SOMA, let's grow in loving God in 2016

Jesus said that what matters most is loving God.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. - Matthew 22:37-38

To put it simply, the best way to grow in our love for God is to spend time alone with Him. How do we spend time alone with Him? By reading the Bible - His self-revelation to us.

I am praying that all of us at SOMA grow to love God more in 2016 and that the primary means of our growth in loving God would be our growth in spending time alone with Him in the pages of the Bible.

Here are some "helps" for us as we plan how we will spend time alone with God in the new year. It does take planning. No one simply drifts closer to God. Quite the opposite. We must be intentional, all the while ever dependent on grace (Philippians 2:12-13)!

First Help

One writer notes seven ways we must approach the Bible (if you have time the entire article with comments is great):

1. Approach it humbly
2. Approach it desperately
3. Approach it studiously
4. Approach it obediently
5. Approach it joyfully
6. Approach it expectantly
7. Approach it frequently

Second Help

After making sure we have our hearts and minds in the right place, we need a plan. Justin Taylor has provided an FAQ about reading the Bible in 2016. This is gold. It has all different kinds of suggestions and tips and ideas. We live in a time when we can use technology (smart phones, tablests, computers, podcasts, etc.) to spend time in the Bible. And of course we can always open a literal Bible "book" and read. This article has it all. I highly enocurage you to read it and let it provide the spark you need for implenting a plan for reading the Bible in 2016.

Remember, the goal is to love God more by spending time alone with him. Please pray this for me... I'm praying this for us!