Another year, no, another decade is upon us. It seems like just a short time ago we were anticipating 2010. The decade came and went. The adage is true that time waits for no man. Whether or not you are ready for 2020, it’s here. You can’t take back, undo, or redo anything from the 2010s but you can make things different in 2020. With God’s direction and help, you can move forward, make things right, gain traction, and live life abundantly.
There is no other thing that will help you focus (an appropriate word for 2020) your life on what’s important than gaining insight from God’s Word daily. It is by far the most important relationship that you can work on in 2020. Every other aspect of your life will be different if you make having purposeful moments with God a priority.
How can you make this small yet powerful change and be consistent? Where do you start? Here are, what I hope will be, helpful suggestions to help you begin having purposeful moments with God in 2020.
Timing is everything
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” – Ecclesiastes 3:1
Time is the ever-decreasing commodity. We only have a certain amount of minutes on this earth. On the other hand, we all have the same amount of minutes in a day. No one gets more or less than anyone else. Our success depends on how we use those minutes.
In order to be consistent in our moments with God, there must be a specific time we have those moments. It may mean that you wake up fifteen minutes earlier or it may mean that you disconnect earlier in the evening. I think there is something to be said for starting your day with God, but please understand God wants a relationship with you. That relationship can be cultivated in the evening as well.
The point is, if we want to be consistent, we must have a scheduled time that moments with God takes place.
Follow a plan
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” – Luke 14:28
If you are going to read your Bible through, you must have a plan. There are many Bible reading plans that will help you accomplish your goal.
If you are an “app” person, then I recommend the Bible App by YouVersion. You can read all about it and set up your personal account here. It is the most comprehensive, user-friendly Bible app that I have come across. There is literally a Bible reading plan for just about every subject you can think of. There are also several “through-the-Bible-in-a-year” plans as well. If you are feeling really ambitious, there’s even a plan that will get you through the entire Bible in 90 days.
I personally do not read the Bible digitally very often. I prefer holding a physical Bible in my hand as I read. That, again, is preference. The great thing about the Bible app is that you can use it digitally, or you can use it with your physical Bible.
This resource will allow you to take control of your goal. It will send you a reminder to read, allow you to share what you’ve read, and even be accountable to others while you are reading.
If you are not an “app” person, you can go to www.mylighthouse.info and download a reading plan that will get you through the Word of God in 2020 from cover to cover. The same Bible reading plan is also printed on the back of the L.B.C. Sunday bulletin each week.
Write things down
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” – 2 Timothy 3:16
This is where things begin to get productive. As you are reading through your Bible plan, write things down. What should you write down? Everything and everything you can think of as you read. Write down questions about things you don’t understand. Write down thoughts about the verses that you are reading. Some days you will write more than others. That’s ok. The important thing is you are meditating over what you are reading. This might take a little longer than just reading straight through, but you will walk away from your purposeful moments with God with them being just that – purposeful.
The Bible App that we talked about will allow you to make notes digitally as you read. I prefer to write in a physical notebook as I read. This allows me to see everything at a glance. Again, this is a preference. The goal here is to write things down.
After I write my thoughts in my notebook, I do record those notes digitally in my Bible study software. That way I can always go back and study it further.
If you are interested in a Bible that has room to write and skip the notebook, take a look here.
If you are interested in a journal that will help keep you accountable, you can check out my recommendation here.
Study what you wrote
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:15
It’s important to study what you wrote down. Get yourself a good study Bible and dive into the Word of God. One thing you must remember about study Bibles is that the notes are man’s words and not God’s words. They are fallible men giving their insight on the Word of God. That being said, a study Bible can be a great resource to help you get a lot more out of the Word of God.
If you are interested, click here to see a great study Bible at a great price.
If you are interested in using a devotional as you read, here is a list of my recommendations:
Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Through the New Testament in 90 days – Tim Christoson
Daily Devotional Bible (A Bible with devotionals built-in)
Apply what you study
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:” – Matthew 7:24
It would be a tragedy if you read, write, and study, but you never let the Word of God transform you. Allow the Words of Life to live in you. Memorize and meditate on the passages of Scripture that spoke to you. Allow them to transform you from the inside out. The Bible is a living book that will make 2020 the greatest year of your life.
Let’s be people of the book in 2020.