Play It Again, Southern Hills - The 2015 SHBC Bible Reading (and Memorization) Challenge

This has been one of the more difficult, but blessed, things I've done in a long time. There have been many days when I procrastinated until I needed to be in bed before I did my readings and devotionals. It cost me a few hours of sleep, and sometimes that probably showed in the quality of the devotionals.

But the discipline has been wonderful. I don't want to admit to anything, but this has been my most consistent Quiet Time year ever, since this devotional forced me to stay consistent. During the week I was in Israel I stored a few up in advance, but I was doing a lot of reading and teaching there, so I was in the Word. Even if no one has read these devotionals, they have been a blessing to me.

So, I'm going to keep going at least another year. The title is going to change. The "SHBC 2015 Bible Reading Challenge" begins on January 1. Hope you will join. No one is perfect. Everyone misses a reading or two. Perfection is not the goal. Being in the Word of God is.

• I'm going to switch to a different translation this year. I think I'll go with the English Standard Version, the one I preach from. You can either read along in your own Bible, read in the ESV, or it is very easy, if you use the links above to switch in Bible Gateway to whichever version you prefer. 
• I will probably reuse and revise some of last year's devotionals (especially during the 11 days I will be in Africa in January). I will try to write mostly new devotionals, but if you read through it last year, some of them may be familiar. I'll try not to do that too often! 
• I have re-divided the portions. In 2014 we used a version that was computer generated from my Bible study program. Frankly, it was pretty weird at times. I've gone back through and redivided things. It's not perfect, but I think it will be a lot better than what we had in 2014.
• For those of you who attend Southern Hills on a weekly basis, I'm going to add one new wrinkle to our "Get in the Word" emphasis - a Bible Memory Challenge. When I get back from  Africa we will be starting a study of Colossians 3:1-17, examining the basics of the Christian life. I'm going to challenge my people to memorize those 17 verses over the three or four (or five, or six) months that we will be studying that passage! 
• Also, I'm going to try something different with the links for the readings. Let me know how you like it. Basically, they will all be on one link page, instead of separate. One click and you will go to today's readings. 

Whether you read along faithfully here, or just join in as you can, here's the thing - GET IN THE WORD!  GET IN THE WORD! GET IN THE WORD!  Like Michael Jordan, Just do it!