20 years

 At the beginning of January, 2003 something strange started to happen to me - I started waking up between 4:30 a.m. & 5 a.m..

Now, understand, I LOVE to sleep - I LOOOOOOOVE to sleep.

And this wasn't a groggy, brief waking up - it was more like HELLO! I'M AWAKE kind of thing - very unlike me.

This went one for the first 2 weeks of that January. I finally asked Lynn, my wife about it - she's a family nurse practitioner. She said it may just be a normal thing due to aging. Then she said something pivotal...

"Maybe the Lord is trying to tell you something."

So... the next morning, like clockwork, I woke up between 4:30 & 5 a.m.

This time I simply said, "Lord, are you trying to tell me something?"

And immediately a thought came into my head - "Get up & read."

I knew He meant the Bible. I'd been a follower of Jesus since high school & I was 52 when this happened. To say my personal Bible reading was higgledy-piggledy would be wildly generous - lame or non-existent would be more accurate.

So, I got up & read the Bible. I don't remember where or what I read. I did write down what I read, the date, & the time, mostly because I knew I couldn't always remember where I had read.

And I've been doing it ever since - 20 years this month - every day - without fail. I can't remember a day when I haven't gotten up & read in the Bible, & listened out for whatever God wanted to say. I may have missed a day or 2 in the beginning, but that would have been it. It's been every day ever since.

And, btw, God did & still is waking me up every day to go read. I've never set an alarm. I just wake up.

And trust me on this - He started talking to me immediately.

He made it VERY clear that I had to share my "secret" with people (terrifiying!), had me move away from music ministry into 20something ministry, & released me from a lifelong angst - all in the first year - exhausting.

He continued to talk to me as the years passed. There are countless things I NEVER would have done, or thought, or said, if it hadn't been for something I read that directed me to be & do. The thing I have most often said to God these last 20 years is, "You want me to do WHAT?!"

I've become a strong advocate for reading the Bible EVERY day without fail (RTBEDWF).

But here's some stuff to know ahead of time...

God will MESS with you if you do - He will put his finger on the very thing you absolutely don't want Him to put his finger on.

I hear people all the time say "I just can't get God to speak to me" - that is not my problem - I can't get Him to shut up!

The Bible (which we consider God's word) has an uncanny ability to speak to us in ways we have only scratched the surface of. He uses it to speak to us in black & white print. It has happened thousands of times to me over the past 20 years. It's weirded me out sometimes. Or it has been an infinite comfort.

So, here's what I do - & yes, I'm STRONGLY suggesting you do the same thing - read the Bible every day without fail (RTBEDWF)

God wakes me up - so, figure a time you might get up & read, set an alarm, & ask God to wake you up.

I read a chapter a day in 3 different places...

    I read a psalm every day sequentially, psalm 1 - 150 then start over - I heard that Billy Graham did that - I figured if it was good enough for him it was good enough for me.

    I read a chapter in one of the gospels, sequentially - Matthew to John, then I start over.

    I read a chapter in the epistles, starting in Romans to Jude, then start over. I read Revelation once a year - it gives me a headache.

    I'm taking a break from the Old Testament but I usually start reading a chapter in Genesis through Malachi, then start over. I only read through the minor prophets once a year - they are a little depressing.

That's 4 chapters a day - get a notebook & write down the date, day, time, & what you read. Also include anything that stuck out.

I've been writing a short blog each day on my social media platforms - after 20 years I think the blogspot counter is over 5000 blogs written.

Do I regret reading every day?

Nope.

Do I have any plans to stop?

Never.

Back in January, 2003, after reading every day for a couple of weeks, I realized I was sinning less, God was talking to me ALL THE TIME, & my whole life was on a different trajectory.

It's a habit now - I would not NOT read - I have become so completely dependent on it...

folks, I'm reading the word of God - I'm reading God's message to us. Whenever i hear someone say, "I wish God would speak to me about xxx" I always tell them to start reading the Bible every day because I promise, God will speak to them, & He won't shut up!

Let me clear about this:

If you start reading every day, your life WILL change - it probably will change in ways you don't expect or may not be really comfortable with - but it will change - being exposed to the word of God - iow, God speaking - can be tremendously life altering.

All the things you've been delaying working out with God will come to the forefront. All the things you think you've been hiding from Him will be brought out into the open.

You will think, say, be, or do things you NEVER would have imagined you would think, say, be, or do.

Your intimacy with God will exponentially grow - you will experience God's love in ways you can't imagine - your concept of who & what He is will never be the same - your self concept will be defined less by the neurotic things you whisper to yourself & more of the ways God sees & knows you - & you will find a connection that will see you through life in a secure, genuine level that you cannot imagine.

If you never ever do another thing else in your life, please, please, PLEASE do this...

Read the Bible every day without fail (RTBEDWF)