What’s Your Plan in 20/10?
Happy New Year! Well, almost.
Proverbs 16:9 says this, “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”
Plans are good, and I am finding that in my own life, they really do make more room for God to do as He wills. I would like to point all of us to some resources to help us have a plan for reading the Bible and engaging God in His word this year.
It’s the year 2010, so why not use that to help us engage with Jesus? I’m asking and praying that each of us take 20 minutes a day to read our Bible and 10 minutes to spend in prayer and contemplation upon what we’ve read. How does that sound? That’s 30 minutes of each day solely devoted to Jesus! Let’s have true 20/10 vision in the year 2010 with the help of God’s Word. Let’s do it together!
Now, what should I read during that 20 minutes?
Below I will point you to three different sites that can help you plan a systematic plan to get through the whole Bible, the New Testament or whatever part you plan to get through in a year. I believe that most us (with 20 minutes a day) can get through the whole Bible in a year. So, pick a plan. Without one we tend to read what we like and know and give up once we’ve run out of things to like!
1. YouVersion
YouVersion has a multitude of plans. You can get plans delivered to your email or to your phone, etc. You can adjust plans, pick the amount of time you want to take, on & on & on. It’s crazy. Give it a look.
2. The ROAD Method
The Journey out of St. Louis has developed the ROAD method. It’s read a 3 days, then take a day off plan. Sweet! You can get a downloadable, printable version of the plan directly off their website. As well as printed and video overviews of the books you’re reading. Darrin Patrick, who leads The Journey, is a friend of ours and he will be speaking at our Mobilise USA conference in January. It’s online, it’s free, thank you Journey.
3. The SOAP Method
The SOAP method from New Hope in Hawaii (I think I need to go there to personally check it out…haha) is another great choice and one that we have promoted a lot in the past. Several of you have been reaping the benefits of journaling. This plan teaches you how to use the SOAP method and will link you to their reading plan is designed to take you through the Old Testament once and the New Testament twice in just one year.
I highly encourage you to write down your thoughts, either using New Hope’s SOAP method or Journey’s ROAD method. These are essentially the same methods, but with different names. Both emphasize (and we agree) picking one verse to concentrate on, observing it in context, deciding how to apply it to our life and then doing so, and writing out a prayer based on what God has showed us.
Another practical way to make our Bible reading more effective is to deepen our understanding of Scripture itself. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart is a great book that focuses on understanding context and the style of writing each book is written in.
We have access to all the tools we need. We have access to the same Spirit who inspired the writers. We have access to the Father through the Son. What are we waiting for?
