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Devotional: How to Start Reading The Bible {Mark 9:24}

‘I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.’ {Mark 9:24}

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Do you ever feel this way?

It can be about God. For example, I walk out of church on Sundays hopped up on worship hymns and the belief that God is really calling me to be on mission for him.

I can do it all. I can sign up to serve here, I can fit in a Bible study here, I can make time to bring a meal to the neighbors…and then the reality of the week sets in and it all falls by the wayside. And my belief that God ‘choose me’ starts to waiver.

Belief to unbelief.

Or you can apply this to your personal life. For example, one day I’m up at 5am, workout done, completed my whole to-do list at work, pick up my son early from daycare, have dinner on the table, and I’m basically crushing this working mom thing.

And then the next day I hit snooze, I’m drowning in emails, I’m the last mom at daycare pick up, and frozen green beans are all I have to offer for dinner.

Belief to unbelief.

Can you relate?

But you see this attitude of trust and confidence that the Bible calls belief or faith {reference Hebrews 11:1 and Hebrews 11:6} is not something I can obtain on my own. By my own hard work, or grit.

Rather, faith is a gift from God {reference Ephesians 2:8-9}.

And no matter how much faith I have, I will never reach the point of being self-sufficient in maintaining my belief and faith. Because growing in faith is a continual process of renewing my trust in God daily.

So how do I renew my faith daily? I read God’s Word, The Bible each morning. It’s the first thing at the top of my to-do list each day. I’m currently reading through the book of Mark. If you want to be in awe of how powerful our God is, start in the book of Mark.

But if you’re like me, give yourself time and get a Bible with study notes {this is the one I have} because in the book of Mark, Jesus often speaks in parables which never make sense to me at first.

And because I had to Google the definition, a parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.

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These parables never make sense at first, but they do intrigue me to read more. I think that’s exactly where I’m at in my faith journey — moving from curiosity about God’s Word to commitment to reading it daily.

I think that’s how any journey begins — moving from curiosity to commitment.

I know reading The Bible shouldn’t be about checking a box on my to-do list, but honestly, that’s where it is for me right now. It’s where most daily practices start for me.

I pray that God continues to make me curious about his life, the miracles he performed, and the amazing book that documents it all, The Bible, so I can move from a place of curiosity to commitment without a daily ‘to-do’.

Devotional Prayer: How to Start Reading The Bible {Mark 9:24}

Dear God,
I pray that spending time in your Word each day will move me from a place of curiosity to commitment.
From wavering belief, to belief.

For full context on this verse read Mark 9:14-29 {or just dig into the entire book of Mark, it’s a great place to start}. Also, I heard this quote from Tim Keller in church this past Sunday and it stuck: ‘God is the only Savior that if you get me, I’ll fulfill you and if you fail me, I’ll forgive you!’

Looking for other faith-based posts? You can find my previous weekly Devotional posts by clicking here.

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4 comments
  1. I grew up a Christian and going to church every Sunday. I have bmnever been one to read the Bible or know Bible verses. I wish I was stronger in this category. What bible do you read from and is it easy to follow? I need something that is easy to relate to. Thanks!

    • Hi Lindsey! It’s never too late to start digging into the Bible! I personally love my NIV Life Application Study Bible — it has amazing study notes to help you dig into the verses. It’s a great Bible for first time readers (I’m with you there)! I hope that helps! Lindsey

    • Caitlin! Thanks so much for giving this post a read! Love that you’re in your Bible all 365 days — that’s AMAZING! And yes, I’m striving to move from curiosity to commitment! Thanks so much for reading and praying you find fulfillment in the Word as well. Lindsey