I’m so excited for you to read these thoughts by my new friend Sarah. A few weeks after starting up our RISE UP! series, Sarah emailed me saying she wanted to do an “experiment” in order to do something different in her life and make Jesus famous. For 30 days, Sarah has committed to spending 30 minutes in her Bible. Check out her thoughts below. I hope you are encouraged to think of just ONE way to do something different to make Him famous.

 

Rising up. It’s a brilliant idea, yes? To rise up! To share God’s goodness with those around us and with the world! To make God famous and proclaim His word wherever we go!

It was certainly convicting for me. I’m always game for a good challenge, friends, so as I read, I found myself stepping up to the plate. I found myself eager and ready to Rise Up!

 

But rise up, I asked myself, upon what?

 

“In order to really RISE UP! to really do something, we must declare what we believe,” Sarah has powerfully written.

Although I have been a Christian for much of my life, friends, I’ve struggled to make spiritual disciplines a habitual part of each day. Bible reading plans, prayer journals, devotionals, you name it: I’m always starting something, but rarely finishing anything. With God’s grace alone do I have a basic knowledge of His word, a hodge-podge of these bits of study.
One theme that I’ve connected with deeply in the Rise Up! series is to build a foundation of truth and rise upon that. Armed with His word, there’s no limit to what He will accomplish through us!

 

Convicted, I crafted a little experiment. What would happen – what might my faith look like – if I commit 30 minutes every day for the next 30 days to reading the Bible? I wanted to see what might happen if I made a practice into a habit.

 

I expected change. I expected to learn and grow.

 

And God, in His goodness, has just done much more than I ever anticipated! I started on February 1, 2012, and I’m halfway through. It’s easy to see my life changing in many glorious ways. 

 

Identity: As I lose myself in His word, I find myself as He has built me to be. Friends, who among us has not struggled with our identity? We’re getting ideas and messages from every direction and I find it impossible sometimes to reconcile it all and find out who I am.

 

God, in these daily Bible times, has revealed some powerful truths about who He has made me. I am beautifully and wonderfully made, His word says. The more of His word I read, the more I believe it and find this truth impacting everyday life.

Strength: Through these daily times with the Bible, Christ has delivered just the strength I will need for the day. It’s the Holy Spirit, giving me a crazy-beautiful launching pad on which I might rise up for the day. Sometimes it’s a simple verse; other times, it’s a parable.

 

Peace: It’s quiet. The busier life gets, friends, the more I find myself treasuring the pockets of quiet throughout the day. And fight as I might with that snooze button, I find myself actually craving this time of peace and calm and quiet. It’s a treat for my soul, a treat that I carry with me throughout the day.

 

Grace: I am slowly learning, through this experiment, to give myself grace. Rarely do these times of Bible reading go perfectly. Maybe they’re not at the time I planned. Maybe I begin with a hardened heart or a frustrated mind. Often, I’m simply unenthusiastic. But grace, I am learning, is a gift Christ has given us and a gift we need to give ourselves. God is God, and I am not. This time is about what I gain and how I grow, not my shortcomings.

 

Encouragement: This experiment has made me better equipped to encourage those I love! Almost every time I open my Bible, I find a verse that might build up a friend. And I can’t keep this encouragement to myself! I send emails and texts with the verses I read – sometimes I even take a picture of the Bible verse. And I show up every day knowing that God is using this time not just for me, but for my dear friends to give them strength in their trials! God does such amazing things in community.

 

I’m halfway through this experiment. Challenging? Yes. Rewarding? Absolutely! This experiment isn’t about me. It’s about Christ and learning His gospel and being present for Him to work in this world.

 

And I’m learning quickly that it’s not an experiment I will wrap up soon. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of how God works in this short-but-powerful time, I plan to stick with it. I plan to make this practice into a life habit and continue building a firm foundation so I can be ready to rise up for Christ!

 

Sarah Koci Scheilz is an inspiration-driven communicator with a passion for writing, community and life itself. A young professional in writing, PR and nonprofits, she loves diving into exciting projects. Sarah enjoys painting her nails red, cherishes a good cup of coffee, can totally rock a cardigan and celebrates solid conversation. She blogs at Inspiration-Driven Life, tweets @sarahkoci and wants you to say hello. Really.