Each year I am more and more convinced that having someone we meet with regularly who is reading the same part of the Bible we’re reading is essential to falling in love with God’s Word.

I have written several times about doing a Bible Read Thru with a small group of people. (Highly recommend it.) Now that my 2012 BRT is over, I am using that same time slot to meet with one friend. We are reading the New Testament – one book per week – in The Voice (a new translation from Thomas Nelson).

There are certainly heaps of benefits from reading and discussing the Bible with someone else (or a small group of people). Here are a few of the primary ones:

You will be more regular in your own reading. Let’s face it, if we know someone is going to ask us how we’re doing at something, we’re more likely to do it. When the conversation is only in our own heads, it is really easy to justify why we can skip this morning…or this week…month…year. We don’t want the fact that someone is “checking up” on us to be our primary motivation, but it certainly is an effective one!

You will grow more than you would on your own. This is a pretty simple one. There are things that Tye notices that I don’t. And there are things that I notice that Tye doesn’t. (Told you it wasn’t rocket science.) As he and I share what we notice – or questions we have – we learn from each other. We challenge each other. We encourage each other.

You will enjoy it more. I can’t believe how often we overlook this one. We talk about studying the Bible, learning the Bible, teaching the Bible, or memorizing the Bible. Rarely do we talk about enjoying it. Check me if I’m wrong, but aren’t we way more likely to study, learn, teach, and internalize (more on why I have stopped using the word “memorize” later) the Bible if we actually like it? Few habits have increased my enjoyment of God’s Word more than talking about it with people.

Grab a friend (or a few friends). Invite a few other families over to your house. Spend your lunch break with some buddies. Meet for an early morning coffee (or fruity-veggie-drink). And talk about the Word. You won’t regret it.

What are some of the benefits you have gained from talking through God’s Word with others?

Today is the first day of “Launch Week” and anyone who purchases a copy of the book today will get a TON of free stuff. Click the picture above to find out who to get $375.98 worth of resources, videos, etc. But you have to buy THIS WEEK!

Hyatt walks the reader through exactly what he did to build his platform from zero to several hundred thousand. (NOTE: Eight years ago Michael Hyatt started his blog. Four years later he hit 1000 unique visitors per month. As of last month – four more years – he now has over 400,000 unique visitors a month.)

He is transparent about his own mistakes, humble in spite of his accomplishments, and truly generous with his insight and guidance. There are 60 chapters, but each chapter is only 2-3 pages and is packed with step-by-step guidance, from creating a product or message, to setting up a blog, to interacting via Twitter. You name it…he covers it.

Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World is divided into five sections:

1. Start With “Wow.” (All about developing your product or message.)
2. Prepare To Launch (Covers everything you need to know about getting ready to take your message to the world.)
3. Build Your Home Base (Step-by-step guide to making sure that your blog (or website) is built in a way that communicates your message effectively and attracts – and keeps – visitors.
4. Expand Your Reach (Questions about Twitter, Blogging, or Facebook? The answer will be in this section.)
5. Engage Your Tribe (Even online…it’s about relationships. Starting them. Cultivating them. It’s all here.)

About the only negative thing I could say about Platform is that I now have heaps to do in the coming months and years! (The more I think about it, I guess that’s actually a good thing…)

Remember to click here (or the picture above) to get almost $400 of free content and training from Michael.

However, only a few verses in, Paul pens these words…

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

I was looking at photos of God’s creation at www.nasa.gov and www.hubblesite.org. Then I hopped over to the Flickr and Facebook pages of my friend, Andrew Larsen. Andrew captures God’s “Creator-ness” as well as anyone I know. Rather than try to explain, just hang out with God for a few minutes as you take a look at a few of my favorites.

How anyone can look at creation and believe it happened by random chance is beyond me.

When was a time that you experienced God’s handiwork in creation?

I don’t think it lacks daily impact because we don’t believe it. I think it’s essentially an issue of not remembering. We need reminders. Life is full of distractions. It’s noisy.

I shared the following reminders yesterday at my home church. (I’ll be speaking there this Sunday too. If you’re in the Seattle area, come say “hi.”) My pastor just started a long series on Romans. He’s done all the setup and my assignment was to unpack Romans 1:16-17. As I soaked in these verses, it hit me that Romans IS a reminder. The audience consists of Jews and Gentiles who already believe. Paul is reminding them of what they – and we – believe. And why it is really, really good news.

Here they are:

Reminder #1: The gospel is the power of God.

It’s so tempting to focus on the word “power” when we see this sentence. Maybe it is my American mindset, but my eye is just drawn to that word. Power. We want it. We feel like we don’t have enough. We think we would certainly use it more effectively than whoever holds the power right now.

But what struck me this week is the phrase “of God.” The more I thought about it, the more I realized this is really good news. The gospel doesn’t depend on me. The gospel doesn’t depend on you. (Let that sink in a moment.) God is the one holding the power. As it should be. The gospel depends on God.

Tomorrow morning as you look in the mirror, say these words (out loud): The success of this day does not depend on me. God’s got this covered.

Reminder #2: Salvation is an event…and a process.

Salvation isn’t just something that happens when we “pray the prayer.” The word used for salvation carries two meanings. The first is deliverance/rescue (event). The second is preservation (process). We are both saved and being saved.

That is why Paul can tell the Christians in Philippi to continue to work out your salvation. After the event of salvation, there needs to be a working out – or exercising – of our salvation. As we enter into the process of salvation we are reminded that since God invented the whole idea of salvation, He also recognizes that every one of us is a work in progress. Good news indeed.

Reminder #3: Salvation is for everyone.

Don’t know that there is any better news than this one. The gospel is good news for everyone…or it is not good news for anyone. It is good news for the person who is rejoicing. It is good news for the person who is hurting. It is good news for the person who feels whole. It is good news for the person who has ongoing health challenges.

God’s nearness, love, restoration, healing, peace, guidance, protection, correction, forgiveness, and presence through Jesus is good news…for everyone.

Reminder #4: God has made me righteous.

After you read these next words, pause for a second (or an hour!) and let them sink in: You are new. You have been made righteous. The truest thing about you is not your sin. The truest thing about you is that – in Christ – you are the righteousness of God. (II Cor. 5:17-21)

When you struggle with a certain sin, thought pattern, or bad habit, refuse to believe the lie that “you are just being who you are deep down.” That’s a lie. Deep down you have been changed. The struggles you face are not who you are. Righteousness is now your defining characteristic.

Reminder #5: I live by faith.

In our society, we too frequently insert the word blind in front of the word faith. We speak of faith as something that we can never know but just need to believe.

Now…there is certainly an element of not knowing that accompanies faith. After all, if God was small enough that we could understand Him, He wouldn’t be big enough to save us and restore us!

However, a key principle woven throughout the word faith is the principle of placing our trust in something – or Someone – that has been proven trustworthy. From the beginning of all time, God has proven Himself trustworthy.

Isn’t it good news that we don’t have to know everything or understand everything before God will be in relationship with us? (I actually had a smile cross my face as I typed that last sentence.)

What else reminds you that the gospel is truly Good News?

As I unpacked what I am striving to do with my writing, Biblical storytelling, and speaking, it all came down to this one thing:

Everything I do is about helping people fall in love with God’s Word.

That’s it.

Not just study it, internalize it, learn it, know it, or even apply it. All of these are wonderful and necessary. And they are way more fun if we actually love what we are studying, internalizing, learning, knowing, and applying!

For me, I have believed the Bible was true since I was a kid. I didn’t fall in love with it until I was 23 years old. What changed? (Glad you asked.) It all came down to shifting my mindset.

Shift from informational Bible study to relational Bible study.

As I sat with this pastor sipping coffee, we certainly learned information about each other. We learned about our kids, our churches, where we have lived in the past, our common love of sports, etc. However, I didn’t bring a notepad with a list of questions he had to answer and then leave when the blanks were all filled! The umbrella over all of the information was relationship!

How frequently do we open up the Bible with the primary mindset of learning something? There are certainly days when you will learn something. There are also days when you should just read the Bible and realize you are hanging out with the Author. Very, very cool.

Shift from memorization to internalization.

If you have ever heard me speak, you have likely heard me say this:

The goal should always be to know the Word…not just to know the words.

That is the crux of internalization. Whenever I talk with people about memorization, the conversation very quickly moves to answering the question How do I get the words in the right order. Now…a big part of my presentations is quoting whole books of the Bible. I am NOT saying that getting the words in the right order isn’t important. What I AM saying is that it is not the starting point, the ending point, or the main point. Memorization lies somewhere in the middle of the internalization process for the purpose of being able to meditate on Scripture.

What is your mindset when you read God’s Word? Do you love it?

NOTE: I will be writing a lot more about these two topics in the days to come, sharing practical tips for falling in love with God’s Word. If you would like to get a jump start and read more about my process of Relational Bible Study (of which internalization is woven in), you can pick up a copy of my first book: Falling in Love with God’s Word.

Image: arztsamui / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Yesterday, I saw this old word in a new light. After three weekends on the road, I was at my home church. My pastor is at the beginning of a who-knows-how-long journey through Romans. Paul pens this letter to all in Rome, who are loved by God and called to be saints. (Romans 1:7 NIV84)

Doug (my pastor) discussed how the word saints means “set apart to be holy.” Got it. Makes sense. But then he pointed out two truths that won’t allow me to dismiss this word as something I’ll never relate to or live up to. Here’s the first:

We are all saints. We are saints because of our calling, not because of our accomplishments.

I have read Romans many times. I have internalized it. I have presented it. Yet I have never noticed that the words loved and called come right before the word saints. Sainthood is part of our identity, not something we can achieve. We can never be saintly apart from God loving us and calling us into it. You and I can’t earn sainthood or become saints. We already are. Beautiful.

A bit later came another Truth #2:

The word saints is never used in the Bible in a singular form. It is ALWAYS plural.

Oh…and it’s used a lot! Sixty-Eight times. Always plural. We are loved and called to be saints. No one is singled out as a saint. No one is called a saint. No one is celebrated, honored, or revered as a saint. WE are saints. Together. Our saint-ness (and yes, I know I just made that word up) is discovered, nurtured, and experienced in community. I absolutely love the picture of a community of saints, loved, called, and set apart to be holy.

How have you seen sainthood lived out in community? What could it look like?

Photo: Simon Howden / www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As I sit right now at the SCORRE Conference 10 years later, here are the reasons I love it now.

The staff inspires me. Ken has assembled an amazing staff. Not only do these men and women feel like family now (insert sibling jabs and teasing here), but they all are immensely gifted in so many areas. I get around them and I want to be better. I want to know what they know and implement the lessons they have learned. Blogging. Marketing. Illustrations. Humor. Storytelling. Writing. Coaching. It is only Day 3 and they have inspired me in every one of these areas.

The content refines me. I have been living with and utilizing the content and methodology from the SCORRE Conference for a decade. Hearing it again always refines me. Period. I know that when I practice it I will get better. I will be more effective. People will be impacted more deeply.

The students teach me. Yes…you read that correctly. Every year the students teach me. I have eight students this week who have already taught me. They have taught me that learning is frequently scary. They have taught me that growth requires discomfort. They have taught me that there is immense value in a small group of people investing in each other. They have taught me that people who are already very gifted can always improve.

I love this conference. I am looking forward to coming every time I can for the next 10 years…or 20…or 30…

What do you love about the SCORRE Conference?

I have written before about being challenged by Ron Frost a few years ago to do a Bible Read Thru.  Pick a timeframe (something six months or shorter). Read from Genesis thru Revelation. Get together with some friends each week and talk about it.

Rather than just share what I saw or learned about God this time through, what I find myself thinking about more is the lessons I have learned about completing any valuable goal.

Lesson 1: You know it was valuable when there is sadness about nearing the end. One of the women in our group came last week and said, I have to say there is some sadness about finishing. I want to stretch it out and make it last. I couldn’t agree more. The reading. The conversations. The insights from others. The camaraderie. The coffee. (wink) All of it. We know that stretching it out to a year would have taken something away from the value. And yet, there is still a piece of me that is bummed these six people won’t be getting together every Tuesday morning.

Lesson 2: You know it was valuable when finishing gives you more ideas. This Bible Read Thru has fostered many ideas – both personally and professionally. I have ideas about ways to improve discussion in small groups. I have book ideas, blog ideas, and video ideas. I have ideas about what I believe God wants me to remember long-term from this particular read thru. I have ideas about the people I want to invite to do the 2013 Bible Read Thru next January – April. (Look out…it might be you.)

Lesson 3: You know it was valuable when you see finishing as a starting point. I might be finished, but I’m not done. This read thru made me want to read more the very next morning after I finished. Yes…sometimes a break after completing a big project or accomplishing a goal is good and necessary. For me, this time, I couldn’t wait to jump back in. I am not doing the same thing. But I am continuing. Completing this read thru fostered a growing love for God and His Word. It made me want to be in conversation with Him…and others. It made me want to see what He has for me next.

Now that’s valuable.

When have you seen a finish line as just the beginning?

Photo courtesy of Naypong/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Well, they’re ready now. Jonah, Sermon on the Mount, and I & II Thessalonians are available (as of yesterday) at the ministry store. For the rest of April, we have discounted each of these new presentations down to $1.99. We have even packaged I & II Thessalonians together, so you can get BOTH books for $1.99.

You don’t need a coupon, so feel free to post a link to the online store (or this blog) anywhere and everywhere. (In fact, I’d be super grateful if you would!)

Let me know what you think!

This article is a fascinating look at the beginning of Logos, as well as the current state of a company that has already spun off a magazine, an online study website, a Christian eBook store, and a way for churches to integrate social media into their services in real-time. And it looks like they’re just getting started.

Enjoy the read: Link to Seattle Times article. 

What online resources or products have you found helpful as you study, preach, or plan Sunday school or small groups?