Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. (Psalm 119:105-106, NRSV)
A few weeks ago, I read that Howard Alderson died. He was a member of the first church I served as a pastor and he forever changed the trajectory of my life and ministry.
Snooks, as people called him, began each day by reading God’s word and praying for his community and world. He and a few friends started a morning routine of gathering in our church chapel to read a passage of scripture, perhaps a devotional thought, and then lift up by name anyone or anything that had placed on our church prayer list.
It didn’t take long after my arrival for Howard to ask me to join the small group at 6am every morning. Wait, did he say 6am? As in, he expects me to get out of bed, get dressed, have a cup of coffee (because no one wants to talk to me before I’ve had coffee), and drive to church for a time of scripture reading and prayer? Every day?
I started going, not so much because I wanted to go or thought that I needed to go, but because I was new to ministry and the church…and I was young; I was more worried about not rocking the boat than I was reading God’s word and praying for our community. Once I started going, I wished I hadn’t. It was so hard to drag myself out of bed every morning. And once I started, I didn’t feel like I could quit because the group was small and sometimes it might just be me and Howard there. In those early days, I may have cursed more than I prayed in those quiet moments in the chapel.
Yet, here I am 23 years later. It’s early. I’m out of bed, dressed, enjoying a cup of coffee, sitting in my favorite chair, reading God’s word and praying. This daily time with God has become the favorite part of my day; when I miss it, my day isn’t the same. I can’t imagine not beginning my day with this daily spiritual discipline now but I also can’t imagine that I’d be engaging in this spiritual discipline without Howard Alderson’s invitation and influence.
One of the ways that Christ comes to us is through the word of God. Before I met Howard, I think I read the Bible more for information than transformation. But through the years, the Bible really has become a lamp and a light to me as I’ve journeyed through life, especially when life’s path darkened and took turns I didn’t expect.
Maybe God hopes I’ll be your Howard and encourage you to make time to be daily transformed by God’s word. Give me a call or send me an email if you need some help finding a reading plan or Bible that’s right for you.
