shopping for time, part 3 of 6

I am thoroughly enjoying all the discussion on yesterday's post about Tip Number One: Rise Early. It's good to hear what your thoughts and experiences are about getting up early. I have also learned that suziebeezieland women do not like being called "lazy and selfish". Ha ha. :) Good stuff! Thank you so much, ladies, for taking the time to interact. :)

Tip Number One was necessary before Tip Number Two (which is the most important tip).  Here is what the authors say:

The reason The 5 AM Club, or rising early, is the first essential tip for becoming a savvy time shopper is that the second shopping tip -- sitting at Jesus' feet -- is the most important. And implementing the first tip is often the only way to make the second possible.

So tip number two in Shopping for Time is the most important tip of all when it comes to managing how we spend our time:

Tip Number Two: Sit Still (Sitting at Jesus' Feet)

The expression "sitting at Jesus' feet" comes from the story of Mary and Martha in the Bible. Do you know it?

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

I remember reading that story for the first time when I was a kid, and thinking to myself, "God is in her living room, but Martha is doing the dishes." :) I think I got it when I was a kid!  I understood that Martha's priorities were off on that day.

As an adult, I understand Martha much better now. Oh, the tyranny of the urgent! I bet God could be in my living room, and I would go do dishes. I can see myself doing that.  I get so task-oriented sometimes that my priorities get messed up.

The authors of Shopping for Time go on to explain:

The key to becoming a successful shopper of time is to make our first priority that of seeking God through His Word and prayer. No extra hour of sleep, no "urgent" task we must complete, no service we can do for others is half as good a bargain as this one. In fact, notice it's the "urgent" tasks that distracted Martha from the prize deal in front of her and left her "troubled about many things."

And they quote C.S. Lewis, who wrote:

It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them back: in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.

Do you like that imagery of the things we need to do each day rushing at us like wild animals? I have often thought that the reason I like to linger in bed in the morning is because as soon as I get up, I get attacked by wild animals. :) (I don't mean Bob and Claire! Ha. I mean the things of the day.  As soon as my toe touches the floor, the day begins in full swing. Arrh, help, I'm being eaten by a lion!)

Seeking God in His Word and through prayer gives us, as the authors note, "wisdom, peace, guidance, and strength." Jesus says in John 15:5, "Apart from me you can do nothing." Yet, as the authors write, "our daily temptation is to bypass the good portion that Mary chose in favor of our own resources."

If you are disciplined about spending time daily in the Word and in prayer, good for you, sister. Keep going. :)  You will spend eternity in fellowship with the Lord, and you're wise to make it a priority now.

If you want to put "sitting at Jesus' feet" into your life, and aren't sure how to start, let me give you a couple simple suggestions.

Having a Bible-reading plan will help you be consistent and organized. Closing your eyes, opening your Bible randomly, and poking your finger at a passage really isn't the best way to experience God's word. You kind of miss the context and big-picture of things, going at it all willy-nilly like that. 

Here is a plan that I and some of my friends and folks at my church use. The authors also recommended it in Shopping for Time.

It is called the M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan and you can print it out here.

(A Scottish minister by the name of Robert Murray M'Cheyne came up with it in the mid-1800s.)  Each day you will read two passages from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and one from either the Psalms or the Gospels.  So in one year, you read the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice.

If you'd like a plan with less daily reading (you will get through the Bible with no repetition once in a year), you might try Through the Bible in a Year, which you can print out here.

There are some other Bible-reading plans here, including the two I've just mentioned.  There is no "best" plan .  .  . just pick something that will help you get into the Word and stay in it.

If you get behind on any of the dated reading plans (for instance, if you start now and have missed the entire month of January), don't sweat it. If you are a perfectionist with some OCD tendencies, just make yourself ease up and keep reading even if you are no longer on track with the correct date.  Bible reading plans are to serve you, not the other way around. :) 

So if you get behind, either (1) catch up on what you've missed one day when you have time to read, or (2) cross out the dates and just read the Bible chapters in the order given on the days you can, and cross out what you've already read so that you know where to start next time.  Just keep reading.

If you have never read the Bible regularly before in your life and aren't willing to jump into a big year-long reading plan right now, I recommend just sitting down the first day and familiarizing yourself a little bit with where the books are (ask my sister, I spend five minutes every Sunday morning trying to locate Ecclesiastes even though we've been in that book for a couple months now) and then reading through the book of John (it is in the New Testament and comes after Luke and before Acts) over a few days. John will give you a good overview of Jesus' life and ministry, and maybe you will then be ready to start a more systematic study of God's word.

If you feel like you'd like some good, substantive commentary to go along with your daily Bible readings, I recommend Donald Carson's For the Love of God.  Many folks in my church enjoy this.  Carson uses a slightly modified M'Cheyne plan to get you through the Bible in a year, and offers some excellent insights into what you're reading. The book is in two volumes, available through Amazon: Volume I is here and Volume 2 is here.  

Whatever else you read during your time with God (devotional books, for instance), make sure you're reading the Bible itself, and not just a book about the Bible. :)  (Those are often superb but should be supplemental.)

We'll talk later about our prayer lives in more detail, but as you seek to establish or maintain a prayer life now, consider using the simple acronym "ACTS" to get you organized as you pray. This little trick has been around for years, but it's pretty helpful.

A stands for adoration (praise God for who He is),
C is confession (confess your sins to God),
T is thanksgiving (thank God for the blessings in your life and for all He is doing), and
S is supplication (give God your requests for you and others in your life). 

I use this acronym to remind me to pray for these things. I do it in the order of the letters "ACTS" so that I am spending time first praising Him, then thanking Him, and getting my heart straight with confession before I present my needs to Him.

I hope this is helpful and encouraging! 

Time spent at Jesus' feet is not wasted time. :)