THE WAY WE READ AND STUDY THE BIBLE JUST ISN'T WORKING:
RUSHING THROUGH THE BIBLE OR IN BIBLE STUDY
Why do most Christians fail to study the Bible thoroughly each and every day?
Why do we not get as much out of the Bible as we could?
Why are we not making the reading and studying of the Bible the priority and the bulk of our day?
Look in the mirror. I know I am. Do I thoroughly study the Bible each and every day? Hardly.
If you are in a Bible study, like I am. Or, if you are reading through the Bible, I bet you are reading and studying far too much and much too fast.
How can I state anything I have up to this point? It is because it is true for most of us.
Rushing through the Word of God, the Holy Bible, is a pandemic in our society today. Whether we admit it or not, we either are going through the motions to check off the box or we want a fast food and buffet style of faith. We want our faith to fit into our schedule. We refuse to read our Bibles like God wants us to and the effects are being shown everywhere in our world today.
Until we get serious about the Word and make it our priority and make it the bulk, and majority of our day, then our lives and our world will continue to not be what the could or should be.
And I think it all stems from reading and studying the Bible far too quickly.
If we were to get the most we can out of our Bible reading and studying, and do so each and every time, then we will be far more likely to get into the Word to begin with and make it our priority.
Let's be real here. It is rather difficult to want to do something, never mind make it the priority and majority in our lives, if we are not getting a lot out of it.
If we slow down and really think on something we read or hear, all night and day long, then we will be more likely to remember it and apply what we learn to our lives. Moreover, we are more likely to read it again and we are more likely to make reading our priority and majority.
The same goes with the Holy Bible, the very Word of God.
Let me know if you can relate to this story of confession:
More often than not, I hear a sermon and then don't think on it like I should over the course of the next week. I might read my notes once or twice, and think on it once or twice, but it really does not go any further.
Moreover, if I do a Bible study in the morning, I might think on it once or twice that day, but not much. Then, I do the same thing the next day.
Do you hear me?
Honestly... How do I expect to get the most out of a sermon or a day in Bible study if I do not think on it much after my first exposure to it this time around in the Word?
Or, worse yet. I get together with my Bible study group and I take great notes. How often do I read those notes again? Not much if any. And, I certainly do not think on it as much as I should over the course of the next week.
Can you relate?
Why do I not invest in the Bible like I could or should?
I think I have the tendency on rushing through the Word of God.
We are supposed to read the Bible every year, right? (Nowhere is that a command in the Bible by the way. And, my comment was sarcasm.)
Seriously, though. Isn't this how we approach the Word, if we were to be fully honest? Don't we rush through the Word? We do have other things to do, after all. Right? (More sarcasm.)
What would happen if we were to really slow down and take a year to get through one or two chapters of the Bible?
What if we were to truly and intentionally mediate on the Bible morning, noon, evening, and night, even as we roll over in bed or every time we cannot sleep?
What if we were to intentionally look at a verse to four verses of the Bible, and the same verse or verses, at least every hour all day long and journal our thoughts and prayers about it at least three times that day? And, what if the next day, you went to the next verse or four verses tops, and did the same thing? Wouldn't we then look at the Holy Bible, the Word of God, very differently?
And, what if one day per week, we looked at our journaling and notes about the other six days in review and to see what more we can get out of the previous readings and journaling?
How can we expect to get a lot out of the Word if we barely put any effort into the Word?
If you do a Bible study every single day, and one already written, what would happen if you took three days to think about, pray about, and journal about that daily lesson?
What if you made a 12 week Bible study take 36 weeks instead, where you make the effort and commitment to study each day, every hour, and all day long?
What if at least five minutes of your fifteen minutes break at work consisted of you reading the verse and verses in which you studied earlier that day?
There is a rule I have discovered in this life and it works every single time: The more you put into something, the more you will get out of it. Bible reading and study, prayer, and journaling certainly apply here.
So, what about being more intentional and deliberate about reading, studying, praying, and journaling one to four verses of the Bible every single day?
How much more would you get out of the Word if you did?
Stop rushing. Be deliberate. And, above all, never neglect the Word. There is too much at stake.
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