As you sit under the preaching of the Word on Sunday, I’m sure you experience the benefit of the Scripture in your life (as long as your heart is open). 

At times in our journey we find

ourselves hungering for more

of the Word, but the Bible

can be very confusing

and hard to understand.

This is why God gave the church teachers and pastors to get his Word to his people. He even commands that pastors spend a significant amount of time in prayer and study (Acts 6:2) to feed the church (John 21:15-19). Because of this, I read through most of the Bible 2-3 times a year and the longer Old Testament books once a year.

Now unless you are in ministry or aspire to teach the Scriptures, you really don’t need to do all of that. But getting the right amount of the right parts of Scripture could really strengthen your faith. I want to share with you two ways to engage Scripture without being overwhelmed by another task. You can incorporate these in your life without much adjustment.

1.) Listen to the Scripture without trying to catch it all.

There are several apps that read the Bible to you. You can set it to read a certain book like John or set it on a reading plan that covers different parts of the Bible everyday. 

The one I use is just called “Bible” (put out by Life.Church).

In this app, under plans, you can find plans that take you through the Gospels or Psalms or the New Testament. (Skip the gimmicky ones put out by celebrity pastors). 

For those looking for a heavier load, I would recommend the M’Cheyne reading plan, which takes you through the whole Bible once a year and the Psalms and New Testament twice. Or I recommend the Book of Common Prayer, which takes you through most of the Bible in a 3-year cycle.

Here is the key:

put it on while you get ready,

while you do chores,

on your commute,

or while you make a meal.

You can sit down with a cup of coffee and listen or go for a run and listen. But whatever you do, let it wash over you like a shower. When you take a shower you don’t try to catch every drop. When you let the Scripture be read over you, you don't have to catch everything.

The Holy Spirit will allow you

to hear what you need.

Set low expectations of yourself

and just listen to His voice.

2.) A new morning and evening devotional App called Lectio 365

On this app you can either listen or read the daily devotion. I recommend listening in a meditative way. The audio includes music and a guided Scripture meditation. It is the first and the last part of my day and only takes 10 minutes.

Between Sunday worship and catechism, you are getting the Word, but when you long for more, give one of these a try. Oh and by the way, if you miss a day or 10 days, no big deal. God is not keeping a checklist of your Bible reading he is just inviting you to hear from Him!

Grace and peace,

Pastor Harvey