Getting Found!

Ok, so last couple of posts have been pretty long. I apologize for that. But we are covering a pretty big subject. And really, we barely scratched the surface of what is available. We have been looking at the Bible, God’s Word, and the perfect road map for our life.

We took some good advice from survival expert Bear Grylls and applied it to the Bible. His advice is that when you get lost 1. Get your bearings. 2. Make a plan. 3. Get moving.
We spent a couple weeks looking at getting our bearings. We can know that the Bible is accurate, valuable and that it is relevant to our lives today. But just knowing that won’t make a difference. Nor will it help us find our way.

Bear says after you get your bearings, after figuring out the lay of the land, which way north is, where there might be roads or people…then you need to make a plan.
Conventional wisdom says if you get lost stay put. You will be easier to be found if you’re not roaming around in the woods. But even if you stay put, you still have to make a plan. What do you need to do to be found? What do you need to do to survive?

Where will you get water? We can survive without food for a couple weeks but only a few days without water. If it is cold weather, how will you stay warm and dry? Will you build a shelter? Can you build a fire? What about if it’s hot, what will you do to keep out of the sun? What will you do to keep your body temperature down?

When it comes to reading the Bible for all its worth we need a plan. I know a lot of people whose plan could be called the “flop and plop” plan. They flop open their Bible and plop down their finger and wherever it lands they read. My guess is that most of the time they don’t get much out of it.

I believe in a systematic approach to reading the Bible. Though the Bible is made up of separate books written by different people, it is unified in its message. I have heard people say, “I don’t read the Old Testament, because it’s just too hard to understand.” But to really understand the New Testament you have to have knowledge of the Old Testament. It all fits together. It all goes hand in hand.

There are several good reading plans available. It is easy to go on the internet and just Google “Bible reading plan” and you will find everything from a “one year through the New Testament” to a “3 years through the entire Bible”.

If you’re just starting out, the best thing to do is to start simple. One of my favorite reading plans to share with people who are just getting their feet wet in reading the Bible is the Proverbs reading plan. The book of Proverbs has 31 chapters. Seven of the 12 months in a year have 31 days. Pretty cool, huh? One chapter a day for a month is a great way to start.
In a survival situation, there are things you have to get done first. You don’t wait until dark to gather firewood or build a shelter. You don’t wait till you’re thirsty to drink. Procrastination is the biggest enemy to survival. You make a plan, then you get moving.
Procrastination is the biggest enemy of reading the Bible. If you wait until you have time it will never happen. Make a plan, make the time and get started. The best time to start is now. No more excuses.

The most important thing to remember is, it is not the amount you read but what you remember. Don’t just go through the motions of reading the Bible just so you can check it off. When you read, take your time and allow what you have read from the Bible to go through you. Put it into practice in your life.

James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Survival experts tell us the difference between those who get lost and survive and those who don’t is actually mental. Those who survive don’t give up. Same applies to our Bible reading. It is very easy to get busy, to become sidetracked, or get behind and then just to quit.
If you make the commitment to stick with it, I will guarantee you that this is one habit that will completely change your life.