I’m not sure how many years it’s been, but for the past many, many years, I’ve read through the entirety of the Bible each year… all 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 31,102 verses. At first, the goal was always to just get through the Bible in a year… not a bad goal, but not the best.
I’m not sure when, but some time back, the goal morphed from getting through the Bible in a year to getting the Bible in me… a much better goal.
The Bible is not fully in me… that will be a lifelong pursuit, but what’s been encouraging me lately is that stories that were once somewhat abstract in God’s Word are becoming more and more familiar.
For example, as I was reading through Judges this past week, Ehud… I know him now. If you’re not familiar with Ehud, don’t lose heart, you can read all about him in Judges 3:12-31. My point is simply this; the more time I spend in God’s Word, God’s Word is spending time in me… and that’s a good thing.
As I mentioned in last week’s DEVOTIONAL, God’s Word gives us exactly what God wants us to have for the moment He has us in. And if we’re not consistently in God’s Word, or should I say, if God’s Word is not consistently getting in us, then we will not be prepared for the MANY moments that make up our day.
This year, my oldest son, Tristan (our Creative Director) asked If I wanted to read the Bible in six months with him. I’m always game for a good challenge so we started that journey together on January 1st.
Reading the Bible in six months requires you to be reading larger chucks of Scripture each day. This is a good thing, but to avoid just reading to get through each day’s reading plan, I keep my pen and journal nearby in order to write down what God’s Word is speaking to me about.
As noted above, I was in Judges earlier this week. If you're not familiar with the story line in Judges, well, to be honest, it’s a bit depressing.
Long story short, the people of God continually, and I mean over and over and over and over again prostitute themselves out to all sorts of demonic idols. And when the people of God do that, they experience the consequences of their idolatry.
But without fail, in time, the people of God cry out to the LORD for help… for redemption and salvation. And without fail, God in His kindness, faithfulness, and grace raises up a ‘Judge’ to provide rescue for His people.
As I entered into the story of Judges, I was ‘arrested’ by this one verse…
“How quickly they turned away from the path their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’S commands.”
Judges 2:17 (NLT)
I use the word ‘arrested’ because after reading that verse, I had a hard time reading on. Rather than pondering how the people of God could repeatedly turn away from God in light of ALL that they had seen God do, I was convicted by how often I do the EXACT SAME THING.
God in His grace has allowed me to see and experience first-hand His power, His provision, His peace and His presence. But yet every time I choose to sin… to be selfish or self-centered, in that very moment, I’m FORGETTING GOD. Very specifically, forgetting who God is and ALL that God has done in days past.
I don’t think I’d need to convince anyone reading these words that sin is just all sorts of gross. No matter the sin, ALL sin is plain nasty.
So, if that’s true (and it is), then why on earth would anyone trade that which is Beautiful (that would be God) for that which is nasty (that would be sin)?
In short, that horrific exchange takes place because when we are confronted with sin, and we’re confronted with sin throughout the day, if we FORGET God, who He is, what He is like and ALL that He has already done in our lives, well, that which is nasty (sin) will start to look very appealing.
I’m not seeking to oversimplify the battle that is sin, but in more ways than one, anytime we chose sin, regardless of what that sin might be, we have forgotten God. Namely, forgotten to believe that which is TRUE of God in favor of choosing to believe the lie that sin will do for us what God won’t do for us.
This is the beauty and power of getting God’s Word deep within our heart and head. Without His Word in our heart and head, well, when sin comes after our hearts and heads with all sorts of lies, those lies will start to ‘feel’ true.
I think this is why the Psalmist said…
“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Psalm 119:11 (NLT)
Whether you want to get through the Bible in 6 months, 12 months or 18 months, if we are going to combat the daily nastiness of sin, we need to keep getting God’s Word into our hearts and head each and every day. In doing so, our hearts and heads will not soon forget who God is, what He is like, what He has done, and ALL that He still doing with His people.
