The Forgotten Christian Discipline: Studying

You know, it has really been a good summer…minus the flooding of course. Summer did what summer was supposed to do. It gave us relaxation, adventure, some surprises, and a time to get out of our regular routine. With the start of school, in many ways it feels like a fresh start (new classes, new grade, new school) and a return to routine. So with that in mind, I want to throw a thought your way. Here goes: Every Christian should be in a routine of studying God’s Word.
We talk a lot about the faithful Christian, the praying Christian, and the giving Christian, but what about the studying Christian? During the summer I was doing some reflecting on the message series I was planning for the fall and it occurred to me that I probably haven’t talked enough nor pushed enough on the importance of studying the Bible. So since I have your attention for a moment let me give you a few reasons why it would be beneficial to add into your regular routine the discipline of Bible study.

• Jesus said, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” (~ Mt. 22:37) So what you do with your mind is important when it comes to loving God.
  

• “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (~ 2 Timothy 2:15) To be the most effective workman you need to be able to handle the Bible correctly.
  

• “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (~ Romans 10:17) If your faith is wavering or weak the best thing that you can do is listen to a sermon, or listen to teaching in an Adult Bible Fellowship class or a small group.
  

• “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” (~ Revelation 1:3) John writes that those who read the words of Revelation will be blessed. Not so much that everything will go right in their life, but they will better understand what God is doing and what their purpose is.
  

• “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (~ Acts 17:11) Human nature is notorious for trusting what the talking head says (yes I know I fall into the “talking head” category). What sets our church apart is the fact that you can study, read and hold me accountable because you have the text right in front of you.
  

• “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (~ Psalm 119:11) Although it is never popular, memorizing Scripture can be a powerful encouragement and defense in a variety of difficult and trying situations.

Now, remember that I share this information with you NOT to guilt you into Bible study but to simply remind you that it is a powerful tool in growing, defending and sharing your faith. So many of the questions you have or the situations you face on a day-to-day basis are answered or dealt with in the Bible. And while it may be easy to just talk to the pastor, there are a lot of things you could answer yourself if you study the Bible.