by Pastor Dan Dodds
It was freezing cold. I looked up the mountain and saw that the climb was going to be long and hard. They had named this spot “Kneebuster Pass” and it was easy to see why. I just wanted to get it over with, but I knew if I tried to hurry, I would exhaust myself and become discouraged.
The team leader stopped us and said, “this is how we’re going to get up this mountain. I don’t want you looking at the top, just look at the next step you will take and then take it; one step at a time and you will see that in just a little while you will be at the top.”
I did what he said and before I knew it, I was looking over the Gore Range from the top of this ten-thousand foot ridge. And I learned an important lesson: small steps faithfully taken over time worked better than giant leaps every once in a while.
The same is true for reading your Bible. As Christians, we know it is important to read the Word but we put it off until we feel so guilty that we try to jump in and take on too much, only to get discouraged.
But the best way to read the Word is to take daily time, to read small amounts – perhaps two or three paragraphs or chapters a day – and just stay at it. You will find that over time you have not just read the Bible through but that you understand it more and more.
And you will find passages that remind you of other passages and themes that show up throughout the Word. Bible characters will become familiar to you and you will be able to converse about various topics. Personal applications will develop, and you will find yourself more and more in love with and in awe of the Author.
The Psalmist understood this. He reminds us in the first chapter of the Psalms that the godly man meditates on the law of the Lord day and night. Not on Sundays only. Not on and off. Not in huge chunks once in a while. But regular, consistent reflection upon and study of the Word.
Joshua was instructed by the Lord to make reading the Scripture a daily practice. Note Joshua 1.8: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Daniel understood this principle in his prayer life. He didn’t wait for the weekly prayer meeting to pray, the Bible tells us that “Daniel… knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.”
The most effective dieters that I have ever witnessed were not those who got on crash diets and lost a ton of weight. The pounds all seem to return after just a short while. But those who decided to everyday forego dessert and sodas seemed to lose weight over time and to keep it off as well.
This is an important practice not just for individuals, but it should be the practice of the heads of households in family worship. It is best not to wait for problems to teach Scripture. And a family cannot live on conferences or Sundays alone.
Every day (every meal?) it is a good idea to read a small portion of Scripture. This ‘diet’ over time will be the healthiest approach for your family and will become a valued part of your Spiritual diet.
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- Step By Step - June 17, 2019
- We’re Not in Kansas Anymore - November 28, 2016
