Identifying a principle, task or change is just the beginning. Once identified you need to set concrete measurable goals for how you will pursue the calling. Some callings can be accomplished via a goal and some callings require an ongoing discipline. Particularly, I find that life changes requiring repentance often times necessitate the adoption of some form of ongoing spiritual discipline.
 
Lastly, I need to add that not every sermon or bible lesson is going to necessarily leave you with something to do. Sometimes you simply get exposed to a truth that you need to know or understand. For example, a sermon may teach you about the divinity of Christ. That is a truth you need to understand but there may not be a particular calling in it. So, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t walk away from every scripture passage with a mission. Similarly, I found that sometimes God gives me comfort or assurance. In those instances, where I do not sense any immediate calling I simply  thank God for the truth revealed or the comfort given.
 
Next time you read try looking for one of these specific ways God speaks to us through his living word.
 
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PRACTICE RECALL

Seriously, how much of the sermon can you recall?  I mentioned in my prior post taking a moment to recall the sermon during worship.  Do it again the next day.  If you took notes, you can check your recall against the notes.  The key is to work as hard as you can at recalling as much of it as you possibly can first.  Don’t just review the notes.  Use the notes to spot check your recall.   Let me repeat that.  Don’t just review the notes.  Use the notes to spot check your recall.  This will greatly enhance your memory.
 
Research has shown that you need reviews repeatedly and at strategic intervals to shift knowledge from your short term memory to long term memory.  Ideally, you would review within 10 minutes and then within repeated expanding intervals such as, one day later, one week later, one month later and four months later.  For your average sermon or Sunday School lesson I would suggest that you review as follows:

• Within 10 minutes
• At the end of the day
• The next day
• At the end of the week

 
You may feel like you don’t have time to review. Reviews need to be no more than 5 minutes and the later reviews may only be 2 or 3 minutes.  A weekly investment of 15 to 20 minutes of review will radically transform what you take away from Sunday morning.  Just think what a wasted opportunity it is to listen to the Word unpacked and then not actively attempt to recall and apply it.  Yet, that is the average experience.  Why be average?  Why not be exceptional, when exceptional is only 15 or 20 minutes away from you?
 

BE SELECTIVE

Okay, in the suggestion above I asked you to work at recalling everything you possibly can from a sermon.  I would recommend you do that for 6 sermons in order to build your ability to recall.  After six sermons, discard trying to remember a whole sermon and start practicing some selectivity.  As soon as you have heard a sermon make some choices about what you are going to remember and act upon.  Actively let go of everything else.  You don’t need it all every Sunday.  Then during your reviews, only review the selected items.   I highly recommend though that you really work at recalling six whole sermons before shifting to that sort of selectivity.  The investment on practicing the skill of recall will pay big dividends.
 

TAKE ACTION

Did you apply something from the sermon? Do you have a plan for applying it? At the end of the sermon on the mount Jesus shared the following parable:
 

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27, ESV)
 

In the prior post I recommended setting goals.  Goals without action are irrelevant. Furthermore, you truly don’t understand the Word of God until you live it out and experience it.  Be transformed by the word of God, don’t just catalog it in your head.  Settle for nothing less.  If you have never been taught how to set goals, you may want to read my prior post, Resolutions need Goals. Be sure to include review you goals as part of your review of the sermon.

It’s not too late to respond to Sunday’s sermon. Right now why not try to remember, set a goal, and then review those things tonight and tomorrow. Blessings to you and may the Word of God dwell in you more richly every day.
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Now I’d like to make a rather practical observation. A general desire to know and to study the Bible does not necessarily mean that we will always be overflowing with enthusiasm to do so. When we say that we desire to study the Bible we can mean two things. We can mean that we spring out of bed in the morning eager to rush to a comfortable chair and spend some time drinking in the Word of God. Though I think all Christians long to be like this, the sad fact is that very few are. The reason I am writing these words today is that I have felt little of this enthusiasm lately. I’ve found myself dreading times in the Word far more than I’ve eager anticipated them. And I hate this, I hate my lack of interest, my lack of passion and desire. And yet it seems to be where I am right now.

In my 25 years of reading daily, I have had more days than I care to admit where I just pushed through my Bible reading and I don’t regret it. When I was first compelled to read the Bible the motivating feeling was a sense of “should.” That’s not entirely a bad thing. It took a while for that to turn into desire. At first, I couldn’t find time to read and then as my interest and knowledge grew I felt at times as if I could not find enough time to read. I met a guitarist recently for a Christian Band named Last Hour. His name is Cliff Pennington. He sent me an email about reading the word of God that expresses that same shift. With his permission I am quoting his email.
 

You know we were talking about God’s Word and trying to get kids to read it. If we can just get them to read it! I was going to say that for me personally, the thing that helped me the most, was the day that God helped me to realize that His word is not a burdon. His instruction is not restrictive. Basically, The Bible is not a “RULE” book. It’s the key to life, the abundant life, that Jesus promised us. Living by it’s teachings and focusing on it’s truths and principles is really what sets us free and helps us to begin living… Truely living. I’m one of those people who always used to use the excuse that I just “hate” to read but once I gave in to the Master’s will and did it anyway, He spoke to me through it. Now I can’t read the Bible enough or even books by other people about the Bible or what they’ve learned from it. Now all of the sudden I’ve read books by C.S. Lewis, John McArthur, Ravi Zacharias, Less Strobel, J.I. Paker, Bro. Andrew, Alex McFarland, and many more. I just can’t explain in words the joy I’ve received from God through His word and I want to convey that to everyone just like you do. The world teaches us that by constricting ourselves in our lives to God’s word that we are limiting the joys we can have in life. I say that God created us; knows us better than we know ourselves… He should therefore understand how to make us happy. Why shouldn’t He? He’s our father… He’s tied His happiness to our hapiness. The limits presented in His word simply guide us down a path that leads us to ulimate “true” happiness. The world only presents to us “false” happiness that never lasts. True happiness, in God’s love through His perfect guidance, will never end.

Mindset has a lot to do with how hard or easy it is to get into the Word. We have a lot of choice around mindset. It’s good to be reminded by Cliff about the pure joy it should be that we get to read God’s Word, not that we “have” to read it. It’s good to read things like Chris’s quote and it’s good to be in fellowship with other believers reading because it can help inspire us when we are going through one of those low periods, such as the one that Tim Challies is in right now.
 
So, I just want you to realize that if you are struggling right now with reading, what a lot of people don’t tell you is that this is not unusual. Seasoned Christians with an amazing love of the Lord go through times where reading is just inglorious tough work. Those times pass though and I would urge you to persevere. Do your reading and pursue study diligently.
 
Lastly, I would encourage you to also not judge the value of your Bible reading based upon your experience of your actual reading time. In our culture, immediate gratification has come to drive many of our expectations. Yet, you are not going to necessarily have some epiphany or visionary insight every time you read the Word. I first learned this from a wise old monk. The trappist monk, Basil Pennington, who has written and taught extensively on centering prayer, once said to a group of students I was retreating with that we shouldn’t judge our prayer based upon the experience of the prayer time. We should instead judge the value of our prayer based on how our lives were transformed over a season of prayer. He said that we should wait and see if we are treating our family with more kindness. Are we slow to react angrily? Are we more loving? The wisdom of his words are equally true for other spiritual disciplines, such as, bible reading. The really value is not in the immediate experience but rather instead, in the transformation God affects in you over time.
 
Stick with it. Enjoy it. Revel in it. Blessings on your reading
 

There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:6-7)

Meditation:

The verses upon which we have reflected over the past several days have revealed many benefits that come into the life of a believer with the gift of the Holy Spirit. We have looked at power, love, self-discipline, community, peace, and a whole list of fruits. But, to what end are all these things given?  Is drawing near to the Holy Spirit nothing more than a self help program?  Not at all. The gifts we receive from the Holy Spirit are for the common good.
 
If you are wondering about the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life, do not look so much at what it has done for you, but how the transformation of you has effected the common good. Does your joy bring joy to a community? Does your love lift the body of Christ? Does your power inspire, strengthen and support God’s family? Do your spiritual gifts build the body of Christ? Does your gentleness reveal the mercy of God? Does your kindness point to the cross?
 
Even then look at your community and ask if that community reveals God to the world. When Christ promised the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John and he prayed for believers he also prayed that they might be one. He wanted them to have that unity and joy so that others would come to believe. When all is said and done that is the true proof that what is moving in your life is the Holy Spirit. If God is honored, glorified and made more manifest to the world then the Holy Spirit is truly moving in power.
 

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, I have prayed that you take captive my words and my thoughts in prior prayers, but to what end did I pray these things? I pray this day that all that I say and do can bring Glory to God the Father and reveal the grace of his son Jesus Christ. I want you to saturate not only what I do, but how I do it. When I labor, may I not only labor for the Lord, but in a manner that is worthy of Him. May I bring joy, gratitude and humility to my action. May I bring kindness, gentleness and peace to my interactions. May I have the mind of Christ, who was willing to humble himself even to the point of death on a cross. Frankly, though I know that these are the proper words to prayer, there is part of me that fears such prayers. Do I really mean them? Or, am I just saying it because it is what is good and right? Help me Holy Spirit to have integrity between the words I am willing to pray and the action I am willing to take. I know that by your Spirit all things are possible and God’s strength can be revealed through my weakness. May it be so. Amen.
  

Verse:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:5-6.
 

Meditation:

How you live is a by-product of what you think. We are reminded of this truth in today’s scripture and I am reminded of an old proverb.

Sow a thought, reap a deed
Sow a deed, reap a habit
Sow a habit, reap a character

If your life is reflective of the Spirit, then it is almost assuredly true that your reflect on the things of the Spirit in your mind. If you life does not reflect the Spirit then it is time to take a hard look at the focus of your mind.

So what are things of the Spirit upon which we should focus our minds? The first thing that comes to mind for me is unity. When Paul addressed the conflict between Jews and Gentiles in the first letter to the Corinthians he noted,

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)

He also urged the Ephesians to maintain peace saying,

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

Obviously, walking in the spirit involves actively working on peace and unity. The journey toward community begins in the mind. You first judge a person in your mind. You first speak a hurtful word in your mind. You first lie, gossip or slander in your mind. You first consider forgiving in your mind. You first consider letting go of a hurt in your mind. To win the battle for peace, you must surrender first to the peace of the Spirit in your mind.
 

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, take captive my every thought of my neighbor. May I only think that which will lead to greater unity, greater encouragement, and greater love.
May every ugly thought be tempered by your grace.
May every angry thought be softened and washed away by your unconditional love.
May every envious thought be satisfied by the knowledge that all I need you have already provided.
May every impure thought be purified by your holiness.
May every judgmental thought be abandoned for words of encouragement.
Holy Spirit, by your holy fire forge within me a burning passion for peacemaking.
Amen.
 
If you are new to this series of post you may want to read the post, A Protestant Novena, A Dose of the Ghost.
 
 

“For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6, NASB)

Meditation:

Today’s verse reminds us of simple yet often ignored truth, the gift of the Spirit requires responsible continued attention. The greek word translated “kindle afresh” in the New American Standard Bible, is a difficult word to translate cleanly. An examination of five versions yielded four different translations.

• The English Standard Version and New International Version-”fan a flame”
• New Revised Standard Version-”rekindle”
• King James-”Stir up”
• New American Standard Bible-”kindle afresh”

 
The translation challenge that results in so many different version is that the greek word is a compounding of several things. Perhaps, a more literal and accurate translation would be something to the effect of “to fire to life again.” Regardless of the translation the image given is a of having been given a fire that needs continued tending to burn and burn well. I teach fire making skills to camp counselors and children every Summer. I can’t tell you how many times I have started a fire for a struggling group only to leave for a little bit and find it nearly extinguished for a lack of care.
 
Caretaking a fire requires feeding and stoking. You must continually feed a fire so that it has fuel to keep burning. Often times you also have to interact with the fire to keep it going. You may have to rearrange some logs so they get better air flow or you may need to shuffle the coals around to expose them. I am learning through scripture and through this novena that the gift of the Holy Spirit needs to be also feed and interacted with. Through studying the Word we can feed the gift of the Holy Spirit. By exercising our spiritual gifts we can feed the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through prayer, particularly asking the Spirit to teach us and/or leaning on the Spirit for strength, comfort and discernment we can interact with the Spirit. What will you do today to actively feed or stoke the fire that has been placed in you?
 

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, Paul told Timothy in an earlier letter “do not to neglect the spiritual gift within you.” (1 Timothy 1:14)  His language in this letter is even more proactive. This word reveals to me a history of being passive in attention to you. I prayer that I will continue when this novena is complete to seek to learn more about you. I would like to come away with a plan from this nine day period of reflection for knowing specifically, how I should continue to “rekindle” or “kindle afresh” this gift.  I give you thanks for this word today.  Amen.

 
If you missed the beginning of this “Dose of the Ghost” series, just read this post, A Protestant Novena, A Dose of the Ghost.
 
 

My Bible Table of Contents with All Books Checked. Yeah!!! Click for a Closer Look.

Yesterday, I completed reading the Bible again using the simplest plan ever.  Please Note—This is the simplest plan not necessarily the best or most effective plan.  I simply made a check mark every day next to whatever chapters I read and resisted reading anything that was already checked.  That was it.  It’s nothing fancy or complex.  I just checked off chapters and when I completed a book I went and put a check next to it in the table of contents.  I new that eventually I would finish.  Eventually, was yesterday.

I wasn’t legalistic about it.  There were a number of days where I reread certain chapters.  Sometimes I did this because I was studying it.  Or other times I just felt lead to read a particular section.  Also, truth be told, some days I was really tired and I simply read 4 short Psalms and called it a day.  But, by and large, I resisted rereading and just kept chunking my way through chapters I hadn’t read yet.  I read the New Testament first and then doubled back and read the Old Testament mostly straight through with the exception of the Psalms and a few of the minor prophets.  Psalms I picked up here and there.  The minor prophets I used as a break away from the New Testament periodically.  I read four chapters a day.  How many isn’t necessarily important as long as you just keep at it.

So now what?

I am not certain yet.  I started reading the Gospel of Mark this morning and went through and marked any keywords.  I then listed my observations, questions, and how I needed to responded.  I wrote about 2 pages of journaling.  I do know that I am hungering to do more than just read and get through chapters.  Whatever I do next will be a fairly orderly approach in terms of the content.  More importantly, I think I want to slow down and study what I am reading more closely.  I suspect that I will always read 4 chapters.  After 25 years of doing this, that much has just become a part of who I am.  However, now I have hit a time where I will continue to read 4 chapters but back up and do some real focused work around passages.  I guess the bottom line is I am yearning for a bit more depth.

If you are not reading regularly I highly encourage you to adopt one of the one year bible reading plans on The Practical Disciple Resource Page or do what I did and just start reading chapters every day.  Check the chapters off as you finish and check off the books as you finish them as well.  Blessings upon your reading from The Practical Disciple.

I have used a variety of inductive Bible study methods over the years and find this particular study an extremely clear helpful process to follow.  The method is divided into two PDF files that can access using the links below.

• Inductive Bible Study Method, Page 1
• Inductive Bible Study Method, Page 2

This study method is published by the campus ministry Stumo.  Their purpose is to prepare laborers for Christ from college campuses.  You can learn more about them on their website Stumo.org.   You can also find a wide variety of other tools and Bible studies on specific topics or books of the Bible.

My thanks to PD reader Marshall for sharing these links.  The time was very Godly.

Lastly a word to Pastors, Christian Educators, Youth Leaders, Teachers and such–This Bible study method can be a really quick out of the box tool for leading a study with a small group.  Simple pick a passage and as a group work your way through the steps.

I have never found the right Bible reading plan, so have tried to read at my own pace and feel that even though I am not following a plan, that I am behind simply because I still have a lot to read by the end of this year and I have this thing in my head that I have to finish the Bible by December 31, 2009. It never seems like what I read is enough; sometimes I read a lot, but it doesn’t seem like it is enough. I feel like I am not doing it right.

So, how much should you read? I don’t believe there is a great pat answer to this question, but I do have some distinct thoughts on this. I read four chapters a day and then sometimes some additional study reading. Why four? Twenty-five years ago when I started reading daily I had a reading plan that was two chapters a day, but I usually felt like I was just getting to taste the text and then it was being pulled away from me. Four was an arbitrary comfortable number, that felt like enough reading to get the flow of the text without it being a burdensome amount to face each day. I am not recommending your read four chapters. It is just what worked well for me and continues to work well. A passage a day can be enough. The real key is consistency and quality not quantity. Here are some thoughts I wish someone had shared with me when I was starting out.

Be more concerned about reading daily than getting through the Bible. Why? 2 Reasons: First, daily immersion into the Word of God is an essential component of the Christian life. Few things will feed and shape you more than getting into God’s Word consistently. Second, if you develop a discipline of reading the Bible daily, then you will not only get through the entire Bible but you will read it many times over during your life. As I mentioned about twenty-five years ago I adopted a practice of reading four chapters a day. Add in additional reading I have done for sermon preparation and additional study and I am pushing somewhere around 40,000 chapters read. I am in the process of finishing a complete read, I think for the fourth time, and have read many passages books of the Bible dozens of times. I am not saying this to toot my horn, but to reveal to you the power of just consistently reading every day without exception.  Be sure and use a bible reading guide daily.  Being focused on reading daily rather than finishing will also help you avoid a common trap…

Don’t get trapped in reading to finish. Many of us have been conditioned by school to read things simply to get to the end. “I have to read three chapters of my world history book tonight.” We plod through with nothing but the last page number in sight, often times absorbing or understanding little. It is really easy to get caught in this trap with your Bible reading. More often than I care to admit, my four chapters have been an item on my to do list to check off. I am grateful for the exposure to the text regardless, but regret the many growth opportunities that I missed because I failed to engage my reading. The quality of the journey is far more important than the quantity. Pondering a single verse or phrase until God transforms you, is more valuable than a thousand chapters read but not listened to. The ultimate answer to the question, “What is enough?” is, “When it makes you more Christ-like.” Which brings me to my last point.

Read to be. Why should we read scripture? We read to connect with God. To know God more intimately. To see God more clearly. To love God more dearly. To learn to faithfully follow Jesus Christ. To become more Christ-like in our daily actions. That is why we read. I have a spiritual growth mantra of sorts that says, “Know it!, Do it!, Be it!” You will find there is a progression to your reading of scripture. At first it will feel a bit like an unfamiliar foreign land. It may be confusing. You may feel awkward. You are getting to know the Bible. When you start gaining understanding, start applying. Truth be told, I am not sure we really understand a scripture until we do apply it. So know the Word, do the Word, and then it will shape you, at that point be the Word. Let the Word of God dwell in you and become a part of who you are. For example, perhaps you read and identify some principles about good stewardship. You recognize. That’s not how you live your life right now. You start applying some principles like tithing and first fruits. At first it may be difficult and alien to who you are. Over time it becomes a consistent practice. With more practice you find yourself having a whole different set of values around money and material goods. Eventually, you realize that you have changed and now you are a better steward, a good steward. So, “Know it!, Do it!, Be it!” Don’t stop reading or studying until the Word of God is written on your heart and naturally informs who you are and how you live your life.

Realize you are never finished. After twenty-five years and close to forty thousand chapters, the Word of God still convicts, comforts, teachers, preaches, challenges, and mystifies me on a daily basis. The more you learn about Scripture the more you will learn how little you truly understand God AND the more comfortable you will become with realizing how little you know. It’s a bit of a humbling paradox. Inevitably, the quest for “enough” with scripture results in an encounter with grace. Eventually, you realize, there is never enough, at least in terms of what you do. You cannot read enough or apply enough. Only Christ is enough. When scripture leads you to that understanding then you will find enough. Ironically, you will then desire and crave the Word even more, because reading it will no longer be about you.

Blessings on your reading Journey.  Below are a couple of links to other related posts.

Bible Reading Tips
Bible Reading Plans

I have also changed my recommended resource to my current study Bible, The New Inductive Study Bible.   This Bible is ideal if you are wanting to read the text and create your own headings and comments based upon your own observations.  It’s wide margins, blanks for chapter headings, guidance on what to watch for and mark in the text, and space for outlines at the end of each book, make it perfect for this purpose.  This Bible is a New American Standard (NASB) translation and is one of the most literal translations available. If you are new to Bible reading I would not  start with this Bible because there are no headings or explanatory notes offset from the text to aid the beginning reader.  There are  a few study helps in the back along with a brief concordance.

For new Bible readers I would recommend the Life Application Study Bible, NIV.  It contains a lot of great questions and notes that help you reflect on how to put God’s Word to work in your daily life.  I am finding The Life Application Bible harder to find as an NIV.  This may just be a regional issue.  Its seems more available as a New Living Translation which I do not care for as much.

Blessings to you in your reading of God’s Word.