When you were younger, did you ever make a decision that you later regretted? What did they call it, a youthful indiscretion? Ok, maybe you are like me and it hasn’t been limited to just your younger years. The contemporary Christian group, MercyMe, did a song a few years back titled, Dear Younger Me. Certainly, the older we get, the wiser we become, at least hopefully. But what if there was a way to be as some people say “wise beyond your years”? There is a way that we can know right from wrong, and learn how to make the right choices. David gives it to us in today’s text. We are still looking into the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119. Psalm 119:66 says, “Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe Your commandments.”
David is continuing to speak here of the benefits of God’s Word in our life. The blessing he is talking about in our text today, is that the Bible teaches us how to make the right decisions in our life. Decisions that are not just good and right for the here and now, but that also prepare us for eternity. One thing that is important for you and I to realize is that all wisdom comes from God. Therefore, we need to be intentional in seeking not just knowledge, but the right knowledge. We don’t want to settle for something that may seem right now, but down the road will turn out to be wrong. How can we do this?
- Be intentional. A lot of people say that they want to read the Bible, but then become frustrated because they are inconsistent at doing it. As simple as this may sound, the answer is to create a routine of reading. If you use your cellphone calendar or a reminder app on the phone, put it in there. Set it for the same time each day, and have it send you an alert. If you like using paper calendars or a dry erase board on the fridge, write the time of day you will get alone to read the Bible each day. Again, the point is to make a plan and work the plan.
- Start small. One reason that people become inconsistent in their Bible reading is that they plan on reading too much of the Bible at one time. I know that sounds strange, but hopefully I can show you what I mean. A lot of Christians make it their goal to read through the Bible in a year. That is an amazing goal, I have enjoyed it several times myself. However, in order to do that you must read between 3-5 chapters a day for seven days a week. Can we be honest, that’s a lot. What happens if you oversleep one morning? Well now you are stuck trying to read 6-10 chapters the next day. Thus, after missing a few days, most people give up on trying to read the Bible at all. Another potential problem with trying to read this much in one sitting is that you are going to struggle to meditate on what you read. It is going to be hard to absorb the wonderful riches of God’s Word. Therefore, I want to suggest a method that is not mine. Rather, I was introduced to it by Pastor Robby Gallaty, a pastor at Long Hollow Baptist Church in Tennessee and the President of Replicate Ministries. Pastor Gallaty created what he called the F-260 Bible reading plan. The goal is to read one to two chapters a day for five days. I see two benefits to this plan. First, one to two chapters a day is manageable. Second, it builds in margin in case life happens or you wake up late and miss a morning. Because let’s be honest, we would all love to say that we never oversleep, or never miss manage our time and so we get to read the Bible for hours every single day. But we know better than that don’t we? I am profoundly grateful to Pastor Gallaty and the staff of Replicate Ministries. This is my third time using one of their F-260 plans, as they not only have the whole Bible plan, but they also have the F-260 NT plan, which as you can guess focuses on the New Testament with the same format. But I will encourage you the same as the Replicate team encouraged me several years ago, start small. It builds margin, it is manageable, and it allows you to mediate on what you read that day throughout your day.
- Journal your reading. Again, this is not a new thought to me. There have been many great pastors and teachers who have encouraged Christians to journal through their reading. Once again, I will give credit where credit is due, I use a method that I learned from Replicate Ministries called H.E.A.R. journaling. I won’t go into detail about what it is, because they have done an amazing job at that, and you can find out more at their website, www.replicate.org. The purpose of journaling through your reading is to help you meditate on the Scripture, to help commit it to your memory better, and it will give you something to come back to when you are struggling in life. You can read about how God has shown His faithfulness to you over the years, and allow that to encourage you. Another great blessing is that you will have something to pass down to your children as they get older, and they can read first hand of God’s faithfulness to you and the family.
I could probably write so much more, but I’m going to stop here. Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 10. If you want to make wise decisions, and have fewer regrets in life, make sure you are intentional about reading your Bible. Not only will it give you wisdom, but it will show you how God can save your life.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin