Every Morning

Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word. Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law.  Psalms 119:11-18 NASB

Now, here’s the coolest part: There was a time when only the Old Testament spoke of Him, pointed to Him, and foreshadowed Him. Now, we have the Gospels, we have Acts, and we have the letters of the apostles. Today, we can see how all of the Old Testament points to the work of Christ, and we can see how the rest of the New Testament points back to the work of Christ. 

So by reading the entirety of the Bible, then parts of it, then front to back again, we can see how ALL OF HISTORY, HUMANITY, AND THE WORLD point to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior and King! Phew. It leaves me breathless. 

When we consume the fullness of God’s Word, allowing it to pass through our hearts, minds, and eyes, we’ll experience a new level of appreciation, gratitude, devotion, and a deeper, richer love for Him. 

Check this out: It only takes the average person around 70 hours to read through the entirety of the Bible. That works out to about 15 minutes per day. Think about that; by dedicating only a quarter of an hour per day, we can read through the entire Bible in less than a year!

Joshua 1:7-9 NASB Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Start this week, my friends. As you read the Bible look for verses and passages that stick out to you. Maybe you’ll happen upon a verse or passage that you feel drawn to, that you feel a tug or a pull to sit with. Welcome that feeling; it’s Holy Spirit! He wants us to meditate on each verse. Read it, study it, and then really reflect on it, consider what it says to you about God, yourself, and the world around you, ponder how you can apply it, walk in it, experience it, and grow in faith, hope, and love through it, pray for understanding about it.

In the Bible, reading has to do with understanding what God has to say to each of us. The idea is not that we would read it and then not know anything about what we just read, or read a few verses and say, “There, I read my duty done for today.”

Colossians 3:16 TPT Let the word of Christ live in you richly, flooding you with all wisdom. Apply the Scriptures as you teach and instruct one another with the Psalms, and with festive praises, and with prophetic songs given to you spontaneously by the Spirit, so sing to God with all your hearts!

The idea of reading His living word is to grasp God’s message to us, to give diligence to our study of the “word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). It means that when we open the Word, we give ourselves fully to it. We take the Bible seriously. And when we don’t understand something we pray for clarity, for knowledge within God’s will. 

The Word, living and active, reaches into the deepest places of our heart. Wisdom, insight, and understanding begin to blossom within and overflow into our daily life, as well as the lives of those around us.