Part 3 of What It Means to Date the Word
In order to DATE one has to be INTENTIONAL with their time. For a period of time in August and early September, 1986 I was not looking at my daily planner with any thoughts of a date with a girl. All that changes on the evening of September 10, 1986 when I asked my now wife, Donita, out for a date on Sunday night September 14. On my schedule that night was church at 5pm and then a mandatory leadership team meeting for a team I was on at 8pm. So, on my daily planner I put at 6:15 to 7:45 date with Donita. (I would take her to a nearby restaurant.) Because we both had a good time, I then asked her out for another date to which she thankfully said yes. As I asked her out I had to be again intentional with my time. Time that I could have used studying or spending time with guys on my floor that I was the resident assistant for or going to a sporting event was no longer an option as I was going to be spending several hours on a DATE. Little by little dating Donita began to take more and more of my time.
So, we repeat the opening with an added word. In order to DATE the WORD one has to be INTENTIONAL with their time. I believe you should be in GOD’S WORD weekly as you join other believers at a local church to hear God’s Word taught. Decisions should be made to attend at least one church service a week. I would recommend a small group Bible study as well.
As well as hearing and studying God’s Word WEEKLY you should be in GOD’S WORD DAILY.
Earlier we presented the case for a daily quiet time. We restate the importance of this spiritual habit. If there is one passage to drive the importance of this it would be Proverbs 8:32-35. It reads, “Now therefore, listen to me, my children, For blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, And do not disdain it. Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD.”
I am not sure how it be stated any clearer than Proverbs 8:34. Read it again. Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.
Sitting at the gates of wisdom takes TIME. It takes an intentional decision to spend time with the Lord in His Word. In order to do the seven actions we shared takes time. It takes time to HEAR IT; READ IT; MEMORIZE IT; STUDY IT; MEDITATE on IT; APPLY IT (OBEY IT); and to SHARE IT.
Please notice a few other verses about being intentional with your time to get to know God’s Word.
Psalm 143:8 “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.”
Psalm 143:8 speaks of hearing of God’s lovingkindness in the morning. While you can have a quiet time in the evening I think each morning should start with a quiet time with the Lord. Notice a few other things to do in the morning:
Psalms 5:3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.” David prayed in the morning.
Psalms 59:16 But I will sing of Your power; Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; For You have been my defense And refuge in the day of my trouble. David sang in the morning.
Psalms 88:13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
Psalm 92:1-2 “It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night.”
Psalms 119:147 “I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word.”
Mark 1:35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.
A Daily practice for being in the Word is called first thing in the morning. First thing in the morning I like to GIVE WORSHIP to God (Psalms). I do this by reading at least one Psalm. As you might already know there are 150 Psalms so over a one year period I can read through the Book of Psalms twice. With read the Psalm I also spend time in prayer with prayers that primarily give adoration and praise to God.
I then want to GET WISDOM from God. I do this by reading one chapter of Proverbs, reading the chapter of Proverbs that matches the date of the Month. For instance if it is December 12 I am going to read Proverbs 12. I GROW in how to WALK with and like God so I read one chapter from the New Testament. With 260 chapters in the New Testament, I can read through the entire New Testament in a year by reading 1 chapter a day Monday through Friday. To help in developing my walk I also read from a devotional, like the Date the Word Daily Devotional. After doing these things then and only then do I GO to WORK for God.
Other Christian leaders would tell you to DATE the Word takes TIME to be in the WORD.
“It should be our rule never to see the face of men before seeing the face of God.” – Charles Spurgeon
“The morning watch anchors the soul so that it will not drift far away from God during the day.” – Charles Spurgeon
“He who rushes from his bed to his business (or his books or his battle) without first spending time with God is as foolish as though he had not washed or dressed, and as unwise as one dashing to battle without arms or armor.” – Charles Spurgeon
“I feel it is far better to begin with God, to see His face first, to get my soul near Him before it is near another.” – E.M. Bounds
“Give God the first day of every week, the first hour of every day and the first dime of every dollar.” – Art DeMoss
My grandmother Carson told me to take my time in dating as it was through this process I would get to know a person and it takes time to get to know. Well we need to take time to get to know God’s Word that we might know Him.
An Article written by our founder Dwayne Carson
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