S.P.E.C.K.S......continued

So, where we at? Oh yes, the Baby shower. While in Michigan at a Baby shower of ALL things God spoke to me in such a direct and specific way! It was amazing. Mrs. Kaiser got up and spoke on her own personal devotions and how she accomplishes them. She told how she keeps a note book of things about God. They are all categorized and alphabetized. As she is reading she'll find a characteristic about God and she'll write out the whole verse under that particular heading. Take Psalms 19:14 for example. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O God, my strength and my redeemer." What do we find out about our God in this verse? ........... Did you find it? ............. Did you find both of them? ............. God is our strength! Also God redeems. So you would make a page that had a heading of "My God is my strength". Oh, that part about my God that's important! Pastor Clarence Sexton in Powell, TN used to say nothing is dynamic until it's personal. So we write "My God" making our Heavenly Father not just something out there in space watching over us but Someone who is personal and cares about us!

But I digress, or more appropriately I get off track AGAIN! Back to the Bible reading. You make the Heading "My God is my strength" then you write out the entire verse on that sheet with the reference. But this verse also has two headings because we see "My God Redeems". So you would make a "My God Redeems" page and write out the entire verse under that.

This process has SEVERAL benefits! 1. You have a written record in your life of things God has done and will do for you. 2. When you are going through a trial you can reference a page that has to do with that particular thing and you will have the opportunity to see how Great you God truly is and if He did it for David, or Samuel, or Ruth, then He doesn't love them any more than He loves you and He'll do it for you as well! 3. Third thing this does is that as you have the opportunity to counsel others you'll have a whole arsenal of verses about your great God and more specifically just of few of the things He is more than capable of!

This way to read your Bible is kind of like getting to know someone you love in a more real way. For example, when I first started out cooking I determined as a young wife that one of the worst things I could do was to cook something for years that my husband hated so I would ask him and honestly get his opinion. It made me a better cook, but as I learned to cook more and more the things he liked it made me get to know him better. When we were dating I knew a lot about him talking to him so much but since I've been married I know him even better. I know about his past. I know about his dreams. I know his likes and dislikes. I know his character when presented with trials. I know how great a man he is and how he wants to serve the Lord. This didn't happen by accident. As you know any person you want to get to know and develop a relationship with you have to do it on purpose. It is never an accident! This way of reading the Bible is a purposeful endeavor bent on making you know your Christ more and what He is capable of, His character, and the things He is and can do!

I started immediately. I was at a friends house so I asked her for paper that very night and the next morning I pulled my Bible out and for the first time in years I was excited to see what would happen. It wasn't something I was dreading checking off my list . . . I couldn't wait to get to it! I started in Psalms, because the speaker had said that Psalms was chuck full of things about God. I thought I would do just one but the more I read, the more I found, the more excited I became. John Maxwell reiterated in one of his leadership books that if you do what you're supposed to do even if you don't want to do it you will eventually love doing it. Kind of like those dummies out there who love running . . . sorry if you are reading this and you love running. I'm sure with the first few runs they questioned the validity of this but now those same people LOVE running! That's what God did through my Bible reading. The first 9 months were torture! But I kept doing what I was supposed to do and God gave me the desire. Now I can't imagine going without reading my Bible. Oh I still occasionally miss, and I may not remember until late that night and then it all makes sense why I'm feeling the way I'm feeling. I have found I always have time to read my Bible. Things have a way of working out better after I've spent that time in God's word!

The Bible reading thing I did for 2 years. God really showed me amazing things through it! I am so thankful He led me to a Baby Shower to show me about Himself! Truly His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not His thoughts! If you are struggling with your Bible reading or you don't know what to do or where to go try this system. Pull out your King James Version, if you don't have a King James Version, go buy one they are the cheapest Bible out there because they are not copyrighted so no man is making money from their words! Get some notebook paper and get a three ring binder and start today!

Oh, yeah, one more thing I did was to make my note book pretty. I'll post a picture next time. In today's society we spend SO much money on things that a little $3 binder and a $1 pack of paper are NOT going to make that much of an impression. So I got some green and brown scrapbooking paper and decorated my notebook. It made it pretty and made me want to look at it. If you're a man you might want to get a manly picture of your deer you shot and place it on the front of your notebook! You can get those notebooks that have the clear pocket in the front.

Once you start this your life will never be the same! Next time I'll tell you how God took this from excitement, intrigue, and curiosity to truly LIFE changing!