I realize that my blog is supposed to be about what I learned from the Word today..and so tomorrow it will be. :)
It's just that tonight I'm in a pretty contemplative mood..and my blog has turned out to be a great gift to me during these times.
I'm at this place in my life where I just want the LORD. I want so much of Him. I want to be used of Him for His purposes. I really want to disappear so that He can shine through.
If you've been following my blog at all, you know that this past summer was a time of real testing for me. Testing is putting it mildly. It was BRUTAL!!!!!!!!!
As I was going through it, I couldn't see HOW or WHAT God was going to do to bring good out of it. In addition, I thought that all of the work that needed to be done, needed to be done in someone else. ;) (Pretty stinkin' funny, isn't it?!)
Yet, God used that time so richly in my life! He refined me in His fire. He tore out pride like He was cleaning out cobwebs! I didn't even realize it was there....but God did!
And now that He has allowed me to see it, I'm at a new place of discovery with Him.
It's no secret that my heart's passion is to learn more and more about how to study the Bible through inductive study. I want to spend the rest of my life teaching others how to study this way, too.
Shane and I hope to retire in Chattanooga one day, and spend our last breaths working with Precept. Shane wants to mow the grass, and I'd be happy doing anything they needed...but, if I had my heart's desire, it would be to develop materials for kids under 7. :)
I am so thankful to Precept Ministries, for their commitment to the Word of God, and to helping anyone, anywhere, any age learn how to study the Bible.
It's just this....there are so many, many Christians that I meet who really don't know their Bible, and don't seem to want to know it. They are content to go to church on Sunday, let the pastor tell them what it means, never question him on it, and go about the rest of their week never picking their Bible up.
That just breaks my heart! And, I can't help but wonder where we went wrong. It didn't used to be like this...the pilgrims lived by the Word. They KNEW the Word, and they taught it to their children, faithfully.
My grandmother read her Bible every single day, for an hour or more a day..she loved it, she fed on it.
So...I'm struggling a bit, I think.
I know without question that it's not my job to judge the walk of other believers with the Lord. I'm not God, nor would I ever be qualified to be. I've got enough areas in my own life that He is still working mightily on...no time to take anyone else's inventory.
It's just this...how can I help my fellow sisters in Christ to WANT God's Word?
Is it that we are so inundated in America, with Christian books, that we never get to the Word?
Is it that the Bible seems too hard to understand?
Is it that Precept studies are scary?
Is it that the world is just too attractive, and more "fun"?
What is it?
If the Bible tells us that we are blessed when we hunger and thirst after righteousness, then why are we so willing to settle for anything less?
Would you share your thoughts with me?
I really would like to know. I promise, no judgement.
OH, here's a little video of my kiddos doing their Scripture acting. Hope it makes you smile!
In Love,
Jes
3 comments:
I think a brief answer to the question of why Christians don't want to study the Word for themselves is they know somewhere deep down that they would have to change more of their life than they want to and things are comfy when they're familiar.
There are "guilty pleasures" that aren't looked down on by the world, but aren't what God wants for us and study of the Word makes those things come to light. So a decision has to be made then and there... do I keep doing what I know is wrong in God's eyes or do I just stop reading the Bible so I don't get told it's wrong?
Although the good the Lord wants for us is always better than what we know, for some Christians those things are hard to embrace and even harder to let go.
Good thoughts Laura. I actually have a slightly different view of it. I think we live in a society that has been so relativized and personalized that it has not escaped effecting the church negatively. I think that a partial cause is that people are generally lazy when it comes to studying anything, much less their Bible.
If individuals can take the easy way out without searching for the objective meaning of the text, then they can personalize the Bible and allow themselves to be led by their feelings and their experiences. That is much easier than to open it up for oneself and really dig into it and read it and turn it over and try to understand it. That takes diligent work - but it was Paul who told Timothy that diligence was the attitude that he should have in regard to the Word.
Linking application to Objective meaning is always more challenging and requires more intense study than attempting to link application to Subjective meaning. I mean, if I can choose to reduce my Bible knowledge to the ways that it benefits me and catchy slogans - why put in the effort? Especially when I live in a society where my rice takes a minute, email seems too slow, and I can get my food fast?
Shawn
P.S. That is not the only reason I believe it is this way and I am not really sure if it is the most prominent reason, but it is the first one that I thought of.
These are some good answers. It was defined in the 1850's but is nothing new. Rooted in the "Fall", the lie that we can be independent beings instead of the vessels we were created to be.
It is the philosophy of humanism. We later added the term secular to try and distance ourselves from it but it's prevalent in the church.
I could go into greater detail but I think this sermon by Paris Reidhead, titled: Ten Shekels and a Shirt says it better than I can.
Alan
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