Profitable Reading in 2008

On New years Eve at our annual oyster roast my pastor brought a challenge from Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." I was very glad to have been reminded of these words as we contemplated the coming year. The first phrase of this verse exhorts the reader to prioritize his pursuits in a Godward fashion. My pastor reminded us that the adverb first does not simply mean before everything else in time, but, more so, first in priority. Pursuing the kingdom of God and His righteousness is not an agenda item to be ticked off when completed. It begins by spending quality time in communion with God each day, but it does not end there. Rather, we are called to adjust our priorities so that the pursuit of the kingdom of God and His righteousness is given the foremost position. Jesus is calling his disciples to let this be their passion. Let me personalize this: This must be what serves as the basis of your decision making, what motivates your work and service, what inflames your love for your spouse, your children, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, and so on. This must be what characterizes your lifestyle--where you go, what you enjoy, what you eat and drink, what you watch, what you listen to, what you read.

Here at TheoSource we like books. We like to read them, collect them, talk about them, and recommend them to each other. In all of this we do not want to loose sight of what takes priority. While we recommend good books and write about others we would never have you to neglect the Book of Books. Please make it a priority this year to give the proper priority to the best of all books. May it be your goal to spend even more time in regular, meditative reading of the Scriptures in 2008.

This past year has been very exciting for me in that the Lord has helped me in both my Bible reading and general reading. I've learned that the two go hand in hand. It is very difficult to be discerning without regular spiritual nourishment. My desire is to see even more improvement in 2008.

In 2007 I read a lot more than I have in a long time. I've also read more widely than I've been able to in the past. I'm not a fast reader, and family, ministry, work, and directing reviews has greatly limited my reading time, but I've benefited immensely from what I've been able to glean. I try to make up for the limitations by carrying a pocket Bible and a book with me wherever I can. Traffic around here can get backed up very quickly. I've salvaged scores of minutes by reading while I sit and wait for traffic to move. Better eating habits and exercise have helped me to be more alert to be able to read at other times, too.

Still, I cannot join the ranks of those who read, even, one or two books per week. A part of me wishes that I could join them, but that is not for me at this point in life, and that's okay. As long as I can continue to learn how to be a better reader and maintain a proper balance in my reading schedule I will be happy. In light of this, I'm always on the look-out for good reading advice. I directed your attention a few days ago to a post by Doug Smith at Gazing at Glory on Bible Intake in 2008. This is packed full of great advice for Bible reading, meditation, and memorization. Today, I came across a very helpful post on general reading skills by Trevin Wax at Kingdom People. His post is entitled Can You Read 100 Books this Year? and I recommend it to you. Like me, you may not be able to accomplish this lofty goal, but he offers some excellent tips that will help you to improve your reading skills.

I've added a few links to the sidebar under the label Profitable Reading where you will find helpful reading plans.

Happy and profitable reading for the sake of the kingdom of God and His righteousness in 2008!

Profitable Reading in 2008