I’ve been sharing encouragement and tools for staying connected with God with those who signed up for “Alone Together” during this challenging season. I thought I’d share a few online in case they might encourage you too…
Good morning! Or Good evening, as the case may be! How are you holding up? My kind friends have loaded me up with food and TP, so I am set for a indeterminate quarantine. Hopefully I can share some good resources and encouragement with you during this season.
Today, first things first: Psalm One
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
If we are alone without the Word, we can wind up in introspection, emptiness, and distortion. There’s more Christian content available than ever, but some is devoid of Scripture, some is decorated with Scripture, but very little gets us into Scripture. How many of you have started out January 1 with honorable goals to read through Scripture, only to wind up lost and giving up in the wilderness of Leviticus or Numbers? How can we absorb the truth of Scripture while socially distancing?
Wayne Cordeiro has developed a simple plan to get us into the Word from Genesis to Revelation. Many of you have done this with me before. The beauty of this plan is that it can be done alone, with a spouse or friend, with your family or small group, with 1, 2, 5, 10, 100, or 1000 people. And it gets us into the whole of Scripture, instead of a verse here and there.
Three steps (with cheat sheets attached):
Read the passage silently (in a paper translation instead of a paraphrase or electronic gadget). Read slowly, as if you’ve never seen or heard this before, and meditate on the passages. You may have time to read both multiple times, or you may be drawn to spend most of your time in one passage or chapter. Leave everything else alone and simply read the Scripture. Do not cross-reference, do not flip to other passages, do not take notes. Rein yourself in and remain only within these passages.
When the timer goes off, pick up your pen and journal and silently respond to God. Is there one particular word, phrase, or passage that grips you? Is there message of comfort? Or a good kick to the head? An answer to prayer? A marching order? What do you see about God? Is there any encouragement or challenge for you? Write a letter to Him, confess, worship and adore Him, list the attributes of God or instructions from the passage, consider how this relates to your life, whatever the Lord prompts you to do in response to what you’ve read.
When the time goes off again, discuss and pray… If you’re on your own, you might want to go straight to prayer. 😉
Some links to help:
https://www.amazon.com/Divine-Mentor-Growing-Faith-Savior-ebook/dp/B00B85A7WC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGh6Xke1sPU