I realized a few years back that my daily Bible reading had slipped. I had put aside consistent reading, meditating on the Word, and prayer, while becoming distracted with things of the world. I wasn’t living like a heathen, but I wasn’t putting my attention to where it belonged. I had allowed myself to be fed by someone standing in a pulpit once a week. And I wasn’t using the Word to test what I was absorbing.
“…who received the word with great eagerness, and SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY, if these words were so.” – Acts 17:11
I fear that many of us who think of ourselves as Believers are not searching the Scriptures daily. We call ourselves Christians but don’t regularly learn from the Bible or test what we hear. How can we know Yahuah’s truth if we aren’t immersed in the Word?
“But test EVERYTHING. Hold fast to what is good.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:21
The Word tells us what to do. But I was consuming a lot of information about things outside the faith. It wasn’t evil, but it also wasn’t edifying. And I knew that I needed to make some changes to shift my focus back to the Word. So this is what I did…
- I bought a new Bible
- Made a structured reading plan
- Eliminated/limited certain activities
A New Bible?
I love marking up a new Bible! And it had always bothered me that our modern translations omitted the name of the Father. The Name, יהוה, is erased from most Bibles at least 6,823 times. Look at the preface of your translation and it may tell you that. I believe this is a breach of the 3rd Commandment.
“You do not bring the Name of יהוה your Elohim to naught, for יהוה does not leave the one unpunished who brings His Name to naught.” – Exodus 20:7
He revealed His Name and it is a beautiful Name. So, I researched and found a Bible that restores the Name! There are several different ones available. I chose “The Scriptures,” which is translated and published from the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR).
This gave me a new start in reading the Bible and marking it up with precision and passion. This translation also uses the original Hebrew names for places and people. In the Hebrew, names have meaning. And from our culture, it is difficult to understand Tom Green if his name is Tomas Verde ! – See this post (Do You Know Tom Green).
A Structured Reading Plan?
Do you exercise? Do you run? Do you have household chores or activities that you regularly plan and carry out? I run almost every day. I lift weights twice per week. I plan out my exercise activities in advance and do my best to stick to them. But why wasn’t I doing the same for Scripture reading? Yahuah expects better and He put it on my heart to change that. I became determined to study the Word MORE THAN I EXERCISE! This isn’t easy when you run 60 miles per week. But His Word is necessary if we are to grow!
“O how I love your Torah! It is my study all day long” – Psalms 119:97
I discovered that the best time for me to read was early morning. No distractions. No stress. Just my Scriptures and a cup (or pot) of coffee. I enjoy sitting on the porch at 4:45 in the morning, listening to the sounds of nature. I look forward to it. Like exercise, you need to form a habit if you are to be successful! It seems odd to go a day without exercise. It is the same with Scripture reading. And waking up early to do that is often the most anticipated part of my day.
Eliminate or Limit Other Activities?
We all have distractions in our lives. For me it has always been athletics. I don’t believe sports are bad. They teach us important lessons in life and help us to maintain good health, especially if we participate in them and grow from their proper application in our lives. I learned so much from being a collegiate athlete and cherish that experience dearly.
But sports can also be a distraction to our faith.
I will continue to run and lift because of the health benefits and stress reduction that they provide. But what benefit was I gaining from watching sports? Not much.
Did you know that the average male watches sports 5.8 hours per week? (LINK HERE).
And the average person spends over 19 hours per week on total television viewership. (LINK HERE).
I had already eliminated football, baseball, basketball, and most other screentime years ago. I haven’t watched a Super Bowl since 2010. It was slightly more difficult to limit other viewing like running, cycling, and disc golf. I still find time to watch at times but had to make restrictions. We only have so much time in our lives, and we need to be cognizant of what we fill our days with. And once you get out of the habit of watching sports on television, it isn’t a problem.
“Seek Yahuah while He is to be found, call on Him while He is near.” – Isaiah 55:6
We spend so much of our time and money on things that do not matter. Not everything outside of Scripture is bad. But if we don’t spend time in the Word, we won’t grow. And even worse, we may be deceived into believing a false message.
If you are spending more time exercising, watching television, or scrolling social media than reading the Word and learning/meditating from it…you have a problem. I only say this because I had that same problem and still struggle at times.
But it’s never too late to change those habits and shift your focus. It takes time to create a habit. And your faith will grow if you make those changes. Now is the time to start. Where is your heart?
FAITH IN MOTION 