A fresh approach to engaging with scripture

Job said: “I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread” (Job 23:12) and Paul said: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

But it isn’t always easy to develop a ‘scripture habit’. 

This year, we are celebrating 60 years of Activate Your Life – a national charity that supports Christian women in sharing God’s love in everyday ways. As well as our regular ‘Away days’ for local churches, with speakers, worship and activities, we have an annual weekend conference where friendship evangelism shares the stage with personal discipleship (and lots of fun). For over half a century, women have been meeting together through Activate to pool ideas and encourage each other to demonstrate God’s love in their local community through real, one-to-one relationships.

A low-key way in

What does this have to do with reading the Bible? Well, our faith is rooted in scripture. So, in 2022, the team behind Activate wrote Be: Godly wisdom to live by – 365 devotions for women (Authentic Media). Its authors were described as ‘Fiona Castle and friends’ (Fiona was our president for over 55 years!), and each devotion had a title: ‘Be hopeful’, ‘Be a messenger’, ‘Be forgiving’, etc. It was a runaway success – its pattern of a Bible verse or two, followed by a reflection and a short one-line prayer was easy and undemanding to read, but came fired by personal experience and a desire to share Jesus.

Recently we had an Alpha day in our church. At coffee time, seeing the doors open and people milling around, two ladies walked in off the street. We explained that we were having special talks and activities, but offered them a coffee. They came in – and then stayed for the whole day! As they left, one of them said she had really enjoyed hearing people talk about following God. “I’d really like to understand more about it all,” she said. I rushed into the office and came back with a copy of Be for each of them. “That’s a place to start,” I said. 

I could have offered each of them a Bible, but, without more help, how would they know where to start? This was a low-key way in.

It made me reflect on how easily we put pressure on ourselves about Bible reading, as if there’s only one ‘right’ way. How many of us were taught to have a daily ‘quiet time’, with Bible study and prayer? And how many of us have beaten ourselves up on a regular basis when we found we were five days behind on the dated Bible study notes? Of course spending time with God every day is good, but, for a new Christian, ploughing through Leviticus isn’t always inspiring!

Being creative

When my children were small, we would sit around the kitchen table, acting out Bible stories with Playmobil or Lego, laughing and learning. It worked then. But ten years later, I found it wasn’t so easy to gather my teenagers together for family devotions. And gentle nagging – “Are you coming to church?” – wasn’t helping. Paul calls us to be the “pleasing aroma of Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:15), not an unwanted smell.

Open yourself to new freedom, and find joy in making time to meet with God

So, instead, I turned to more creative ways of reminding everyone about God’s word, and started sticking Bible verses on the back of the bathroom door, so that everyone starts the day with a thought about God. We have a tall mirror in our hallway, and I write on it with chalk pens: God thinks you are…lovely…brave…seen…beautiful…precious…redeemed…blessed…whole…loved. The last thing they see as they leave the house is their own reflection and what God values in them. 

Sometimes I post a worship song on the family WhatsApp, or a good video clip from TikTok. I even have an LED sign by the front door which illuminates the words: “Jesus loves you!”

I often wondered if it made any difference to anyone. Then one day my daughter came home after a difficult day and said: “Mum, it was just like the verse in the bathroom: ’The Lord goes before you and will never leave you’” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

It had worked its way into her heart.

If you’re someone who finds it easy to do regular Bible study on your own each day, congratulations. But don’t get anxious if you find it hard. Instead, find new ways to come close to God’s word. 

Lectio365 is a free app for your phone: it has a ten-minute morning Bible reading with reflection and prayers, and you can read it or just listen. There are midday and evening prayers, too. There are lots of other useful resources: the ‘Bible in One Year’ app has a helpful commentary each day, and many others, like ‘Everyday Faith’ (Church of England), ‘Word in Time’ daily Bible studies (the Methodist Church) and the ‘Glorify’ app help you to build your daily rhythm of reading and prayer.

As you start the new year, don’t stay mired in old routines that make you feel guilty for failing to keep to some externally imposed rule. Open yourself to new freedom, and find joy in making time to meet with God. Engaging with scripture reminds us of God’s promises in the Old Testament, their fulfilment in the redemption of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, and it equips us to share our faith with confidence and love.