Fitting It In

Sunday morning the sermon at our church was about how we need to study God's word more. Well, it was really about more than just that--but that was a big part of it. We started off looking at Hosea 4:1-6. Verse 6 says:

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

There was more to the sermon, to be sure. But afterward, S and I talked about how we DO need to read...not just read but study...our Bible more.

Let's get practical and think about how that can actually happen. Of course it's easy to say...but do? Much harder.

How can I sit here and say that it is "hard" to read my Bible more? Look at this story. Now come back here and tell me how it is hard for me?

And another verse we read during the sermon Sunday: 1 Peter 5:8-9.

 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

The devil is walking around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour? Makes me even more determined.

This morning I grabbed my phone and we read Proverbs 15 at breakfast. I don't know how much of it got into their heads or hearts, but we read it. Sweetheart read her assigned reading during school. I read Little Bit's assigned reading out of a Bible storybook. We worked on memorizing scripture. There will be more study tonight.

How can we say we are too busy? Have I been busy today? Yes. We must cook and clean and teach and run errands and do laundry. There are many things to be done during each day. But there is time. There is time to read and study God's word. There is time to get it into our lives.

Folks, we have it so easy here in America right now. Not perfect...but easy. How do you know what kind of world your children will live in when they are adults? How much more will they need to have God's word in their hearts?

Someone is seeking to devour us. And God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Not sinners. Not people "of the world." GOD'S PEOPLE are destroyed because they do not know.

A daily devotional calendar is not enough.

An e-mail devotional is not enough.

An encouraging blog post is not enough.

Listening to Christian music is not enough.

That Little Golden book about Jonah is not enough.

Reading your Bible is not enough!!!!

We must study it. And know it.

How can we do it? How can we fit it in?

1. You have multiple Bibles? Store them around the house. Make it easy to grab one while you are at the dining room table and read it to your family.

2. Make it a part of the school day. No if, ands, or buts.

3. You don't often let your kids skip brushing their teeth? Then set Bible reading as part of the daily routine and do not skip it.

4. Use audio Bibles.

5. Keep one in the car. Read while you are in line for something.

6. Download an app on your phone.

7. Take it to church. Look up the scripture during the sermon instead of relying on the verses on the screen. Trust me, it's not the same.

What else am I forgetting? How can we fit it in?

Because it IS that important.