In the past two years I have discipled 14 guys through the at least the first bookmark. Of those 14 at least 6 have started meeting with other men and have seen the power of consistent contextualized reading. In the individual lives of those that have persisted in reading has been remarkable. Depth of passion for the Gospel. Renewed vision for what God has called them to. Rapid spiritual growth in a short amount of time. Increased sensitivity to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

There have been a few more that I have invited to the journey that have said that wanted to, but have not followed through. I have not grown discouraged by this. I feel that my job is cast the net and allow God to fill it. It is not always easy. I have to constantly fight the temptation to rely on my own strengths and gifts. But, in the end, God is gracious and gently reminds me that He is the one that is at work and doing the work  through my feeble hands. And for that I am thankful.

One of the things that I have discovered is that God is able to take anyone from where they are to a place of growing awareness of his presence through the simple and consistent reading of His word. What I have come to believe is that we (the church) has used the word of God in a way that it was not supposed to be used. I think of something Dr. John Piper said.

“As I studied Romans 9 day after day, I began to see a God so majestic and so free and so absolutely sovereign that my analysis merged into worship and the Lord said, in effect, “I will not simply be analyzed, I will be adored. I will not simply be pondered, I will be proclaimed. My sovereignty is not simply to be scrutinized, it is to be heralded. It is not grist for the mill of controversy, it is gospel for sinners who know that their only hope is the sovereign triumph of God’s grace over their rebellious will.” [Source].
This is the result of a heart that seeks the God of the word, not merely the God in the word. That is what I have discovered, that the God who penned the glorious words on paper is far better than I could have ever imagined, but he is not less than what the Word promises.