Get Up With God
highly caffeinated daily bible doses to help start your morning off right

Recent surveys suggest that Christians spend shockingly little time with the Bible. Less than half have read it all the way through, less than 4 in 10 read it on a weekly basis, only 1 in 6 read it daily and only 1 in 7 regularly apply it to their lives.

I’m ashamed to admit that I was on the wrong side of those statistics for many years. As a result, I made lots of dumb decisions and stupid mistakes.

Don’t let that happen to you. Open up your Bible and listen to what our heavenly father has to say:

My son,
if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come
knowledge and understanding . . .

Then you will understand
what is right and just and fair –
every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
(Proverbs 2:1-6, 9-11)

For more on what the Bible contains and why you should spend more time with it than anything else on this planet, watch this video. (Note: If you experience any technical difficulties viewing this on your iPhone or other device, you may need to visit getupwithgod.com directly).

This week we discussed some of the world’s most-loved Bible verses, including the favorites of luminaries such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Joni Eareckson Tada, Billy Graham, Johnny Cash and even Mr. Rogers.

We also asked YOU to share YOUR favorite verses. Here are some of the responses I received. Thanks for sharing!

For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
(Proverbs 2:6)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,
he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
(Proverbs 16:7)

If you have played the fool and exalted yourself,
or if you have planned evil,
clap your hand over your mouth!
(Proverbs 30:32)

How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?
(Genesis 39:9)

Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
(Matthew 7:7)

I tell you the truth,
whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me
has eternal life and will not be condemned;
he has crossed over from death to life.
(John 5:24)

Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
(John 6:68)

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:8)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith –
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –
not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God’s workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
(Ephesians 2:8-10)

Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
(Philippians 4:6)

Be joyful always;
pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Got any other verses you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail at getupwithgod1@yahoo.com. Thanks!

This week on GUWG, we’re examining some of the world’s favorite Bible verses.

Billy Graham has preached the gospel to more people than anyone in history. His favorite verse? It’s not too surprising . . .

For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)

Billy calls this verse the “gospel in a nutshell.” Don’t let familiarity rob it of its power. Go back and read through each word sloooooooowly and thank God for His awesome gift of salvation to all who believe. And then get out there and share the good news!

Got a favorite verse you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail at getupwithgod1@yahoo.com. Thanks!

This week on GUWG, we’re examining some of the world’s favorite Bible verses and the impact they’ve had on people’s lives.

I grew up on a steady diet of the kind and gentle Mr. Rogers. If I’m honest, I probably spent more time listening to him than I did both my parents combined. (Sorry, Mom and Dad.)

Looking back, it’s hard to figure out Mr. Rogers’ appeal. He never did anything remotely exciting. There were no cartoons, no chase scenes, no zany humor. Pretty much just a guy in a sweater hanging out with some finger puppets and a trolley.

But maybe there was more going on than meets the eye . . .

Mr. Rogers was a deeply committed Christian who designed his show to teach basic biblical principles. Here was his favorite verse:

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
(1 Corinthians 1:25)

Here’s how it applied to his life:

Whenever I write a script or a song or walk into the studio for a taping, I pray: “Let some word that is heard be thine.” That’s really all that matters.

Amen!

(Quotation from Lamp Unto My Feet by Art Toalston)

Got a favorite verse you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail at getupwithgod1@yahoo.com. Thanks!

Here’s this week’s question . . .

What’s your favorite Bible verse and why?

Great question.

As you can see here, I have a hard time answering this question — I have at least 100 “favorites.” But if I had to choose just one, it would probably be . . .

God is love.
(1 John 4:16)

Even though I’ve read that verse hundreds of times, for some reason my lame brain needs to be constantly reminded that no matter how bad things may seem, one thing is absolutely certain:  GOD LOVES US.

That simple truth answers a lot of other questions . . .

Why did God create a world that gives Him so much grief? Because God is love and love is expressed in relationships (even messy ones).

Why did God give us free will? Love can’t be forced — a true love relationship involves the ability to choose love and to reject it.

Why does God save us? God doesn’t let us wallow in our sin without hope.  Because He loves us, He gives us a loving way out:  Jesus.

Why does God offer believers eternal life?  Because He loves us and wants us to be with Him forever.

Can anything ever separate us from God’s love? You be the judge:

Neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39)

GOD IS LOVE!

(Got some favorite verses you’d like to share? Send ‘em to me at getupwithgod1@yahoo.com. I’d love to hear from you!)

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, O Lord;
teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
(Psalm 119:9-16)

Does the above accurately describe your approach to God’s word? Do you rejoice in it? Do you meditate on it? Do you delight in it?

Or do you neglect it?

Here’s a little test we do here on GUWG every once in awhile to help us all answer those questions honestly . . .

TIME TEST

Approximately how much time do you spend each week on the following:

• Watching dumb stuff on TV?  ____ hours
• Mindlessly surfing the ‘Net? ____ hours
• Reading non-Christian-y stuff? ____ hours
• Listening to non-Christian-y music? ____ hours
• Shopping for stuff you don’t really need? ____ hours
• Doing hobbies? ____ hours
• Exercising? ____ hours
• Doing other amusement-ish stuff? ____ hours

        TOTAL: _____ hours

How many hours do you spend each week in God’s word?  ____ hours

If your answer to the first question is bigger than your answer to the second, I humbly suggest that you ask God to help make his word more of a priority in your life.

I recently asked a group of Christians for creative suggestions on how to get deeper into God’s word. Here are some of their responses:

• Teach a Sunday School class (there’s nothing like the prospect of third graders barraging you with questions like “Who Made God?” for motivation)
• Listen to the Bible on CD in your car (my personal favorite: The Listener’s Bible, featuring the cool British vocal stylings of Max McLean)
• Get into the habit of reading the Bible first thing in the morning and the last thing before you go to bed
• Post your favorite verses on your bathroom mirror
• Set a goal of memorizing a verse a day and ask someone to punch you in the arm if you don’t
• Pray through Scripture on a regular basis (Beth Moore’s Praying God’s Word is an excellent resource)
• Fast from your TV, computer and iPod for a week (or, possibly, forever)
• Listen to Christian music (it’s available now in just about every imaginable genre — pop, rock, country, alternative, disco – even screamo)

DON’T NEGLECT GOD’S WORD:
REJOICE, MEDITATE AND DELIGHT IN IT

Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
(Matthew 4:4)

Most people are at least somewhat familiar with the events described in the book and various movies entitled Mutiny on the Bounty. But not many know the whole story or how it demonstrates the power of God’s word.

In April 1789, a mutiny broke out on the HMS Bounty. The ship’s second-in-command, Fletcher Christian, decided he’d make a better commander than the current captain, William Bligh. Christian and his fellow mutineers forced Bligh and his men onto a tiny raft. Before they were set adrift, Bligh pleaded for reasonableness. Christian responded, “I am in hell, I am in hell!” and then cut them loose.

Christian sailed the ship to Tahiti where they lived for a few months and then Christian, eight of his men and a group of Tahitians sailed on to a tiny uninhabited island called Pitcairn.

At first, the island seemed like a paradise. There was plenty of food and water and the weather was ideal. But human nature quickly took over.

One of Christian’s men stole one of the Tahitians’ wives and a rebellion broke out. Christian and all but four of the men were killed in the fighting. Then one of the men learned how to distill alcohol from the roots of an island plant and soon the tiny group was consumed by drunkenness and orgies. One man threw himself off a cliff while drunk. Another drank himself to insanity and threatened to kill the others until he was axed to death by the other two men. Then one of those two died of asthma, leaving only a man named Alexander Smith and a handful of Tahitian women and children.

Things looked hopeless. But everything changed with the discovery of a long-neglected item among the ship’s remaining articles: a Bible.

Desperate, Smith immersed himself in God’s word and prayer. With the Holy Spirit’s help, he decided to make some big changes. First, he destroyed the still and sobered up. Then he began to share what he was learning from the Bible with the others. He instituted daily prayer times, Sunday worship, a makeshift church and even a Christian school. The little colony began to flourish. Hate and hopelessness were replaced with love and joy.

Years later, a British ship discovered the island. The crew was shocked to find that it was inhabited by a peaceful group of English-speaking people living the Christian faith. They were so impressed that they disobeyed orders and refused to report that they had found the long-lost mutineers of the Bounty.

Here’s one of Smith’s prayers that’s as relevant for us today as it was for him and his little band of Christians:

Suffer me not O Lord to waste this day in sin or folly.
But let me worship thee with much delight.
Teach me to know more of thee
and to serve thee better than ever I have done before,
that I may be fitter to dwell in heaven,
where thy worship and service are everlasting.

Amen.

It’s OLD TESTAMENT WEEK here on GUWG.

In our whirlwind tour of the OT this week, we have barely managed to skim the surface of its awesome and majestic depths. Therefore, I urge you to (1) pick up your Bible today, (2) flip it open to Genesis 1:1 and (3) don’t stop reading ’til you hit Malachi 4:6.

In the meantime, here’s one final OT selection that shows the great value of immersing yourself in God’s word:

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields its seed for the sower
and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
it will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
(Isaiah 55:10-11)

SOAK IT UP!

Lay hold of my words with all your heart;
keep my commands and you will live.
Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or swerve from them.
(Proverbs 4:4-5)

Life is a journey. Are you following God’s road map? Are you truly grabbing hold of His word with all your heart?

Take this quick quiz . . .

How much time did you spend this past week:

• Watching meaningless shows on TV?
• Surfing the Internet for the latest celebrity gossip?
• Listening to less-than-uplifting music?
• Shopping for stuff you don’t need?
• Obsessing about your lawn?
• Playing golf?
• Doing anything else not centered on God?

Add all those hours up. Now here’s one final question:

• How much time did you spend reading the Bible?

If the first number is bigger than the second (mine is), I humbly suggest that your life may be out of whack. Turn off the TV, shut down the computer, unplug the iPod, hide the credit cards, let the weeds grow, put the clubs in the attic and crack open your Bible.

What will you get? Wisdom, understanding and a much clearer picture of God’s road map for your life.

Walk with God. Stay on His path. Don’t swerve.

Thought I’d keep it simple today. Just do this:

LOVE GOD

LOVE OTHERS

REPEAT