Putting it All Together

By Danny Saavedra

So, as you can see from this reading plan, all four of these spiritual practices related to the Bible work in tandem—they flow into one another and produce amazing results in tandem. So, as we seek to feed ourselves from the inexhaustible pantry of riches that is found in the Bible, I believe we need a healthy, balanced diet of reading, study, meditation, and memorization. These practices are like the major food groups when it comes to Scripture—they’re the macronutrients of our devotional time.

Now, do you have to practice them all every single day? No. You can stagger them throughout the week and look to create a balanced schedule that works for you, but if you’re not sure where to start, here’s a sample routine you can follow:

Sunday: Afternoon reading, evening study

Monday: Morning meditation, evening reading

Tuesday: Afternoon reading, evening study

Wednesday: Morning meditation, afternoon study

Thursday: Afternoon reading, evening study

Friday: Morning meditation, afternoon reading

Saturday: Morning meditation, church in the evening

You can also select a verse to memorize on Sunday and typically have it memorized by Friday just from reading it every time you pass by it and saying it out loud at least three times per week. Now, listen . . . as hectic as that may sound, it actually only amounts to about an hour per day: 30 minutes in the morning/afternoon, and 30 in the evening.

This doesn’t have to be your routine. Maybe your schedule works for a five day per week format or every other day routine. I would recommend you practice each spiritual discipline at least three times per week, and start off by picking a simple verse to memorize. Or maybe, like my dad, you are retired and want to spend hours each day engaged in the spiritual disciplines of the Word. Pray about it, ask others about their routines, or contact me at DanielS@CalvaryFTL.org and I’ll be glad to help you create a routine that works for you.

In 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (BSB) the apostle Paul says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.” I pray that this series of devotionals on the spiritual disciplines surrounding the Bible has helped you prioritize your time in the Word, breathing in deeply the very breath of God. It truly is useful, profitable, and more valuable than anything else we have on this earth, and it truly does make us complete as we grow in Christ and are equipped for the purposes, plans, and good work He has for us!