The end of 2014
is almost upon us. Many people are thinking about the holidays: buying gifts,
planning meals, attending parties, and looking forward to time with family and
friends. All of this can make it difficult to maintain spiritual routines.
Daily Bible reading, regular times of prayer, and memorization habits can
easily be neglected in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. So I want to
encourage you to make a special commitment for December.
Decide to make
spiritual discipline a priority in the last 31 days of the year. Take advantage
of the last month of 2014 to get spiritual momentum for 2015. You may decide to
devote yourself to reading a specific portion of Scripture, perhaps one book
repeatedly. Or you might decide to memorize a favorite chapter of the Bible or
several psalms. You might devote a special time of prayer each day to
thanksgiving, or to praying for the salvation of friends and loved ones outside
of Christ. Whatever you decide to do: make it manageable but challenging. Be
careful of commitments that are so time consuming they must be discarded after
three days. Whatever you do, make it sustainable. Here are some simple ideas.
1.
Read the entire
New Testament
– You can read the entire NT in 31 days by reading just 8-9 chapters per day.
You can also listen to the entire NT
in one month. Most audio copies of the NT are ~16 hours long, so by listening
for just 30 minutes per day, you will cover the entire NT in one month.
2.
Read the book of
Psalms –
You can read the entire Psalter in 30 days by reading just 5 psalms per day.
Devote one day to Psalm 119, and the entire plan will cover 31 days. You might
also pick one psalm each day from your reading and pray through it.
3.
Read First John
31 times –
There is no better epistle for reassuring believers of their security in
Christ. Read the letter every day for the entire month and watch your trust in
Christ grow.
