William Gaultiere,
Ph.D
Executive Director of New Hope, Psychologist ChristianSoulCare.com
The
children in C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” never
got into Aslan’s wonderful and magical land of Narnia the
same way twice. Stepping through the back of the wardrobe, sitting
on the bench at the London train station, staring into a painting
of a ship at sea, turning the rusty door knob to the storage
shed behind the school… One serendipity after another
led them, sometimes individually, but more often in a group,
into the Kingdom of Narnia. To the casual observer it seems that
they’re just lucky, but we know better: Their hearts
were looking for divine adventure!
Getting into
Narnia is like beginning a New Year with God. At the start
of a New Year I find Isaiah’s words particularly
inspiring:
New things
I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to
you. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends
of the earth… See, I’m doing a new thing. Now
it springs up. Do you not perceive it? I’m making a way
in the desert and streams in the wilderness (Isaiah 42:9b-10a,
43:19, NIV).
Is your life with God an adventure? Are you living each day
in conscious interaction with Jesus? This is the only way
to live!
For me there is nothing more important than being with Jesus
to grow to be more and more like him. As part of my life’s
adventure there are a number of things I have been led to do
with Jesus as his apprentice in the school of my daily life
(I call these “Spiritual Disciplines for the Soul”).
One of the most important is that I read through the Bible
from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 each year. (I do this
simply by reading an average of five pages a day, but you may
want to use a One Year Bible or other Bible reading
plan that offers readings from the Old and New Testaments and
a Psalm or Proverb each day.) My mentor Ray Ortlund has read
through the Bible each year for most of his life. He said to
me, “Bill, the Bible is the book of your life. Get to
know it like the back of your hand. Your story is imbedded
in it and God will meet you each day in his Word.”
Some people
would think it’d get boring to read the Bible
cover-to-cover each year – especially going through Leviticus
and Numbers! But you can meet Christ in every book of the Bible
if you don’t just read through the whole Bible, but also let
the Bible read through your whole self. Each day ask Jesus
to be your Teacher and seek to learn new things from him for
your life with him.
Studying,
meditating, and praying Scripture can truly be a wonderful
adventure! Something that helps me to “sing a new song” to
the Lord as I read through the Bible is that each year I bring
into my devotions a new focus that God gives me, something he
wants to teach me. Maybe God would inspire you with one of the
approaches he’s given me over the years?
- Highlight
in red each phrase that challenges you to fear God as the Holy
One and highlight in blue each phrase that encourages you to
love the God who loves you.
· Underline in blue pen each phrase that emphasizes God’s
part (his sovereignty) in his relationship with you and underline
in red pen each phrase that teaches you what you need to do (your
free will) to grow in your relationship with God.
· Circle
in blue pen every name for God and circle in red pen every
name for you as a Christian.
· Write a blue cross beside every passage that speaks
of God making a sacrifice for you and mark a red cross beside
every passage that points to the sacrifice that you’re
to make for God.
· Put
a star beside every prophecy of Christ that is given or fulfilled.
· Mark
a triangle beside every passage that presents the Trinity:
Father, Son, and Spirit; the Virtue Trilogy: faith, hope, and
love; the Life Purpose Triad: worship, grow, and serve, the
Triangle of Change (taught by Dallas Willard): vision, intention,
and means.
· Buy
a wide-margin Bible and write personal notes and prayers in
it for someone you love.
If you would get a hold of a vision from God for one thing that
he’d like to teach you this year and then pray and work
on that one area with his help as you read the Bible – and
continue to do this little-by-little for 365 days – then
you’d see extraordinary growth at the end of this year.
As you know,
many people begin a New Year with good intentions to fulfill
a New Year’s resolution, but few remain on target
at the end of February, let alone at the end of the year. We
don’t want to be like those who make hasty vows or lack
discipline – particularly in our spiritual formation in
Christ, the thing that is most important in life! With a clear
vision from God, a heart hungry for more of God, and a hand extended
out to Christ you and I can fulfill our resolutions!
So as you
stand at the threshold of this New Year consider the possibility
that God has an adventure in Narnia for you! He’s
given you a clean slate. It’s time for a fresh start, to
sing a new song to the Lord. Take this opportunity to look to
God, be still in prayer, and listen… Dear Lord, what
new thing do you want to do in my soul this year? Jesus, what
do you want to teach me from the Scriptures?
William Gaultiere, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the New
Hope Crisis Counseling Center at the Crystal Cathedral and a
Clinical Psychologist and Spiritual Director with ChristianSoulCare.com.
On his website you can sign up for a free, bi-monthly devotional
e-mail.
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