Are you terrible at reading the Bible?
[Guest Post by Ruth Cataldo – Every once in a while I post on social media that I’m looking for new guest posters for Devotional Diva. When Ruth asked if she could share on this topic I couldn’t wait for her to share! So many of us, including myself, can be terrible at reading the Bible at times. Let’s be open and honest and help keep each other accountable, okay?]
I am terrible at reading the Bible — there I said it!
I want to spend time with Jesus, I want to learn from Him, I want to be more like Him and I want that desire to come naturally, however I would be lying if I said it did.
This is a daily struggle for me.
To be honest, it’s not even a struggle. It doesn’t enter my head. I can think of one hundred things I could be doing every day before I even think of opening my Bible. I grew up in the church, have known Jesus all my life, and been a follower since I was fourteen years old, yet still this is not a discipline I have mastered.
I am not proud of myself.
I feel very convicted.
This is a spiritual discipline I really need to work at.
I am one of those people who reads about others studying the word on a daily basis, and I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
That sick feeling is conviction. I feel like a failure, and I am actually failing to deepen my relationship with God. I know I ‘should be’ reading it daily yet I choose to make other things a priority.
God, in His very nature is gracious. His feelings towards me do not falter or change or are swayed. There is nothing I can do to make God love me more and there is nothing I can do to make God love me less. God is still pleased with me, He still loves me, He still likes me — whether I choose to open my Bible or not.
This will never change, even if I never pick up my Bible. The person who loses out is me. That sick feeling in my stomach is not only conviction, but a sense of disappointment in myself.
I could do better.
I should do better.
I know better.
Not because there is a big scary God who’s going to come and get me, not because my salvation or place in eternity is in jeopardy, but because there is a God who loves me and longs to be in a deeper relationship with me who I am choosing to ignore.
Even as I write this I feel sick — I want to pretend it’s not true, but it is. I cannot hide. I don’t really want to hide, I want to change. I want to desire to know God more. I want that desire to rise up in me so that I want nothing more than to read His word, and wait on His still, small voice every day, without fail.
I have a living and active relationship with God and I want that to be demonstrated through my daily actions.
I want Him to change me, to challenge me, to speak to me, to listen to me, to renew my mind and that is just the beginning! In the past I have tried various methods of Bible study, none of which has lasted more than a couple of months. There are a few online devotionals I have found that I like and I wanted to share them with you:
+ She Reads Truth (http://shereadstruth.com/)
You can access it by clicking the here, or if you have the YouVersion Bible App on your smartphone (if not download it on your computer here), it is a devotion written by women for women.
+ If: Equip (http://www.ifequip.com/)
This came out of a recent conference If: Gathering and the aim is to create an equipping tool that is holistic, strategic and deep. By providing easy online access to a like-hearted community and relevant resources, they hope IF: Equip will prepare women around the world to know God more deeply and to live out their purposes.
I can get these direct on my smartphone or have a copy sent to my email and I can even set a reminder. I have no excuse. This is how I will be starting my day. Everyday. And if one day I forget, or I ‘get too busy’, or if I get distracted; then tomorrow is a new day. I can start over. Why don’t you join me?
Join me and we can keep each other accountable!
Ruth is an English girl residing in California. She is wife to Captain America, avid baker and cook and most importantly a lover and follower of Jesus who desires to make His name known throughout the world. She is the creator and author of Captain America & His English Rose, a lifestyle blog which can be found at http://www.cataldolife.com/.
[photo credit: Ryk Neethling via photopin cc]