Reading the Bible?

According to recent Gallup and Barna research (http://www.theologicalstudies.org/page/page/1572910.htm) there appears to be a slightly scary issue in our Christian lives. I know I was part of these horrible stats on Bible reading and Bible study for several years in the last decade. I have also been part of the "good" side of these numbers during some of these years. However, when I look at these numbers, I cannot be happy that only 30% or so of "Christians" are reading the Bible for at least 52 minutes a week. Seriously, a Christian is not able to pick up and read the Bible more than 7.5 minutes a day!?

Two points I need to get off my chest on this soap box. First, the Bible is God's word. It is the sole source for learning how to better live our lives according to His purpose for us. We cannot know we are within God's will if we aren't reading His word. Second, I know a lot of people will say "I don't know how to read the Bible; what if I get it wrong?" Hmm, how to respond to that one? Maybe this will do: LEARN HOW TO READ IT THEN. Get involved with someone (or several someones) and get guidance on studying the Bible. However, it is good to keep in mind there are really two levels of reading the Bible, "reading" and "studying". I think most everyone should be able to handle "reading" without much help. You can always ask questions if something is confusing at the surface. And I would bet most of us spend much more than 7.5 minutes a day reading other books or watching TV/Movies. Maybe we need to check our priorities.

Here is what I am doing to "read" my Bible now. I open the Today's New International Version (TNIV) translation and pick up where I left off the day before. Right now, I am reading through Exodus. In the last month I have read Romans, Hebrews, Genesis, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Joshua, and Malachi. This kind of "reading" doesn't take a whole lot of time. Still, this rather surface level reading keeps me focused on a Christian worldview as I go through each day. I get refreshment, knowledge, and encouragement from these texts. In many cases, a specific verse will really hit home for problems I face that day or helps me work through a thought I had been struggling with. For instance, I had been really thinking about how to speak about a problem I was having with a person at work. The morning before I was going to approach them (and it would not have been pleasant), I read through Ephesians 4 (also sparked the Build Up post). That reading certainly kept me from saying much of what I was going to say and also changed my heart toward that person.

Take the other side of reading the Bible, the "studying" side. This is where the numbers in the Barna research go way down. To study the Bible requires devoted focus and multiple sources. For instance, to study the text in Ephesians 4, I used my TNIV and NKJV translations of the Bible. Then, I did a little digging on Paul and the city of Ephesus to get a better historical context for the letter. Since the translations I used seemed to differ a bit, I also went back and looked at a concordance to see what the original Greek words likely meant. OK, enough. See, study take a little more effort. But, if I truly want to allow myself to "be transformed by the renewing of my mind," as Paul says in Romans 12, then this is a VERY small price to pay. And I DO want to be transformed. I know I cannot do it on my own, and studying the Bible seems the best way to do that daily.

I think some churches do a good job of offering bible study classes focused on topical or single book studies. These are great and certainly help move people into reading the Bible more. However, I wonder how much these "helps" are treated more as an excuse to not read on our own. I wonder if the thinking is "if my church only has a once a week study, then that's all I need to be doing." Another side issue with these types of studies is that they really don't help us to better study the Bible on our own. Instead, they seem to be a continual spoon-feeding of God's word when in many cases the people attending these studies should be moving past spoon fed nuggets. Again, I think these weekly Bible studies/groups are great! They are certainly needed to guide the new believers. I just think we need to start creating some Bible study groups/classes that are aimed at teaching more mature Christians how to read and study the Bible on their own. Let's start REALLY growing and making disciples of our churches.

Life Dare

Our small group has decided to go through the Love Dare book for our current small group session. I think this is a great idea to help strengthen our marriages. I also think this concept can be extended to help build Christ-likeness in each individual life. So, try these "dares" I decided a while back to implement in my life. Of course, I have to apologize here to my wife as she is the brunt of one of these. ;-)

1. 
   
   Read SOMETHING from the Bible EVERY day. Even if you only "have time" for one verse, read it!
   If you tell me you don't have time to read the Bible I am going to start asking you what else you read, what TV shows do you watch, how many college football games do you watch, etc. I know I excused myself for way too long with how little time I had to read my Bible. It was just that, excuses.
   
   
2. 
   
   Talk about what you read with somebody else (this is where my poor wife is probably saying – why is it always me? It's not honey, just seems that way.)
   Our calling from God is to share the gospel story with others. It isn't always easy to have these discussions, but at least start talking about the Bible with people. While I do indeed frequently talk to my wife about the interesting things I read in the Bible, I am also talking to other people too. The whole point of this "dare" is to start getting comfortable with humility that you might not know everything about the Bible, but you can still discuss it (and your faith) with other people. Hopefully, you will share your thoughts with non-Christians more often than those who already believe. In either case, growth of God's Kingdom occurs when we share the Word.
   
   
3. 
   
   Listen to Christian music instead of secular or talk radio (NeetToBreathe would be my top recommendation)
   It's rather interesting at how many eye rolls I get on this one. We seem to think that what we listen to doesn't really matter. I, and many passages in Paul's letters tend to disagree. If you don't believe me on this one, just try this dare for a month. Change your radio at home and in your car to the local Christian station, put in a Christian music CD, or create a good Christian playlist on your iPOD. Commit to it; don't change the station and don't tune it out. LISTEN to the lyrics! Music has an amazing ability to speak into your soul if you let it.
   
   
4. 
   
   Tell yourself (seriously, do this no matter how dumb/crazy you think it is) "God is going to use me in an incredible way today". Now on this one, believe it! Look for that opportunity, and if at the end of the day you don't think He worked through you, then get ready for that big moment tomorrow. IT IS COMING!
   God wants us all to make the most of our lives here. He wants us to have joy and contentment. That joy and contentment will only come when we allow ourselves to be used in His plan. He gives us chances every day to serve others, to share the gospel, to show love. Even in places where you may think something is very small, God can use it in a huge way. One simple conversation to encourage a struggling soul might lead to that person being a Christ follower the next day, month or year. That is HUGE! Even if you don't get to see the outcome, have faith that God uses your good and faithful acts in big and important ways.
   

I think if you commit to those dares each day, as I have over the last few months, you will see I change in your mind, heart, life. I am taking a bit of leap here, but I think my wife would vouch for the change in me during this time.