What are Spiritual Disciplines?

They are practices we do routinely, to help us overcome our bad habits, and replace them with good habits. Habits that make us more like Christ and develop an intimate relationship with God. A relationship that is satisfying, loving, meaningful, and transforming. By practicing any of the spiritual disciplines you will automatically start to develop better habits. By combining them and practicing them all routinely, you will see noticeable transformations in your life. You will develop not only a deeper relationship with God, but with all people surrounding you, because spiritual disciplines help develop better attitudes, more stable emotions, good thoughts, and kindness towards all. Spiritual disciplines help enrich our lives and in turn help us enrich the lives of others around us. We become light within the darkness. Click here to read the first blog post in this series: What Are Spiritual Disciplines & Why Are They Important?

First discipline to tackle??

Scripture Reading, Memorizing, & Reflecting!

I think studying God’s Word is absolutely critical to living a God first life. In order to mature as Christians we have to know God’s Word and work to actually live it out and obey it. God’s Word is so powerful. It helps us to avoid sin, and live out the life He has planned for us. Look at the below verse from 2 Corinthians, God wants to give us a great life, a life worthy of living.

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

The Word of God is like medicine to our minds, bodies, and souls. It has the power to deliver us, change us, set us free, renew us, and heal us. It has the power to give us peace, love, joy, and happiness. God’s Word helps us to recognize the enemies attacks and rise victorious from them. Who doesn’t need all these things? I know I do. We can have them all! Simply pick up your Bible today and dive right in.

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

Joshua 1:8

Knowing God’s Word can help us control our emotions in times of struggle, guide us through hard situations, and keep us safe from sin and temptation. God’s Word can help keep us on the right paths, because He will speak to us through it, leading and guiding our ways. It is important that we allow His Word into our hearts and minds so that we can transform ourselves and become more like Christ, while growing closer to God every step of the way.

One of the reasons I enjoy studying scriptures is because they ultimately leave me feeling encouraged and inspired. I’m encouraged to be good, and do good! I know that’s incredibly simple, but it’s the truth. I want to be better today than yesterday, and because I’m working to obtain knowledge and wisdom needed through God’s Word, it becomes easier and easier to live a life of good works and many blessings. Reaping what I sow.

I decided to reach out to a group of amazing fellow Christian bloggers to see if they could offer us some tips and tricks on how they approach these three main points: reading, memorizing, and reflecting on God’s Word. I was thrilled by their responses and I’m excited to share them with you! I felt it was important to share a few tips and tricks in each area. I encourage you to try out a few that appeal to you, with the goal of developing life long habits that keep you attached to the Word of God DAILY!

READING:

Pray: Invite God to be present with you from the beginning, and ask Him to direct your time together. Ask Him to help you understand exactly what He wants you to as you read through His instructions. The exact same Bible passage can speak different things to different people at different times. Ask God to be with you and fill you with exactly the knowledge and understanding you need for your life.

Love Your Bible: I study out of a New International Version of the Bible, but also really like the New Living Translation, as well and the Amplified Version. There are many different ones to choose from and finding one that works for you is key. I love to hold an actual Bible in my hand while reading and studying, marking the verses I want to study more, or look up for greater understanding. There are a lot of options for electronic Bibles as well, my favorite being the YouVersion Bible app. One of the bloggers that offered tips and tricks stated that she uses Joyce Meyer’s Study Bible and would highly recommend it to others. I have heard really positive things about it as well, and plan to add it to my library soon. Whatever YOU like, get it and use it.

Have A Plan: Having a reading plan helps you stay on track. There are limitless options. Whether you would like to focus on reading the Bible in a year, reading it in half a year, or reading it book by book, it’s totally your preference. There are also plans that focus on certain struggles people face. For example if you are overwhelmed with anxiety, fear, or depression, you can find plans that just focus on reading scriptures to help conquer those issues. Need more hope, joy, love, and peace, there are reading plans to help fill you up with these as well. I highly recommend Pinterest for finding a reading plan that works for you. If you’d like to follow my Bible Study board on Pinterest just click here! I am constantly pinning new plans and ideas, along with other blog articles to help in the area of Bible study. My current plan is reading for 30 minutes a day, and I am reading the New Testament start to finish. Having a plan keeps you focused and on track.

Keep References Handy: You can do all the above, but if you don’t understand what you are reading, it’s going to be really hard to absorb what God wants you to, and understand how to apply it. I strongly recommend looking up commentaries and cross-references for the verses that you feel drawn to. I use Bible Hub on my phone. It’s awesome and super easy to use. It will offer you the verse in several different translations, which is helpful for fully understanding the meaning. It will also list cross-references, and commentaries all on the same page. I use StudyLight.org, as well sometimes. There are a variety of options, and of course it’s up to you to decide what you like best!

Have A Schedule: Don’t “try” to find time to read your Bible. MAKE IT A PRIORITY. You know your schedule best, so schedule time every day for yourself to connect with God and His Word. The time frame is totally up to you. Just make sure you’re doing it. I like 30 minutes a day, but reality is I don’t always have that amount of time. I always read at least a verse or two. Right here you can find A Bit of Bible & A Bit of Prayer, created to encourage people to stop, absorb the Word, and pray. It only takes a few minutes to connect with God. The results are priceless, because as we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. If your time to read is early in the morning, awesome! If it’s late at night, great! If it’s 2 minutes in between the chaos of your life, roll with it! There is no wrong way to do this. Be flexible with yourself, and don’t give up. You are important my darling friend, and you deserve time to spend nourishing your soul.

Join A Group Bible Study: I joined my first small group Bible study last Spring. I loved it! I’ve since completed one other last Fall, and have recently signed up to start another this Spring. These are offered through my church, and I find being part of a group study improves my understanding AND keeps me accountable. It’s an awesome way to meet other Christians and build lasting friendships. On line or in person, having a group to support you is awesome.

Q: What was the number one tip given by Christian Bloggers in the area of reading the Bible?

A: Have a clear-cut plan or some type of structure to follow.

MEMORIZING:

Pick a verse or two that you feel drawn to during your time of reading.

I am NOT disciplined in memorization, so I was really thankful for these tips other bloggers shared with me. I’m the type of girl who can remember parts of a verse, but can never actually tell you what verse it is without googling it first!?!

Write It Out: As many times as you want, if it’s once or twice a day, awesome. If it’s once or twice a week that’s awesome too. Whatever works for you. Writing it out will help with the memorization process. A few fellow bloggers write their verses in their weekly planner, so they are constantly seeing it throughout the day. I don’t do this, but need to start. I’m trying this tip myself.

Recite It Out Loud: Speaking God’s Word out loud and over your life is very powerful, and will also help with the memorization process. Singing it is an option too! I like to speak scriptures out loud, and over my life during my reading time.

Create/Find Wall Papers: For your phone and other electronic devices with the scripture you’re trying to memorize. Seeing it often will keep it fresh in your mind. I’m putting this tip into place too. This ones kind of fun, especially if you are into creating your own wallpapers and graphics.

Place It Where You Can See It: I love this tip! Use a cute chalk board, a dry erase board, or get creative with picture frames to display the verse that you are working on. You can buy items or get crafty and make your own. Index cards and scotch tape work awesome too. The key is to place it where you will see it often.

There’s An App For That: I had no idea that there were apps developed for helping people memorize scripture. The recommended app by one Christian Blogger was Scripture Typer. I downloaded it for free, and have been using it for the past few days. I love it. You choose the scriptures you’d like to memorize, and it downloads and stores them for you to work on daily. There are a great deal of options within this app, and it makes it fun, almost like a game. There are other apps as well. I like this idea because I can use it anywhere!

Q: What was the number one tip given by the Christian Bloggers for memorizing scripture?

A: Write your scripture down on a dry erase board, or something similar, and place it where you will see it and read it often.

REFLECTING:

A Quiet Place: If you can, find a quiet place to meditate on what you read and what you’re trying to memorize. Just sit in the presence of God and soak up His love for you, and use the time to really try to tune in and hear what He wants to tell you. Use this time to also see how you can apply what you read and studied to your life. We could all read the exact same scripture, but God will use it to speak to us all differently. Enjoy this time with Him, you deserve it, and it’s very important that you develop a close relationship with your Heavenly Father.

Jot It Down: Take time to write down your thoughts and what you feel like God is speaking to you. I have two note books I use during my time of reflection. One is for verses I feel inclined to write out a prayer for, and the other is for ideas that come to mind for Letting His Light Shine. I also use index cards. On these I write down verses I want to share with my family. My daughters often find Bible verses tucked in their book bags, lunch boxes, and left in their rooms. They smile every time they find a secret note for them. I smiled equally as big the first time I found one tucked in my Bible from my daughter to me. It’s the little things in life… I encourage you to jot it down, keep it close, and reflect on it often. Especially if you feel God trying to direct you.

Q: What is the most helpful tip from Christian Bloggers for reflecting on God’s word?

A: During your time of reflection and writing let God lead you. Don’t worry about writing perfect sentences or even complete thoughts. Just get it all down in writing, and go back over it later. Enjoy this time with God.

Helpful Supplies:

Note books Bible of Choice

Journals Index Cards

Highlighters Pens

A Reading Plan Chalkboard

Dry Erase Board Tape

An electronic device to help look up definitions, commentaries, and cross references

To Do List (so when things you need from the grocery store, or a task the needs completed, pops into your mind you can quickly write it down and refocus)

A Positive Attitude & Excitement to explore God’s Word!

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 119:105

I hope some of these tips and tricks appeal to you and are practical and useful. My last tip for you is one that comes completely from my heart. Start where you are, use what you have, and just more forward. Let God lead you. I can promise you that any forward movement in this area of spiritual discipline will be good for you, and those around you as they start to see the Word of God shine bright within you. You won’t regret starting today, as you start to harvest the fruit of the Spirit in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Letting God’s Word dwell inside you is life changing and one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.

Do you know someone who would be encouraged by this Blog Post? Please share! By doing so you are helping spread His Light to others 🙂

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