So I don’t know about you guys but right now I feel very weary. It’s been a draining semester and after a few tiring days I really feel like I’ve hit the wall. Its days like this that I remember that I have the Lord my God on my side, and he will give me the strength I need to endure. I know who he has created me to be and I know that I am carrying out his will. Plus I’m being the person who he wants to be. However, the race doesn’t go to the swift; it goes to those who run the entire course. The essential point that I am going to approach in the next few blogs is growing in Christ. So how do we stay close to God and keep that center of peace?
The first part of staying close to God is reading your Bible in an intentional matter every day. Studying your Bible isn’t just reading it; it is searching deeper and deeper in the text to build a strong relationship with God. I can admit; it seems so hard sometimes to remember to read my Bible. Plus when I read it I am so tempted (and sometimes do) just skim through it really fast. The fact of the matter is that when I purposefully read through the Bible to get closer to Christ… it becomes more alive to me. The words that I read become more and more important to me and I become more and more impacted by them. I was reading through the Psalms a few days ago (They are amazing) and I just really felt the power of the words. This is what I read.
“May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works… I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.” Proverbs 104:31, 33-34
Another passage that I just reread really inspires me (and many of you have read it) is Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
If you just tread over those words really quickly then you won’t really pick up anything; however, if you really reflect on the significance of each word you realize how dynamic these passages are. Another way of studying the Bible is simply just to read through the passage and then stop and think about each individual verse one by one. As it says in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” It isn’t a question of whether God’s Word will shape you; it’s a question of are you going to put in the effort to make that possible. Also, this needs to be done every day. It doesn’t have to be a whole lot of time, but enough that you actually understand what you are reading. On some days where you are really busy, it’s okay just to read straight through the passage. Ideally, you do want to have that time of reflection but sometimes it’s just not possible. I understand people are busy; however, I feel that if I have that time of reflection my busy days go so much better!
Another thing is that while the Bible should be the overwhelming majority of the spiritual content you read, reading something else about Christianity at the same time is always a good idea as well. For example, right now I am reading a book many of you have gotten your hands on (and if you haven’t you really should) called “not a fan.” by Kyle Idleman. He is the pastor of the fifth largest church in America, but the size of his church doesn’t matter. The content that he has written in this book is absolutely amazing. It brings such great clarity to the Christian faith and it asks you rock-solid questions that make you think really hard about what you believe. I would highly suggest it to anybody… its purpose is, “Becoming a completely committed follower of Jesus” and it meets that expectation perfectly. There are so many other books you can read to build your faith and I would highly suggest it. These books give you another view in which you can build your faith. Some of the words from authors like C.S. Lewis, Max Lucado, Lee Strobel and others are grounded in the Gospel and bring about such great growth in your faith.
In this series, I’m going to cover multiple areas of how you grow in faith but I really felt like reading the Bible and additional materials would be a great way to start. As I stated earlier, don’t just read the passage and then come away with nothing. Dive deep into the text, understand it, reflect on it and let it change your life. The Bible is truly dynamic; it is where we can read God’s direct message to you and me. Treat it that way 🙂 can’t wait to see where the series is going to go. Really excited to be hitting this topic 😀
P.S. Long-time readers… I probably haven’t spoken to you guys in forever haha! Life is going absolutely fantastic here at college. I am really busy but I’m having a great time and am really enjoying the people and events here. Thus why this blog is a little shorter than usual… I think I’m going to go shorter though. I feel like my previous writing was maybe a bit too long and with shorter posts it will keep your attention better. Plus my rambling will be kept to minimum lol. Anyways, hope life is going well for you guys!
Through the ups and downs of life 