Lake Travis United Methodist Church

Setting aside time every day to spend with God can sometimes feel like kneading bread or running a mile (for us non-runners).  I don’t know if you’ve ever kneaded dough for ten minutes, but while that doesn’t seem like very long, at not even halfway through, I took a loud breath, looked at the clock, and thought - “Oh my!  It hasn’t even been five minutes!  This is hard work!”  And I had to resign myself that this was going to be hard work.  But while I breathed hard and kept going, and wondered how my arm would feel afterwards, I smiled and laughed with God.

As many of you have probably experienced in life, the things worth doing can be hard at times.  But there is so much reward in the end.

Romans 5:3 - We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.

As you make this decision to work on your relationship with God, keep in mind that you are committing to do this.  You are making a decision to spend time with God.  Just like any committed relationship, you have to make time for that important person in your life.  And there will be ups and downs, and so there is no shame or guilt if you miss sitting down with God some days…but remember how important that time spent with others in your life is…and think how life changing it could be to spend time with God everyday (or as often as you can).

And sometimes you may sit down, and start praying, reading scripture, or talking with God, and look up at the clock, and think - only five minutes have gone by!  I encourage you to complete your time with God that day - to develop that muscle.  But also know, God can do wonders with even five minutes!

So, now that you’ve made the decision to do this, and you have your special place all ready to go, you may be wondering - now what?!

We can talk with God in all sorts of different ways, and He talks with us in multiple different ways.  A great place to begin though, is with God’s Word - the scripture - the Bible!

I encourage you to allow yourself to follow this layout for a little while before you start making it your own.  Get comfortable with it, really do it well and consistently, and God will let you know when it’s time to make it your own.  But this is a great place to begin.

To begin, in your journal, only allow yourself to write on one page!  Not front and back - only one page!  The reason behind this, is as you begin something new like this, if you try and do too much, you may overwhelm yourself and burn out.  Kind of like if you’ve never been a big runner, and you decide to go run an entire mile the first time out!  Allow yourself to build these muscles.  They will carry you very, very far from here one day.  But you must allow yourself to simply begin.

Now, this is what your journal page will consist of - 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Page #

________(Title)_______________                                               Date: ________________

Scripture: 

Context:

What does God want me to KNOW from this scripture TODAY?

Prayer:

The Title is not done until the END!  But first, go ahead and date it and number your page.  (This will all make sense with time 😊).

Read your scripture.  I recommend following the plan at http://www.hillsborofirstumc.org/index_files/bible-reading-plan.pdf .  This all comes from www.lifejournal.cc - I’ve just adapted the journaling slightly to make it a little more understandable.  You can follow any scripture plan you would like to though, but this is a great place to begin.  The scriptures compliment one another from the old and new testament, and the reading plan helps to bring the complete picture of the Bible together for you. 

As you read your scripture, underline, make notes in the margin, but ask God this question - “What verse do you want to point out to me today?”  Once you’ve read through the scriptures for the day, go back through them, clear your head, and only allow God into your heart and head in order to point out to you which verse is important for YOU, TODAY.

Then simply write that verse in your journal.

For the CONTEXT portion, you’re just going to write a small paragraph.  Here, you can use the scripture you just read, and very possibly a study bible, to help you understand what was happening in history during the time that scripture was written.  In my study bible, at the beginning of each book of the Bible, there is an explanation page - this is a great resource for understanding the context surrounding the scripture you are reading.  Write just a few sentences to help place this scripture into its context.  For example, one day, my scripture verse was Isaiah 11:3.  For the context piece I wrote - “Isaiah is telling of the coming of Jesus.  His job, as a prophet, was to turn the people from sin and to follow God.  He’s telling the people that judgment is coming.”  That simple.  The point is not to give yourself an in depth history lesson, but just to think about what is actually going on in and around the scripture that God has highlighted for you.

Then ask God - “What do you want me know today from this scripture?”  Let God speak!!  Don’t try and guess or assume what you’re supposed to know today.  God will surprise you, convict you, make you laugh, make you cry, and simply put you in awe of Him!   Let Him lay on your heart… and in your mind… and in your thoughts… and on your lips…and with your hand and pencil, what He wants you to know today.  Sometimes it will make total sense and sometimes you’ll be amazed at how He will link everything together from your day, or your week, with the scripture He’s highlighted for you, to tell you something so precious and personal.

And finally, end with writing a prayer.  A beautiful way to think through your prayer is to follow the ACTS model - Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.  Take time to praise God for this time and what He is doing in your life.  Confess any barriers that you feel that are between you and Him.  Thank Him for speaking with you today and for what truths He has shared with you.  Ask Him for what is on your heart and mind.

Surprisingly, a very sweet thing God does now, is to have you read over what you wrote today, and title this entry - ask God for help here too 😊.  And then, at the back of your journal, on the first line, write down the date, all the scripture you read,  the title of your lesson today, and the page number!  And as you do this daily, you will be able to look back and see what God has taught you, and reference those pages!  Trust me - God will have you go back and look for something He’s already said to you so you can reread it, and reference it one day down the road.  I say this from experience, as today I was writing on page 1,027 and God had me go find something that was in a past journal on page 581 😊.  It’s beautiful y’all - I promise 😊.

This is truly a journey!  I pray you embark on it.  And this, my friends, will transform your life, if you’ll commit to doing it every day!

May God bless your time with Him this week.  May you look upon the face of Jesus and see Him in all His glory.  May the Holy Spirit move in you in ways you’ve never felt before.  May the God of hope, and love, and peace, be your full and complete protection throughout your every day.  Amen...So be it 😊.

@Lake Travis United Methodist Church 2022