A daily discipline that every Christian should have is read the Bible. We live in a day when we can have a copy of the Bible on our phones and/or on our computers/tablets. The days of “I can’t read my Bible today because I forgot it at church” are over. My wife Leslie and I (as well as two of our daughters) read from the same passage of the Bible each day. This is a blessing because we can talk about what we read that morning and it is fresh on all of our minds. That being said, there are days when I read the Bible and I receive so much out of it! I enjoy those days so much, I journal my thoughts about what I read each day and on those days I have long entries about various verses I read that day. There are also days when I don’t really understand what I read, or if it did understand, I really don’t have anything to journal. I feel guilty sometimes, but when on days like that, I journal something like, “I did not understand what I read” or “I don’t really have anything to share from what I read this morning”. But the truth is that most days are not those amazing days or those really hard days, most days are in between the two extremes. I don’t have some great profound thought to journal most days, instead I have little nuggets or “crumbs” of truth that I journal. With that in mind, I share with you a small “crumb” that I recently received out of my daily Bible reading. I hope it is a blessing…

“¹⁴ And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁵ And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.” Joshua 9:14-15

“…and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord”, with these words a Christian should know that Israel was going to have bad problems. But as I examine myself, I realize that I do it as well. I know that talking with God before speaking or before making decisions would save me from many problems. Arrogantly, I want to make decisions in an instant, but I see in this story that it results in a mess. God knows everything, I know very little, and even the things that I “know” and “understand”, I know it only partly. God knows everything and He knows it all completely and I have the blessing and honor of being able to ask Him in prayer to guide me. When I inquire of God (in prayer)…

• I am submitting myself under his authority.
• I am recognizing that I am nothing and that He is God.
• I am waiting for His answer.
• I am trusting God to guide me on the subject.

I want to do everything possible to stop, pray, and wait until God leads me.