"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."
John 15:1-5
In the time between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, many of us begin reflecting over and evaluating the past year. We scribble our last tasks in our current day planners and calendars to finish out the year, and prepare to open a fresh new calendar. I grasp this new dayplanner in my hands, carefully chosen from the ocean of planners available online. Every page is blank and clean, like a fresh start of possibilities. It is one of my favorite year-end activities as, one by one, the birthdates, anniversaries, camping trips, church events, daily tasks, and family reunions get jotted down.
This is also a season when gardeners and arborists begin planning out their pruning schedules. When I look at the raspberry canes covered in snow, I start to envision a future of neat and tidy rows of raspberries with healthy green shoots and plump red berries for smoothies and muffins. But there won’t be any good fruit if I don’t first prune the plant. What needs to be pruned? All the brown canes from last year’s fruits which are now dead and will not produce next summer; all the sick and diseased canes, and all the unhealthy weak ones that have shriveled up due to parasites or mold. Once pruned, the raspberry plant is protected and given a better chance at producing good fruit that will bring nourishment.
In many ways, that is what we are doing when we look back and evaluate the past year. Wisdom invites us to evaluate what in our lives needs to be pruned away, cut off, and thrown in the fire. We easily fall into habits that cause us harm instead of fruit. We often don’t want to go through the hard work of pruning and removing unhealthy habits that don’t produce any lasting fruit in our lives. There may be some habits in your life that God is asking you to prune away and burn in the fire of His sanctification. Consider for a moment what God can do in a life that is pruned by His gentle hands.
In the same way, God desires that we abide in Him and in His Word. The word “abide” means to remain and dwell in a state of continuous presence and endurance. There are many ways we abide in God’s Word, one of which is the weekly public reading of Scripture when we gather on the Lord’s Day. Other ways of abiding in God’s Word might be placing Scripture verses around our homes and work places, even in our vehicles, on the mirrors, or even tattooed on our arms! To know and live in God’s will, we must be feeding on the Word and allowing it to change us. Another way to abide daily in God’s Word is to set aside a portion of time or times each day to read Scripture. After 45 years of life, the past 5 years have been the most consistent for myself in this endeavor.
While we were still at seminary in St Louis, Craig told me about a Bible reading plan called Community Bible Reading/Seeing Jesus Together. I looked at the reading plan and saw that it only required two chapters a day from me. For me, at that stage of life and seminary and parenting little ones, I knew I had to keep it to a manageable and realistic-for-me amount of reading. I decided to give it a try. This January, I’ll start my 6th year of this reading plan, and it is a joy to look back on these years of God’s Word saturating my heart and mind, discovering so much more than I ever thought possible from the Word.
Habits take a lot of time to develop, and a regular act of the will to choose to accomplish. I’m not sharing this to boast about my Scripture reading habits. I am sharing this to show that it is possible to develop a regular daily habit of Scripture reading. It is possible, after so many failed attempts, to enact a structured plan for regular immersion in the Word of God. It is also possible to develop an appetite for God’s Word that cannot be quenched, that makes me long to get up in the morning, get my coffee and blanket, and sit alone with the Word, and experience the communion of hearing His voice in the Scriptures. I want the Lord to produce as much fruit as possible in my short, little life. But, like He says, “…apart from me you can do nothing.”
So let the Lord prune your habits, schedules, and priorities this new year. Ask Him to help you to read His Word, one chapter at a time, and let His Word nourish you that you may abide in Him and in His Word.
The following is a brief list to begin your search for a Bible reading plan that works for you: