Back to the Bible!

Why don’t we read our bibles? In my local youth-group spending more time in the word and general quiet time is the number one response when we’re asked what we need prayer for. And this has been the number one response year, after year, after year. This has included myself. So why, as Christians have we teens been ignoring the best way to get to know God, our bibles? Each of us has one. We’ll bring them to church and read them on Sundays, but what about the other days of the week? We put them back in our rooms or leave them in the car to collect dust until the next Sunday.

My best memory of Junior High is when I was reading my bible on a daily basis for quite a while. During that time I felt close to God, content, and just generally more at peace even though I was living a busy life. Then I got to High School, got even busier and suddenly began shelving the bible each week again. While I stayed active in multiple bible studies, gaining bible knowledge, etc. I was not seeking God one-on-one each day. I was growing intellectually but not necessarily spiritually closer to Him. Some of this I feel has to do with our culture as a generation. We, as a generation embrace the group but shy away from the individual. What I mean is that we love to have corporate worship, going to youth group, participating in large bible studies, anything where you don’t have to reveal your messed up depravity. But when that kind of discomfort occurs, when we have to show that we don’t have it all together, we back up and seek the shallower group settings again. Sadly, we’re depriving ourselves of the best times of growth. We’re all sinners, so don’t be afraid to say it once in a while, and fess up. If your friends really are Christians they should lovingly accept you, realizing that they’re sinners too, and Christ sacrifice on the cross is the only reason any of us are going to heaven as it is! (sorry, I sort of got on a semi-tangent there)

I think the real reason for our lack of personal time with God in prayer and the word (other than the very obvious fact that we are all sinners, and thus our flesh fights against our need for God) is that we’ve been told that reading the bible is important, but we don’t realize how true that is. We’ll try having personal quiet time for a day, or even a couple of days, but since we might not “feel” anything right away, or see any immediate changes, we decide that there’s no point to it, or it’s not worth the time, and quickly go to more instantaneously gratifying pleasures. In short, we think of it as boring, and look for “better” things to provide entertainment. We really do have an instant results mindset, so we don’t give the bible the time to see the fruit of the transforming word of God.

If you’re reflecting on your life and wandering why you’re not growing spiritually or you’re not satisfied, look at your quiet times. If you’re lacking in that area, I think it’s safe to say that’s a big part of your problem. Read your bible! God gave us His word for a reason. It’s a big way He speaks to us, and it’s how we learn to walk with Him, and what He wants our lives to look like. Give the bible a chance and you’ll see how much God can change your life through spending that half-hour a day in close communion with Him.

Hebrews 4:12 (ESV) -
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

True Righteousness

I have currently been reading two different books, written by Christians, detailing how to go against secular culture's views of dating, low expectations, and your general use of the time God has given you. The book's overarching ideas are great, biblically-centered ones that I'm sure are very pleasing to God. They challenged me, and have been helping me to think about whether or not my actions in these areas are in fact pleasing to the Lord. The problem is one simple, yet incredibly crucial foundation that the authors are off base on.

{2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) - For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.}

Whenever they talk about change - life altering change - they focus on the person. They tell stories about how the person did or didn't do this or that, and subsequently began to become more righteous. Both of the books are incredibly successful, and I think that the previously mentioned is the key to why. We, yes even we Christians, want to know that if we're able to just meet these requirements, then we can reach our goals all by our self. Everyone wants to be able to succeed through following a simple checklist.

{Titus 3:5 (ESV) - He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.}

But Paul says this is not the case. You become more righteous or bear fruit by growing in your relationship to Him. This is done by spending time with Him in His word, and through prayer. This is accomplished through having a humble, earnest, God-seeking heart which is given to one by the grace of God. It is by His wonderful grace.

{Isaiah 42:6 (ESV) - "I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations.}

It seems to me that legalism is such an easy pit to fall into. It sure does make life simple, and it looks good. DOING is so much easier than BEING. In doing we can just go through the motions, not really growing, but still possibly getting recognition for being the good kid. We can not go to the parties, not drink, not have sex, not hang out with the "bad kids", not cuss, and we can go to youth group, go on mission trips, volunteer, say the right things, and people will label us as righteous. We can edit, add, cut and paste our actions so that it seems like we're fixing our sin, but if we're not getting to the heart, if we're not repenting, then we're not growing. Growing in Christ, through his grace, is how we truly change. It's by God editing, adding, cutting and pasting our hearts, molding, shaping, and transforming us that we will change. Nothing we can do is gonna get us to that point of change, but only by our reliance upon Him can we ever conquer sin. Join with me in relying on Him to change your heart and change your life.

2 Timothy 4:8 (ESV) -
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.