Grow...part two.

If you're stopping by after reading "Grow...part one", welcome back! If not, just check out the previous  post, and you'll be all caught up! Yesterday, we discovered that just like milk to a baby, God's word is the nourishment we need to grow in our faith.  Today, I hope to share some things that will help you develop a love for reading your Bible every single day.  In my conversations with women, I hear lots of reasons why you don't read the Bible regularly. "I don't know where to start." "I don't understand it." "I'm just not motivated to read it." are some I hear most often.  So today, let's start right there.


"I don't know where to start."  That's totally understandable! The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments that comprise our modern day Bible can seem pretty intimidating.  There are several ways to dive in.  I've read through the Bible several times, and one of my favorite methods is The One Year Bible. Available in several different translations, the OYB divides the Bible into 365 daily readings, each including a bit from Psalms, Proverbs, Old Testament, and New Testament.  It only takes 15-20 minutes a day...brilliant!  When I was a new Christian (and had never read any of the Bible), many people told me to start in the Gospel of John, in the New Testament. The love of God and the story of Jesus are the themes of this book, and will make you want to read more!  Finally, visit http://www.youversion.com.  You'll find many translations of the Bible there, along with so many reading plans, you're sure to find one that's right for you.  It is a truly amazing, totally free resource!


"I don't understand it." I know. Neither did I! Here's what I've discovered:  Pray before you read. Just ask the Author of the Book to help you understand what you read.  He is well able, by His Spirit that lives in you (if you're a Christian), to reveal His words to you.  Get a Bible you like to read.  If you find yourself tripping over thees and thous and therefores, for Heaven's sake get a different translation!  You can spend a ton of money on a Bible, but you don't have to.  Check out online discount sites half.com, amazon.com, biblica.com, or christianbook.com. Join a Bible study group. I have been part of, and led, many study groups over the years, and I have grown so much from hearing other women's insights as we study together. We're starting a daytime study in late September at Crossroads, or try Community Bible study, or a group at your church.


"I'm just not motivated to read it." Rare is the person who is overwhelmed with desire to read the Bible as a new Christian. Discipline doesn't come naturally to any of us! For most people, it's something we grow into.  For me, I knew that I should read the Bible, so I did. But the wonderful thing is, the more I read, the more I wanted to read!  I think biggest motivator for me was discovering that God's word is no ordinary book.  Not at all!  The Bible contains the very words of the living God!  By His word, God created everything seen and unseen (Genesis 1).  His words are life (Proverbs 4:20-22, John 6:63), His word is the power of God that saves us (Romans 1:16), and His word accomplishes everything He desires (Isaiah 55:11). If I want to know Him better, I don't need to look any further than the words He has spoken to me...to us.  Knowing that His word is alive and filled with His creativity, His life, and His power changes how we feel about reading it. 


Tune in next time for part three of our Grow series.  I'm calling it "Bloom".


Today's Verse: The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  John 6:63 NLT


Prayer for Today: Father, I long to know You better.  I pray that as I open the pages of Your Book, You will meet me there, and make me more like Jesus as I read and apply your Truth. In His name I pray, Amen. 

Grow...part one.

Since many Chick Food readers are new or new-ish Christians, I want to share a series of posts on growing in our faith. If you've made a decision to trust Christ as savior, that's a wonderful decision! You have passed from darkness into His light (1 Peter 2:9). Old things are passed away, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). But receiving Christ is just the first step on a life-long journey of following Him.  If we're going to grow, there's more to do!

You moms out there know that in order for your baby to grow and become strong and healthy, you have to feed her!  The same thing is true of spiritual babies.  In 1 Peter 2:2, we're told "as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby..." (NKJV) Other translations render the word "desire" as "crave".  If we're going to grow in faith and Christlikeness, if we're going to discover the new life God intends for us, we need to crave His word, the Bible.  God's word is the spiritual "milk", the nutrition we need to grow strong in our faith.  Although we hear God's word in sermons at church, in songs of worship, or Christian books, there is no substitute for daily time spent reading the Bible.

If your Bible is written in Elizabethan English, with lots of "thees and thous", you may want to get a more readable translation, one written in modern English, such as the New International Version (NIV) or the New Living Translation (NLT).  If you attend Crossroads, you can pick up a free NLT on our Next Steps table in the Lobby. So get your readable translation of the Bible (one you can highlight and write in!), join me here at Chick Food tomorrow, and we'll talk about developing the habit of daily Bible reading. 

Today's Verse:  Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,³ now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.  1 Peter 2:2-3 NLT

Prayer for Today:  Dear Father, I long to become a fully devoted follower of Christ.  Help me to grow in my faith as I read Your word.  In Jesus name, I pray.  Amen. 

  

A Cup of Friendship

A sweet friend called me yesterday to ask if I had time for coffee, and we chose a day next week to get together.  As I hung up the phone, I marveled at what God has done in my heart.  Never one to have many women friends, today my life is full of friends of all ages who challenge, sharpen, inspire and support me....and a few who seriously crack me up! 

 Without a doubt, getting to know the ladies of Crossroads is one of the most most wonderful things about being a pastor's wife.  Ironic, because that intimate one-on-one kind of ministry and relationship is the thing I feared most before Crossroads opened its doors. "What if they don't like me?" "What if I don't know how to help?" "I'm not cut out to be a pastor's wife!" were just a few of my objections.  But my fears have melted like sugar in my coffee with each new friendship, and I treasure opportunities to connect with women.  Over a spiced Chai latte at my favorite coffee house, or a steaming cup of coffee in my kitchen, God has allowed me to share some of the most intimate events in the lives of Crossroads women.  A romantic proposal....a new bundle of joy....a broken relationship....the pain of infertility....the heartbreak of loss...all shared over a steaming mug of....anything... it's the friendship that eases the burdens, and multiplies the joys of life.

I don't need to be a Bible scholar, a psychologist, or a perfect wife or mom to share an encouraging word and a listening ear. And neither do you!  Who are the women God has placed in your life? Who can you encourage over a steaming cup of....friendship?

Today's Verse:  "Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ." Gal. 6:2 NLT

Prayer for Today:  Father, help me to open my heart and make time in my schedule for friends.  Lead me by your Spirit to those women whose friendship I need, and those who need mine.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.