"But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have
become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how
from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you
wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed
and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
To grow in your relationship with God you must be immersed
in the Scriptures. To grow in godliness you must be regularly taking in the
Scriptures. To serve God in any significant way you must be familiar with the
Scriptures. And to share Jesus Christ with others you must be able to know and
share the Scriptures. For it is through the Scriptures that God, his nature and
his character are revealed. It is through the Scriptures that God’s moral will
for us is clearly spelled out. It is through the Scriptures that we gain the
knowledge and tools to be an effective servant. And it is through the Scriptures
that Jesus Christ and his saving work on the cross is clearly and powerfully
revealed. Any serious follower of Jesus Christ must be committed to knowing and
growing in the Scriptures. God’s Word should be the most important thing in the
world to anyone who wants to know God and serve God.
Not long ago, comedian Patton Oswalt made a guest appearance
on the TV show Parks & Recreation, and as part of this appearance his
character spoke at a city government meeting. In one of the outtakes Oswalt
improvised a speech off the top of his head. What he came up with became an
instant YouTube sensation. For eight straight minutes he offered his opinion of
what the plot of the next Star Wars movie should be. It was nothing short of
brilliant. His plot picked up and developed characters and themes from previous
Star Wars movies, and not only added new characters, but added new characters
from different fantasy films…including Spiderman, X-Men and more. All of these
elements he wove (off the top of his head mind you!) into one coherent plot,
with character development, suspense, and even teasers for future movies!
In order to tell such a cohesive story, Patton Oswalt had to
have a deep knowledge of all of the elements of his story. He obviously had a
thorough knowledge of the original Star Wars movies, both in terms of plot as
well as characters. He was clearly familiar with other fantasy movies as well;
for example he was able to not only mention the main characters of X-Men, but
included (and insisted on including!) lesser known characters from that movie
franchise. And he knew all of those elements from different stories so well
that he was able to weave them into one story.
What if we as Christians were as familiar with God’s story
as Patton Oswalt was with Star Wars and other fantasy genres? What if we knew
the story so well that we could instantly draw from it at any point during our
day? What if we could draw from God’s Word in any situation that we faced? If
we could go as deep into God’s Word as Patton Oswalt can go into Star Wars, let
me suggest that it would radically transform (in a positive way) our
relationship with God, our lives, our ministries, and our evangelism. God’s
Word is the source of life and growth in all of these areas, and the more we
can get into God’s Word, the more we will grow with God and the more we will be
equipped to serve God.
So what does your bible intake look like? How can you get
deeper into God’s Word? Let me suggest five ways that have been frequently
suggested to grow in our knowledge of God’s Word…
1)
Hear the Word (Romans 10:17). There are so many
ways to do this, starting with hearing God’s Word preached every Sunday. But we
can also listen to God’s Word in various audio forms, and there is a wealth of
solid bible based messages available online.
2)
Read the Word (Revelation 1:3; 1 Timothy 4:13). If
all we do is listen to the Word, or just listen to sermons preached on the
Word, our personal intake and comprehension will be very low. Reading takes us
deeper in comprehension, it puts us more regularly in God’s Word, and also
helps us retain more of God’s Word.
3)
Study the Word (Acts 17:11). If reading is a
good way to start retaining God’s Word in us, studying is even better. There
are tools to help in this process, such as bible commentaries and dictionaries,
but it is even better to first wrestle with a passage on your own, figure out
what the message of the passage is and see how it applies to your life. This obviously
takes some time and some practice, but the fruit is more than worth the effort!
4)
Meditate on the Word (Psalm 1:1-2). Meditation
on God’s Word takes our reading and study of God’s Word and allows it to sink
deep into our hearts. It allows the Holy Spirit to really shape our hearts in
response to what we are reading. This is where significant spiritual growth
begins to occur. And while it is good to block off time during our busy days to
meditate on God’s Word, this meditation can occur throughout our day as well,
so that we are constantly interacting with God’s Word.
5)
Memorize God’s Word (Psalm 119:11,16). Some will
groan at the prospect of memorizing God’s Word, but it is one of the most
fruitful and rewarding exercises you can undertake as a Christian! When you
memorize verses of the bible you then have those verses stored up in your mind
and in your heart…and they will shape all the other areas of bible intake, and
they will be there for you as you go throughout your day.
Patton Oswalt has a deep, intimate knowledge of every single
character of many different fantasy movie franchises. Because of that knowledge
he was able to put together a brilliant story on the spot. If we dig deeper
into God’s Word, we will be able to tell more of God’s story, tell more of God’s
grace towards us through Jesus Christ, and live in light of that powerful
story. And the best part about God’s story? It’s true! “All Scripture is
God-breathed…” So wherever you are in your bible intake, make it a point this
week to go deeper!
No comments:
Post a Comment