Why You Should Use the Simplest Feature on the Most Common Bible App

Do you have an ever-growing stack of devotionals and journals that you were oh so excited to started but somehow never completed? Do you find that you desire to move on to a new study before you finish your current one? If this is you, keep reading!

One of my commitments for the year is to wake up earlier in the morning in order to be more consistent in my daily quiet time. I recently discovered the simplest feature of one of the most popular bible apps could help me follow through on my commitment! Chances are good that you already have the YouVersion Bible App downloaded on all of your electronic devices (if not, go ahead and do that now…I’ll wait). Perhaps you’ve been using it for years, as I have and you enjoy many of the useful features like creating verse images, bookmarking and highlighting passages, and even recording notes in the app. These features are all helpful, but not the feature that has aided me in my daily reading.
A few months ago, my husband kept sharing wonderful spiritual insights the Lord was communicating to him through a new devotional he was reading. After several days of hearing about it, I inquired deeper. He shared with me that He had almost completed a 7 day reading plan on the YouVersion Bible App and encouraged me to go browse the app and save any reading plans that looked intriguing. Now, the devotionals or reading plan feature on the app was not new to me. I have completed several of them in the past. But I realized two things after our conversation, there are plans of varying length and I can save plans I see for future use.

What’s so earth-shattering about these realizations? The option to save reading plans for later allowed me to choose a plan but not commit to it today! There was something very freeing about that for me. Recognizing that I could start and complete a full reading plan in just one week was revolutionary! Often times in the past, I am so excited to start a study on a particular topic and the enthusiasm slowly fades until about 3 weeks in I’m forcing myself to “just finish” so that I can move on to something new. I’m not tired of God’s word or tired of studying I just seem to have a fairly short attention span when it comes to devotionals.

Since starting to utilize the Bible App Reading Plans to enhance my quite time, I can proudly say that I have been more consistent with my bible reading and each morning (well most mornings!) I look forward to reading and I complete the plan with the same enthusiasm as day 1.

So there it is folks, the simplest feature on the most common bible app that can help you be more consistent reading the bible! Which tools help you stay consistent in your daily time with the Lord?

What I have in common with Jonah

Most of us are familiar with the Story of Jonah and the Whale Big Fish. Just incase you aren’t familiar with it, it goes something like this…

·       God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and announce his judgement on them because of their wickedness.

·       “But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.” (Jonah 1:3) {Get away from the Lord? Umm, someone should have told Jonah that God is Omnipotent… he’s everywhere dude! When I read this verse today, it just struck me as hilarious.  The visual in my mind is that of a 3 year old when their parent tells them to stop playing with something and instead of obeying they jump up and run in the other direction.  As if avoiding their parents will just make them disappear altogether.  Funny.}

·       Jonah jumps on a ship (hoping to sail away from God) with some unsuspecting sailors.

·       The Lord caused a violent storm that almost destroyed the ship and the sailors, after realizing Jonah was the cause of this catastrophe, throw Jonah overboard.

·       A big fish comes along and swallows up Jonah. Yep, swallowed him and there he stayed for 3 days and nights… inside of a big fish.

·       Jonah prayed to God and the Lord ordered the fish to spit Jonah out.

·       Jonah goes to Ninevah and tells the people their city will be destroyed because of their wickedness.

·       HAPPY ENDING: The people repent and the Lord spares them Judgment.

Some may be tempted to stop reading there but DON’T you’ll be shocked at what happens next! Remember my last bullet point, the Happy Ending? Well, it turns out Jonah wasn’t too happy about this happy ending. As a matter of fact, he was down right angry that God decided not to destroy the people. And he didn’t hesitate to give God a piece of his mind.  In case you’re into drama (don’t worry I won’t tell) here’s how the rant went, “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.  Just kill me now, Lord…” (Jonah 4:2-3)

The shocking part is… I’m pretty sure he was serious! You may be wondering if the Lord struck him down at that moment, another shocker, nope.   Jonah’s selfishness in this self-titled book seems to have no bounds.  After reading, I was sitting and contemplating what kind of terrible person was Jonah?? He disobeyed God, ran in the opposite direction of God, endangered the lives of a crew of sailors, and when he finally seemed ready to turn things around he gets angry with God for giving the people of Ninevah a second chance.  What's wrong with him?? Jonah was selfish, plain and simple.  If it didnt benefit him, he wasn't interested.  Not exactly the type of person I would ever want to call a friend.  It’s easy for me to look at him in astonishment and be thankful I’m nothing like that. 

Am I? True, I’ve never scolded God for not wiping out an entire city.  But if I’m honest, a large part of each day is focused on ME, either directly or indirectly. So before, I start to pass judgment on Jonah, I’m going to take a closer look at the ways that selfishness manifests in my own life. 

What about you? How does selfishness sneak into your world?

Linking up with Tuesdays with a Twist, Titus 2 Tuesday, Playdates with God.

What I'm Loving Friday

Happy Friday! We made it through the first full work week of the year, wahoo! I’ve been waiting all week for “What I’m Loving Friday” because I knew what I would share on Monday.  I’m loving reading the E-100 bible passages each day. 
 

Our church is reading 100 essential passages in the bible over the next 100 days, see the reading plan, here.  The Word of God is just so exciting, because even when you read a passage that you’ve read numerous times before (ie. Genesis 1) the Holy Spirit can illuminate a new truth you never noticed in the past. It’s so exciting for me to read and share with Josh what I learned and then hear what the Lord spoke to him (often something different) while reading the same passage.  Each day as we discussed the passage, we chose one word that seemed to embody the message for that day best.  Here’s what we came up with…

   

 Day 1 (Genesis 1-2)- Purpose

 

Day 2 (Genesis 3)- Sin/Death

Day 3 (Genesis 6:5-7:24)- Regret

Day 4 (Genesis 8:1-9:17)- Covenant

Day 5 (Genesis 11:1-9)- Pride

Try reading these passages with these words in mind and see if you notice something you haven’t before.  I would love to have you join us in this reading plan, it’s definitely not too late to jump on this bandwagon and have some fun!

 

Have a lovely weekend!
Linking up with Simply Lulu Style, Essential Things, Faith Filled Friday, and Friday Flash Blog.  

Boring or Beneficial?

Happy Tuesday All! Who’s ready to get this year started right with a reading plan???? I’m so excited to announce that my church has issued a challenge to all of its partners (that's what we call our members) to read the Old Testament (OT) in 90 days! I know I just lost some of you when I said OT but don’t stop reading yet.  I want to take a brief moment to emphasize the importance of the OT to each of us. The OT really is the foundation for all the rich text we love in the New Testament.  Skipping over the OT just to get to the NT is like not reading the introduction and first chapter of your favorite book.  Better yet, it’s like skipping the oh-so exciting “dating phase” of a relationship and going straight to marriage.  The marriage is great, but who wants to lose out on the fun of butterflies and discovery that comes in the beginning phase?? The NT is built on the laws, systems, covenants and promises of the OT!

I’ll be completely honest, there was a time when I would always chose to read a NT passage over an OT passage, if given a choice. Thankfully, I married a man that is an OT fanatic and after quite a bit of encouragement, I recently decided to start reading through Genesis.  Wow, is pretty much all I can say.  I LOVE this book.  There is so much drama, seriously, check it out! I would like to invite you to join me in reading through the Old Testament in 90 Days (OTN90).  The reading plan can be found here.  As we read, I will blog about some of the things the Lord is revealing to me through the OT and I would love to hear what you are learning as well!

P.S.

If you would like a bit more information about the Old Testament, you can find some great information here.