When it comes to our personal Bible reading most of us end up in one of two extremes. One group hasn’t missed personal time with God since the last solar eclipse occurred. They have a specific place they retreat to at the same time every single day. They may wake early to make sure that no distracting family members rob them of there intimacy with God. The other part of the Christian world takes a more fluid approach squeezing God into their schedule wherever they can. They have no set time or place. But what often happens is both parties approach it from a have to approach.
Those of us who have the disciplined approach become so legalistic about it that we no longer enjoy God. Or even worse , its as if we have taken God prisoner in our devotional room. While the rest of our day is completely separate. But the other part of the Christian world if they were honest would admit that God gets left out when they cannot find a place to pencil Him in. But I would recommend a more hybrid approach to make your time with God out of this world. A way to weave the presence of an amazing God through the ordinary tasks of your everyday life.
all ground is holy ground
The best way to enjoy God and make yourself available to him is choose the right location. Sounds strange doesn’t it? God isn’t like Verizon or Sprint in that His voice is confined to certain cities. The right location is all about finding out where our hearts are at. Because wherever we are the most at peace is where we can hear the still quiet voice of the Almighty. Jesus is a great example of this. He would go into the wilderness all night to experience God. He also would retreat to a garden called the Garden of Gethsemane to enjoy the company of God.
So if Jesus was God in the flesh and found God in a isolated wilderness and garden full of olive trees we should also take note. You and I associate Holy ground with where God is and this has consequences. If we have the Holy Spirit of God living inside of us then wherever we are God is there. It is kind of scary and amazing all at the same time.
So the good news is that if our happy peaceful place is that lazy boy in the living room that qualifies. If that place is on the back porch overlooking a finely manicured yard with a mug full of the finest coffee that qualifies. If it is on the lake witnessing the creation God made usher in another great day that qualifies. But after this important first step choose to allow your mind to reflect on your morning revelations from God.
Slow cooker Christianity
We have all been guilty of falling asleep in the middle of our daily verse. Or even distracted by a new notification on our phone during the prayer section of our daily time with God. This is why we must make a shift in the way we look at this. We often treat it like an appointment time slot and after the appointment is over we will no longer be available. So this brings us to the slow cooker approach to life. Everyone loves a slow cooker because you can fix it and forget it.
That is why a slow cooker is my favorite way to cook. you can go about your day while at the same time your supper is still cooking. The slow cooker approach to our time with God means that we plug into his word that morning and then reflect on that word for the rest of the day. This allows us to be a willing container for God to fill with His wisdom for the rest of the day. So what are some practical ways that we can reflect on His word all day? The first is through the use of music.
Music Can Make The Difference
We are commanded to praise God hundreds of times in the pages of His word. It is not surprising either because music is powerful. You can most likely remember the song that was playing when you walked down the aisle of a church. The song that was playing in the background when you and your spouse said yes to spending the rest of your life together. It also brings life to any subject. So an easy way to reflect all day on what God is speaking to you about is to create a playlist on spotify. You can listen to this playlist on your commute to work. Making that traffic jam into a celebration or calming you down at your lunch break. For me personally theological centered music has a way of ministering to my soul that transcends words alone.
This is a playlist created for you for Psalms 23 titled ” The Lord Is My Shepherd”. You can use this playlist alongside the free Bible reading plan at the end of this article to have a dynamic devotion this week.
A picture is worth a thousand words
I love a good song but there is just something about being able to create a picture in your mind. Especially with so many of us in todays world being visual learners. One great way to do this is through creating phone wallpapers with verse images on it. I can’t even count the amount of times that I glance at my phone in a day. Think of the power of having your verse of the day right there on your screen with a beautiful picture as the backdrop.
This simple action will help you reflect on the joy of Gods message to you multiple times a day. Another cool option is to find a great coloring book with the Bible verses of your morning devotions. Here is a great example of a coloring book to go along with the free Bible reading plan download at the end of this article. If you want to go a step further they even have amazing Bibles out there with the coloring pages included alongside the text.
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The #1 reason your devotions die
if you follow the process and tips that I have laid out to bring the Bible alive in your life but forget this one truth you will falsely believe that Jesus is a stale savior. The #1 reason that your Bible study or personal devotions don’t last is that you forget literally the most exciting part. That part being that when you leave your time with God in the morning you forget to do what you learned.
I love red velvet cake. I also love cake mixes because they are so easy to make something delicious. The thing about those cake mix boxes is that the picture is always wonderful. But in order to taste the cake you have to get your mixer out and bake the cake. So make sure that you don’t just read the recipe in your Bible or devotional book and forget it. But to look at every moment after time with God as a moment to prove that God is really as wonderful as He says He is.
Click the buttons below to download these three phone wallpapers. They will help you reflect on the free Bible reading plan available for download at the end of the article.
Give it a try
Don’t just take my word for it but transform your Bible Study and personal devotions starting this week. To help you with this I have provided you an entire toolkit for Psalms 23 entitled “6 day journey to a restful reality”. This is available for download by clicking the button right underneath this paragraph. Along with the corresponding Spotify list above and the Psalms 23 wallpaper available above this paragraph you will experience God for who He is. By letting Him out of your study room and into your entire day. I bet just like me you will never be the same.
Excellent!
Thank you for taking the time to read ?