Pope Benedict in his Post Synod Exhortation said that the Word of God should be at the heart of every ecclesial activity. Meaning that we should read, reflect, ponder, meditate and soak in the Word of God every day. The best way to do this is to read the Bible/Scriptures every day. Whilst some of us may be familiar with this style of daily devotion, it is not something that all of us are used to.
In a previous post we looked at Good habits on a WYD pilgrimage. Perhaps daily scripture could be one of the new habits that you pick up on your WYD pilgrimage. However when most people start reading their bible they play a game of "flick to a random page and read". Perhaps you need to be a little more planned that than. Pick a book of the bible and work your way through it a chapter per day. The book of Acts is a great place to start as you read about the birth of the early Church.
After reading the Chapter of the Bible here is a simple tool to process what you have read:
- Scripture: read the scripture through once more
- Observation: highlight the things that strike you, the elements that speak to you. What words jump out to you as you read? What links can you make with other scripture passages.
- Application: what does this passage mean for your life at the moment? Ask God "what are you saying to me through this passage of scripture". Write down any areas in life where this passage could strengthen you.
- Prayer: turn the experience into a prayer, perhaps ask for the courage to implement what you just read. This final step is important or else it can just been a task that you "get done" in your day. The prayer element turns the word on the page to the "Words of God".
You will notice that these four steps make the word SOAP. It is an easy formula to remember each day. Perhaps you can start by writing your reflections in your journal and soon you will be able to do the entire exercise as a prayer with writing it down.
What is your daily reading advice? Leave a comment about where you encourage people to begin their daily reading or perhaps share a favourite passage with our readers.
I bought an Every Day With Jesus (about $6 at Koorong). It provides a Bible passage and a short relevant discussion that usually has tips for practical implementation of (one or more of) the principles addressed in the Bible passage each day and an issue lasts two months (the current issue is July August - maybe think about starting it while away in Madrid). It also has a 'further study' section on each page which takes you to a different part of the Bible that talks about something similar as well as some questions or things to think about - I have been writing down these questions as well as my answers.
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