Time in the Word Struggle - Part 1

No one is going to deny that in order to grow in your relationship with Jesus you need to spend time in His Word. Well, I shouldn't say "no one"...there may be someone out there who thinks they know Jesus well enough already, but the majority of us understand that the Bible reveals the God of the universe to us and in order to know Him more, we need to read it.

There are two main reasons that Christians do not spend time in the Word - they don't have the time and they don't know where to begin or even what to do. There's not much I can do about your time management, but I can help with the second part by offering a few suggestions. Over the next few blog posts, I am going to discuss how to overcome the Time in the Word Struggle.

Now, if I have a catch phrase for personal study it is this: Read with a purpose! And that purpose shouldn't be so that you can check it off your list for the day, as if legalistically God is tracking your time in the Word. Motivation for personal study is huge and the right motivation will change your life.

So my first suggestion to you is to start with the right motivation. Answer the following questions:

• Why do you want to study the Bible?
• What benefit will come from personal study?
• What can you commit to as far as frequency? Daily? Weekly? Twice a week?
• How long do you have to study?

Your answers will determine how serious you are about this. Now, without doing your homework for you, I do need to answer a few of these questions so that if you don't really have motivation or it's not quite the right motivation, you can make the change.

II Timothy 2:15 says, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the Word of truth."

Psalm 119: 105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Psalm 119:11 says, "Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You."

II Timothy 3:16,17 also says, "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

These verses among many indicate that it is our responsibility to know the Word, that the Word aids against sin, that it equips us for the Christian life, and that it guides. In other words, there is great value in knowing scripture. If you don't believe me, stop right now and read Psalm 119 - the longest chapter in the Bible is dedicated to promoting the value of the Word in man's life.

Really, go do it...

Motivation:

• If you believe that reading the Bible is required to save you, you are believing a lie
• If you believe that reading the Bible earns brownie points, that's not really accurate either
• If you believe studying the Word of God will show you Who He is, help you avoid or have victory over sin, teach you how to spend your money, love your spouse, raise your children, serve in your church, be a light to the world and in general, lead you to a life of blessing, then I think you're on the right track

Which of us would leave a love letter from our beloved unopened on our desk? That would be silly. Unfortunately that's what we do with the Word of God. We leave it sitting where we placed it after church and don't think of it again until it's time to head out the door to the next week's service.

Friends, your Bible is filled with loving instruction and revelation from God Himself, Who loves you deeper than you can possibly imagine.

Don't you want to know more about that love?

Read the letter.

Motivation.