10 Ways to Help Start A Good Daily Habit - A Dose of Encouragement

Oh go on admit it!

We all have habits.

Some are Good and then there are those ones that we just don't want to talk about.

Well they say
(don't really know who they are but I am always reading or hearing that this is what THEY say)

that

 if you do something for 30 days you will form a new habit

I took this seriously a few years ago because I seriously wanted to get into the habit of reading at least one verse of the Bible before I got into some kind of Social Media or something else on my iPad each day.

So if you read my  "Advice for a King & for Us post in my Encouragement Series you will know that I started with Proverbs 31.

Well I can tell you that 30 days

did not truly make this

 a habit for me!!!

But


We all know the saying

"An Apple a Day keeps the Doctor away"

So how about we make it

"A Psalm a Day keeps the Devil at Bay"?

Or

Maybe it would be better to make it

"A Chapter a Day Gives The Lord His Say"?

A Chapter is not too much to read each day.


So

How do you get started?

Here are 10 suggestions:

Also don't miss the 3 TIPS at the very end of this blog post.

1.   Start at the very beginning.

If you are a methodical person you might find this suits you and of course the Book of Genesis gives us a good grounding for all that is to come later.

At the start of this year I chose to read through the Bible in one year Chronologically so it did not follow through the Bible in the order of the placement of books in the Bible but by the time in which they were written.

2.   Pick a Book you have never read before.

Something that will be fresh and new to you.

Even though I have read straight through the Bible a few times there are still some books like the minor prophets that I often can't recall.

3.   Pick a book you could read completely in one day.

There are 5 books that are only 1 chapter long:

OBADIAH

PHILEMON

JUDE

The other 2 are

2 JOHN

3 JOHN
However it might seem strange to read 2 & 3 John before 1 John so see below to join up all 3 books

4.   Pick a short book that you could read within one week.

There are several books that have between  2 - 7 chapters.

HAGGAI  -  2

HABAKKUK  -  3

JOEL  -  3

NAHUM  -  3
2 PETER  -  3

TITUS  -  3

2 THESSALONIANS  -  3

ZEPHANIAH  -  3
COLOSSIANS  -  4

JONAH  -  4

MALACHI  -  4

PHILIPPIANS  - 4
RUTH  -  4 

2 TIMOTHY  -  4

JAMES  -  5

LAMENTATIONS  -  5

1 PETER  -  5

1 THESSALONIANS  -  5 

1 TIMOTHY  -  6

1, 2 & 3 JOHN  -  7

Or a combination of 2 or 3 from this list to make up a week's reading.

5.   Pick one of the Gospels.
Some people prefer to read the New Testament first before the Old Testament as they feel it is easier.
Some people prefer to read the narrative about Jesus before the other books.

Many people recommend John's Gospel as the first Book to read.

6.   Pick the book of Psalms 

Where each one can be thought of as a complete read on it's own.

There is great wisdom for us in the very first Psalm so a good starting point.

7.   Pick the book of Proverbs

Where each chapter is often thought of as easy to read.

This is a book which is full of wisdom and advice & I like to note the repetitions of phrases within it.

8.   Pick a book you have read a long time ago.

One not so familiar at the moment.

Like my choice of Song of Solomon in the recent past because I could not really remember it and I never felt I understood it very well.



9.   Pick a book that your pastor has preached on recently.
One you can think of in the light of what your Pastor has taught.

For me that would be Ruth.

Perhaps I should have waited to hear his teaching before I wrote these two blog posts. 

Ruth & Boaz - The Start of the Story

Ruth & Boaz -  Love & Perfection?

10.  Pick a book that your pastor is about to start preaching on.
One to prepare you for future teaching.

For me that would be Esther.

Plus 3 EXTRA TIPS


1.  Do Not start with the book of Job  -  long & hard to read

2.  Do Not give up with reading the Bible daily  -  if you feel you cannot understand a book then simply leave it
 and choose another.
You can always go back & read it later.

3.  Tell someone your plan and ask them to check up with you regularly to encourage you.
  Maybe you can do the same for them.

10 Bible Verses of Encouragement in times of Fear

We all need encouragement and the best place to go is to the Bible.

In this blog Post I have tried to gather some Bible passages or Bible verses which will encourage us all in times of fear.

I do believe that we should not just grab a verse and read it on its own but we should always lift our bibles and read a passage of scripture to make sure that we know the real meaning and context of each of the verses we are putting our trust in. 

I pray that you will do the same and only use this list to guide you as to where you may find help.

So here are 10 Bible verses or short passages for us to turn to in times when we are afraid

1.   Isaiah 41 v 10 & 13     

God truly is the one who wants to encourage us in times when we are afraid or when a fear (just or unjust) comes upon us or in those times when we do not even really know what we fear.

God always knew that we would need reassurance against fears and He prepares us and is ready to help us through the fear.

God also knew that this fear we would face would be very real to us but He also knew that His presence was the answer to our fear and He wants us to know that as we rest in His presence we do not need to fear anything.

We find this in Isaiah 41 v 10

Here His instruction is not to Fear,  

• Why - because He is with us.
• Why - because He is our God.
• Why - because He will strengthen us.
• Why - because He will Help us.
• Why - because He will hold us in His Hand.

Then a few verses later He repeats Himself

We find this in Isaiah 41 v 13

Here His instruction again is not to Fear,  

• Why - because He is our God.
• Why - because He will hold our right Hand.
• Why - because He will Help us.

When God says something we need to listen and take heed to His Words but when He repeats something it makes it all the more important.

2.   Joshua 1 v 9

    

God is gracious to us and knows that we forget what He has told us or lapse in our faith so we need to be reminded of what He has said He will do as this verse states

Not only is God with us now so we should not fear but He is going to always be with us wherever that may be so should never need to fear.

3.   Matthew 10 v 28 

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul

Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Here we have two kinds of fear

Fear of Man and the influence of evil

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul

Fear of God who is Good

Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Fear of God

 is awe of God,

 respect of God,

 admiration of God

 and

 believing that He is in control of everything

The Fear of God is the right type of fear because it leads us to God.

I previously wrote a Dose of Encouragement about the Right Type of Fear it's called  A Good Kind of Fear

4.   Psalm 23 v 4 

This psalm is a Psalm of great comfort to us because if we read it carefully and thoughtfully we will see that the Psalmist is acknowledging how God is with us in everything.

No matter what situation we are in we need not be afraid.

Even when we feel we may be near death:

 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

He will be with us and we will not need to fear any evil.

You may want to look further into Psalm 23

Here in the series Pondering the Psalms

5.   Psalm 34 v 4    

Oh how good it is to know that God knows all our fears, listens to us and hears us when we are afraid and on top of that is loving towards us in His attitude to us in our fear because He cares enough to bring us through whatever the situation is.

God asks one thing of us when we are afraid - seek Him.

God does two things for us when we are afraid & seek Him - He hears us & He delivers us

6.   Psalm 27 v 1

In this verse God is 3 things to the Psalmist and because of these 3 things the Psalmist has the confidence that he need not be afraid of anyone.

The Lord is his Light

The Lord is his Salvation

The Lord is the Stronghold of his life

Think carefully and consider do we believe like the Psalmist that the Lord is these things to us?

If we do then just like the Psalmist we can say

"Who can we possibly fear?"

7.   Psalm 56 v 3

We are only human and no matter what happens we will act and think in human ways.

So because of this we will often fear when a situation comes upon us but the important thing is not to stay engulfed in that fear but to remember that in that situation we can trust in God and then to act on that knowledge.

8.   1 John 4 v 18

Love is the opposite of fear.

Love is stronger than fear.

Hence where there is Love there can be no fear and God is Love and His Love is the perfect love that cannot be marred by anything even fear

God has love in store for us in which fear can have no stronghold nor cause us any harm.

9.   Deuteronomy 31 v 8

Not only will God not leave us alone when we are afraid but He also will never forsake us.

We are the ones who run away from God yet He is always there going in front of us and walking beside us.  He is prepared for what is going to happen because He knows everything.

10.   2 Timothy 1:7

Where does our feelings of fear come from?

They certainly do not come from God because His Word is clear to tell us this.

Not only is God not the author of fear He is instead the one who cares so much that He wants to give us His Spirit which is the Spirit of Power and the Spirit of Love and the Spirit of a sound mind.

God never adds to our Fear - He adds better qualities to our life.

God gives us the opposite of fear.

When we keep close to Him and trust in Him we will look at things in the right way and witness His Power and His Love and His right thought for us.

10 Bible Verses of Encouragement When We Need Comfort

We all need encouragement and the best place to go is to the Bible.

In this blog Post I have tried to gather some Bible passages or Bible verses which will encourage us all when we are in need of comfort

I do believe that we should not just grab a verse and read it on its own but we should always lift our bibles and read a passage of scripture to make sure that we know the real meaning and context of each of the verses we are putting our trust in. 

I pray that you will do the same and only use this list to guide you as to where you may find help.

So here are 10 Bible verses or short passages for us to turn to in times when we are in need of  Comfort

1.   John 14 v 16-17     

The first thing to encourage us in times when we feel broken hearted or that our spirit is broken or those times when we need to be comforted because of feeling that we have lost someone or something, is that Jesus knew from the start that His disciples would need comforting and all of us to come after them would also need comfort in this world.

Jesus told His disciples in advance that He would not leave them comfortless and He means the same for all of us as well.

We find this in John ch. 14 v 16-17

Jesus says He will pray to God the Father to give us another helper or comforter who will be the Hold Spirit, the third person in the trinity.

Jesus knows how we all need to be comforted over aspects of life and so He asks God to give us a permanent helper.

2.   2 Corinthians 1 v 3-4

    

Here are two verses that prove how much God is a comforter to us.

Not just once but five times we have the reminder in this passage of the comfort He gives us.

Not only has He provided comfort for us but He is active in comforting us.

3.   Psalm 23 

This psalm is a Psalm of great comfort to us because if we read it carefully and thoughtfully we will see that the Psalmist is acknowledging how God is with us in everything and takes care of all our needs.

No matter what situation we are in we can take comfort from this Psalm

When we feel we may be in need:

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

When we feel we may be near death:

 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

When we feel we may be forgotten as people are against us:

 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.

When we feel we may face only hardships in life :

 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;

When we feel we have no future :

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

He comforts us with the greatest future in Him.

You may want to look further into Psalm 23

Here in the series Pondering the Psalms

4.   Psalm 119 v 50    

He gives us comfort to experience through His Word when we face hardships and afflictions of any kind.

We have the Holy Spirit as our helper and comforter and now we see we also have His Word to comfort us.

His Word is Truth.

5.   Psalm 147 v 3

Look at the comfort we can see in this verse.

Not only will God heal our broken hearts but He cares enough to bind up the wounds that we are agonising from.

This always reminds me of the care and comfort given by the Samaritan who stopped and saw to the wounds of the man attacked and left by robbers at the side of the road.  

Our God is greater than a good Samaritan - He tends our wounds giving us comfort as He heals us.

6.   Luke 4 v 18-19

Jesus himself read from the old testament to remind us all of the promise already given 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 

and He was the anointed one - He brings us comfort when we are brokenhearted.

7.   Isaiah 49 v 13

Looking to past instances of how God has acted always encourages us that He will act in a similar way again.

31 

Sing, O heavens!

Be joyful, O earth!

And break out in singing, O mountains!

For the Lord has comforted His people,

And will have mercy on His afflicted.

Here we have the proof that He has comforted His people so knowing our God never changes we know He will comfort us again.

8.   Psalm 34 v 18

I love the phrase here in this verse - near to

The Lord understands our hearts and knows how we feel so He will bring comfort and salvation.

9.   Matthew 5 v 4

In the Beatitudes the second blessing is on those who mourn - Jesus cares and He promises comfort.

10.   John 16 v 22

Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

This comfort was given by Jesus to His disciples even though they did not fully understand at the time that He was going to die and what the future would hold.

We can take comfort in these words of Jesus too and more so because we have all the New Testament to back it up.

We may have sorrow and need comforted but our comfort is in the knowledge that we will one day rejoice with Him.