe what is straightforward, prayerfully Interpret in light of other Bible passages, and Apply what you learn! Starter Idea:Visit www.studylight.org. 2 Timothy is the New Testament Bible book that seems to encourage Bible study most. Study it and answer these questions: Who are the people? What relationship do they have to each other? What are the most repeated words and phrases? What should I start doing that I havent been doing? What should I stop doing that I have been doing? Find a friend to share what you learned. Use the commentaries and cross-referencing capabilities of the site to go deeper.
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instance, consider the fresh angle from each stress in the following from Psalm 23: THE Lord is my shepherd. (Pause and Reflect) The LORD is my shepherd.(Pause and Reflect) The Lord IS my shepherd.(Pause and Reflect) The Lord is MY shepherd.(Pause and Reflect) The Lord is my SHEPHERD.(Pause and Reflect) Can you see new meaning emerge as you stress each word? Starter Idea: Choose a favorite verse and chew on it with contrasting stress. Try Ephesians 2:10, Romans 8:28, Matthew 4:4, Isaiah 40:31, Jeremiah 29:11, John 3:16, or another favorite passage, placing the stress on each succeeding word as you read through it.
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with different words. This can be done orally or in writing. An accurate paraphrase indicates understanding. For example: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son can be re-expressed as: The Creator of us all had such a deep love for us that he willingly sent the only Son he ever conceived to die in our place! (Notice some of the meaning that is implicit is sometimes brought out explicitly in a paraphrase. Remember, the goal is accuracy in meaning.) Starter Idea: Choose a single verse and attempt to re-express it using completely new words!
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Find an event in the Bible like the stoning of Stephen or the raising of Lazarus and see how many details you can weave into a single-scene sketch. Select a more abstract or difficult passage like Romans 6:1 about dying to sin and see what you might illustrate with a sketch.
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memory to show someone you did it. Its about having a passage at the full disposal of the mind at any time God might want to teach you from it, so you can meditate as youSit at homeWalk alongLie downand Get up. (Deuteronomy 6:7) Starter Idea: If you want to start with a verse or two, consider John 3:16, Romans 5:1, or 2 Timothy 3:16-17. If you are feeling more ambitious, consider Psalm 1. Dont too quickly pass up the idea of memorizing a whole book of the Bible, such as Philippians.
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singing Scripture songs to myself. Perhaps youve enjoyed this one like I have: O Lord in the morning, will I direct my prayer unto Thee and will look up. (Psalm 5:3) I even improvise a tune here and there in the privacy of my own car or home. Somehow God has designed a power in music that, when combined with Scripture, penetrates a heart like nothing else can. The dynamic combination of Scripture and music are two elements that should be brought together as often as possible. Another element to add to a Concert of Scripture! Starter Idea: Listen to Worship songs in iTunes that are simply Scripture set to music. Sing the Psalmsthey were written to be set to music.
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What would it do for your own Scripture focus if you were to give away one Bible verse to a different person each of the next 30 days? I encourage you to try it. A friend who studied with me at Wycliffes Summer Institute of Linguistics caught fire with Gods Word and could hardly contain himself. Brian would constantly hand write verses on 3 x 5 cards and leave them in our mail boxes. The personal touch brought these verses to life and I remember feeling like I had received numerous personal messages from God himself. And Brian himself grew deeper as he shared with so many of us. Sharing the Word with others engages us in it more deeply ourselves. Starter Idea: Scroll through your contacts and choose three people. Find an encouraging, personalized verse for each one and text it to them out of the blue.
Starter Idea: Volunteer to lead a small group or class at church. Do you attend any meetings that include short devotionals? Offer to lead one. Start with a single session. Pray about continuing further!
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God. Personalize it. After you read it, tell him what you like about it. Tell him what you might not like about it. Tell him how you want to grow. Tell him how you want to know him better. Ask him about what you dont understand. If consuming Gods Word everyday comes with such great promises, just consider what talking to God every day might do! If youve chosen a prompt to help you consume Gods Word each day, considering using your daily Bible consumption itself as an additional prompt for praying the Word each day, as well. Even if for a solitary minute, talk to God. He is there and he is listening. Starter Idea: Psalms 23 is an ideal opportunity to pray to the Word to the Lord: You, Lord, are my shepherd. Because of you, I have everything I need. You make me lie down in green pastures. You lead me beside quiet waters. You restore my soul Note from the Author:
I cant say that Im satisfied with the current state of this Bible Consumption Guide. There is so much more that I want to do with it. Yet, as my wife reminds me, A piece of writing is never finished; its only due. Its time for me to send this to press and share it with my friends for Christmas. If you have found this guide of enough value to share it with others, you may download it for free at www.bibleconsumption.com. Youll find a copy of this book and other helpful resources to support you in a lifetime of Bible consumption and deeper discovery of God!
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