INTRO.
FROM ITS EARLIEST DAYS THE CHURCH has practiced a daily discipline of Scripture and reflection. The Dominican monks did it seven times a day, starting at four o'clock in the morning with regular breaks throughout the day of work and worship. If I woke up at 4a.m. to do so, I would not say, “Good morning, Lord” but “Good Lord, it's morning.” Life for you and me does not lend itself to such a practice. Yet life can have an achievable, sustainable, and sufficient time with the Lord as a matter of daily discipline. That is the purpose of this little book.
As you use the book, be sure you are mindful. There is a contemporary movement called mindfulness. To be mindful is to be in the moment, focused exclusively on what you are doing right now. If a person is in front of you, you are mindful of that person. If a task is at hand, you are fully invested in that task. Most of us are walking civil wars, divided within ourselves. We need to pray, but we think of the grocery list. We need to focus on Scripture, but we stop to send a text. The result is constant, endless distraction. We are never leaning in totally to what we are doing. We exercise and listen to a book; we talk on the phone and watch TV. Please let this little book be for 30 days a practice of mindfulness. Be in the moment as you focus on the two pages for each day.
Find a place that is sacred for this one purpose. We are creatures who associate activities with places. There is a place where we dress and undress. There is a place where we read the paper or sit to watch a game. Most of us sit in the same place to eat and feel misplaced if we have to move. Many of you sit in the same place at church. Having a sacred place for reading this book for 30 days will help you. Associate that place with 30 days of reading this little book.
Let that place be a quiet place. Most of us are uneasy with quietness. We particularly want music or the dull buzz of TV, even when we are not listening. For these 30 days please do all you can to find a quiet place to reflect on this book each day. That may not be possible at home; that is life. One friend sits in her parked car in the garage at work for 15 minutes to be quiet and alone with God before going in. If you want to you can find a quiet place somewhere. God spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice. Jesus got up a great while before dawn and went out into the desert. He did whatever He needed to do to find a place to get alone with God in the quiet. You can too.
From ancient times Christians have found it best to meet God early. What you do first sets the tone for the day. If you first watch the news, check your Facebook or email, and read the morning paper, you will find yourself distracted and spread thin. The voice that begins your day will set the direction for the day most of the time. The early presence of God sets the tone for the day, it is the background music for every encounter. Like the faint scent of a perfume, the fragrance of God wafts through your day. Jesus Himself got up a great while before daybreak. The psalmist indicated that God helped him just at the peep of dawn. The end of the day finds many of us exhausted and some of us discouraged. Meet God on the front porch of the day.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
This book is definitely not for speed reading. Years ago there was an advertising campaign for a speed-reading technique that enabled you to read a page in a few seconds. You were supposed to run your finger down a page, oscillating back and forth, and the advocates for the program said
you had read the book! Needless to say, that is not the case. Just as there is anew emphasis on slow cooking, there should also be a new insistence on slow reading. These pages are not meant to be swallowed in a second like a morning pill. Rather, my thoughts here are for slow, meditative reading. Take your time. Focus on each word. Read the biblical text slowly several times. Ask yourself the following questions of the text related to each quote from me:
· Is there a warning here to heed?
· Is there a promise here to claim?
· Is there a requirement from the Lord for my life?
· How could I apply this today, this very day?
Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in this. God wishes for you to seek the guidance of His Spirit, and He will not disappoint you when you ask Him to give that guidance. Let the pages of Scripture Glow before you. Let the wind of the Spirit Blow upon you. Then the circumstances of your life will Flow with the Word and the Spirit.
TELL SOMEONE ELSE
Let the Lord lead you to someone at home, work, school, or rest who is responsive to spiritual suggestions. Briefly share with that person what the text for the day has meant to you. Do not preach a sermon. Just give a suggestion of what God has told you. You may introduce the conversation by saying, “This morning a thought came to me.. I was surprised when the Bible impressed me with...Sometimes you can be so surprised when God puts a new thought into your mind … Dr. West’s remarks on life today arrested me …”
Another use of this book involves having a brief family time over the 30 days. I know how pressed your life is. I definitely know how hard it is to get everyone together for any significant time at all. Perhaps you could take one week at a time. For that one week find some way to get everyone together for 10 minutes: at the table, before bedtime, in the midst of getting ready to go in the morning, or before everyone retires at night. Read the Scripture and page. Ask every family member to say the first thing that comes into their mind. It does not have to be profound or deep. Just ask everyone to respond. Say a brief prayer and ask God to lead your family deeper into the truth for that day.
KEEP A JOURNAL IN THE BOOK
This booklet is purposefully designed for you to write down the impressions on your spirit when you reflect on the reading. Again, this does not have to involve theological profundities. Just write down what the Spirit whispers to you. It may be a word, a name, a hymn, a situation, or an insight that at the moment seems unrelated. Write it down anyway. Later, after the 30 days, you will be surprised at what happened in your life as a result of those remarks written casually. God has a way of taking the impressions of the moment and turning them into the lasting and durable principles of a lifetime.
Let's get started right now. There is no wrong time to start. Do not let the Adversary tell you that this is not the time. Act right now. Seize the day. Don't procrastinate. Let's do the first day right now.