PICTURE THIS:
Jonny and his girlfriend Sally went
on a date at one of their favorite restaurants and then afterwards went to the
theater to view a movie. The next night, they did the exact same thing, and the
day after that nothing changed. They continued going to the same diner,
ordering the same food, and watching the same movie every single night. Their
conversation varied little throughout the dates.
THINK:
After a while or a week wouldn’t
this become boring?
How long do think this relationship
will last?
In 2004, Beachbody LLC released its
renowned home workout program P90X created by Tony Horton. To date, they have
sold over three-million copies and grossed over 500 million dollars. Plenty of
Americans, including myself, have transformed their bodies and lives in 90 days
with the program. The routine’s secret? Muscle Confusion. This supposedly
prevents your body from entering a plateau stage by introducing new moves to
continue your body’s progress. By constantly changing the routines, your body
never gets used to the workouts and continues to grow. Using cross-training and
other methods, it will turn you into the “best shape of your life.” It also focuses on proper nutrition although
some people choose to neglect this part, which greatly diminishes the results.
So what do these things have to do
with each other? In the first, Jonny and Sally do the same ting which we can
all assume ends with a pathetic relationship or breakup. In the next, P90X uses
Muscles Confusion to keep things fresh and your body from entering a plateau,
unlike the relationship.
Like Jonny and Sally have a
relationship with each other, we should have one with Christ. However, not one
like the characters in the story. How well do you think Jonny and Sally really
know each other? Not well, I presume since they always do the same thing. Now,
this would be the equivalent of reading the same Bible passage every quiet
time. You would know that portion of Scripture quite well, but you would miss
out on the rest of it! Most of us probably read different scriptures so this
isn’t a issue, but how many times have you lost interest in the Word, or even
zoned out* during the reading? Perhaps we should change our Bible studies up
once in a while.
We are supposed to have a
relationship with God, right? Know the Lord, and not just information about
Him. Go to church every Sunday and read
our Bible every day. The same stuff. Sure, you can change it up a little bit.
Read a different Bible book, listen to a different sermon at church, but in the
end it’s all similar. Eventually, you might reach a plateau and end up having
an uninteresting, lackluster relationship with the One who gave you breath.
What good is that? Maybe you need to add a little variety, some Bible Study
Confusion. Say you shake it up a little bit with your daily devotions. Don’t do
the same thing every day. Change your routine so you don’t reach a plateau,
just like in P90X. One day read a chapter, the next watch a video discussing
part of God’s character, after that worship the Lord by singing along to music
on your iPod, and then maybe even dissect a Christian song. The list goes on
and on. One to get you started is at the end, but I encourage you start your
own.
So maybe
pick something off the list one day and pick something else the next. Sure you
could read through the entire Bible in one year, but, while it would be
beneficial, it isn’t necessary. Heck, you could even take a day off every once
in a while. P90X even allows for a day off. However, you can’t totally neglect
the Bible. It is God’s word and the most important book in the word. Most of
the time, when people read through the Bible, they read it like any other book.
You need to ask questions, figure out how the words apply to you. Don’t read it
normally. Maybe studying the Bible works perfectly fine for you. For others,
they need change.
If you’re
unsure about this whole idea, simply pray about. It’s important to note you
don’t have to change every day, and that might actually be a bad idea. When
reading the Bible or a book about it, I prefer to finish that book before
switching it up**. Now, if I were to read that piece for an entire year and not
do anything, it could seriously hold me back. If you find yourself staring at
the clock during your devos wondering if thirty minutes is up yet, you might
want to give this a try. The best part
is you don’t have to do the same amount of time every day either! It’s always
good to throw those five minute ones in as well as the hour or longer devos.
However, thirty minutes is about average and a good amount of time to spend
daily.
I encourage
you to give it a try. It may not work for you. Make sure you really get to know
God and not just about Him. Don’t be a phony, I mean, even the demons believe
in God***. Make your date with God
interesting unlike Jonny and Sally. I don’t exactly know how muscle confusion
works on the mind and heart, but it’s always good to change things up every
once in a while. We all eat different food, movies, sports, hobbies, and so on
and so forth. Remember, to get to know somebody you have to talk to them and
they to you so have a chat with God and give Him time to respond. If you have
any questions go ahead and ask!
IDEAS:
Prayer:
Prayer run/walk (Take a jog or a walk and talk to God in the
process)
Nature Prayer (Go find a seat at a beautiful picturesque
spot in nature and talk to God)
PRAYER JOURNAL
Devo:
You can find all
sorts of devos on the internet, just make sure they are based on the Bible and
not lies.
Group Devos (Get a group of buddies)
One on One (Find somebody whether a leader, friend, or
somebody you look up to and ask them questions and talk about the Bible)
History:
Google Bible History
Read a historical book on the Bible
Books:
Read a book that is based on a Bible and gives good
instruction (One of my favorite options, a book I recommend is Not a Fan by
Kyle Idleman)
*I
may have actually fallen asleep once…
**The library only gives you so many weeks to read books too.
***
Check out Matt. 7:22-24 and James 2:19
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