Do you want to be rewarded? Do you want to have years added to your life?
Meditate on it (the Bible) day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.~Joshua 1:8
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that most of you that are reading this are leaders of some type, searching for a way to become more effective in your role as a leader.
Whether instinctively or because you’ve been taught and trained on it, you also know that if you cannot lead yourselves well, it’s not possible to lead others well.
Today I’d like to challenge you to possibly do something you’ve not done before, but I promise will change your life and those around you.
Are you up for at least considering it? If so, read on.
In the US alone, this desire to lead ourselves better with the goal of being more prosperous and successful, has blossomed into $13 billion industry knows as “Self Help”. Books, videos, infomercials, seminars, and life coaches all promising a new you.
I’d like to make an observation and then give a FREE “ProTip”that could take down the entire self-help industry:
- Observation- Self Help efforts that don’t include the One that made you and knows the future,won’t have a lasting and profound impact on your life.
- FREE ProTip- Regardless where you are at from a faith perspective, starting each day by systematically reading or listening to the Bible for 20 minutes or so will dramatically and positively change your life.
So what makes The Bible different than other self-help options you might ask? Remember what browsing the internet was like when you had dial up? Remember what the picture looked like watching a tube T.V.?
What makes the Bible special, is in today’s terms we call “interactive”.
The Bible and its ability to affect our lives is unique because of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is like high speed internet, high definition TV or as taco seasoning is to plain hamburger to add flavor. The Holy Spirit is alive and interactive, always several moves ahead to guide, so long as those behind Him are willing to follow.
Here are a couple quick stats to consider from Barna and Lifeway:
- 50% of American adults are Bible users, meaning that at least 3-4 times a year they read or listen to something out of the Bible.
- 61% of Americans say they wished they would use the Bible more frequently.
- 80% of church goers are not reading or listening to the Bible daily and those that are, only half of them for more than a few verses often out of a devotional written by someone other than The Lord.
Reflecting on the statistics mentioned above, I can’t help but wonder why so infrequently people read and hear directly from God, the creator of everything who knows all about the past, present and future? BTW, God who does not lie, also promises to lead His followers to wisdom becoming prosperous and successful.
Two practical ways to systematically hear directly from God through his thoughts and words:
- Join tens of thousands of people around the world and download the app on your mobile device or search for in your podcast app for The Daily Audio Bible. This isn’t simply a guy reading chapters of the Bible, but more like a time each day with a friend (Brian Hardin) that reads and explains context of the Bible reading for that day in layman’s terms. As you drive during the day, take a walk at noon with head phones in, or whenever, you will have a simple and very effective way to get through the entire Bible in 1 year. You can also find it by going to http://dailyaudiobible.com
- Download a Bible app such as Olive Tree, then search reading plans and select the M’Cheyne plan which will in 20 or so minutes a day of reading, take you through the entire Bible in one year. Each day you’ll read from Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs.
My friendly challenge to you- between now and Easter, invest into yourself by taking in God’s words and thoughts each day for 10, 15 or maybe even 30 minutes. If you can make it to Easter, I believe you will have found this to be transformative and a renewing of your mind and life in ways you never could have imagined, recalibrating the true north of your life's direction.
Hearing directly from God will be like opening a new birthday present each day- and who wouldn’t want that?
“The Bible is an inexhaustible fountain of all truths.
The existence of the Bible is the greatest blessing
which humanity has ever experienced.”~ Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804
“In the pure, strong hours of the morning, when the soul of the day is at its best, lean upon the window sill of God, and look into His face, and get your marching orders for the day. Then go out into the day with the sense of a Hand upon your shoulder.”~ E. Stanley Jones, 1884-1873
Alan Smith
CBMC Northland Area Staff
Hundreds of business leaders/owners are meeting monthly in CBMC Trusted Advisor Forums designed to develop business men to be ambassadors for Christ and spiritual reproducers. If you or anyone you know would like to learn more, go to our website or email Don Hoffert at dhoffert@cbmc.com