Couldn’t sleep last night. Not totally unusual but instead of heading out to the couch, I stayed in bed and tried to power through it. Like you can ever make your mind be quiet when it wants to talk. And spin. And rehash the day. And worry about tomorrow. But toward the end, as I felt myself slowly head toward slumber, I heard God whisper. Truly. I’ve heard Him before so I recognized His voice. And I unmistakably heard Him say: “Romans 12.” And then I slept.

This morning I vividly recalled it all. And I rushed (sorry, God) through my regular Bible reading so I would not have to rush through reading Romans 12. I was not disappointed. I mentioned to my husband what I’d heard from the Lord and he said, “That’s the discipleship chapter.” (Hey, I do enjoy a few perks being married to a very smart Bible teacher.) After reading the chapter in the Message, I knew God had given me a whole Bible chapter for this year. I’m not even going to talk about it right now – I have all year to take little bites, research words and motives, and slowly savor what God will speak to me through those 21 verses.

Yes, I have a 2020 word (focus), and a few 2020 habits to grow into goals, but I’ve never had a chapter from the Bible for the year. I’m excited to FOCUS on Romans 12 this year. Take a look yourself.

Romans 12 in The Message version.