Why should we study the Bible? Part 1 of 5

Good morning!  

As I sit here and prep to do my Bible studies, I thought it would only be fitting to study why we study this book in the first place.  I mean, really, aren't there other books we could be studying?  Why study a book that was written so many years ago?  Does it actually help us?  In this series, I hope to touch on why we study this great book.  

So, Why do we study the bible?  There are 5 main reasons we study this great book.  I will cover one each day, but they all are:  for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness, and for every good work.  

Today, let's touch on the teaching part of this study.  

As sinners, we are all ignorant of God's will.  So let's break that down a little bit.  Did she just call me ignorant, you  may be asking, so let's see what exactly that means.  Ignorant is defined as lacking knowledge or awareness in general.  When I see this definition, I automatically think, it means having not been taught.  Therefore, the Bible should be read in order to gain that knowledge we currently lack.  

Some verses that can help us to see what I mean are:

there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.-- Romans 3:11

Let's touch on the first part of this verse, "there is no one who understands;"  this signifies ignorance in general, not knowing.  If we don't understand something, don't we have to be taught?  Who better a teacher than Jesus Christ and his disciples?  

The Lord looks down from heaven
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
    any who seek God.-- Psalm 14:2

Again, in the second part of this verse, we see that the Lord is looking for those who understand, those who are seeking Him.  So, let's look at ways we can seek his face... First, I think of prayer.  Pray to God.  Talk go Him.  Sob to Him when you need to.  Then Praise and Worship.  This comes in many forms.  Just being thankful for all He has done, will do, is doing in your life.  Singing praises to him.  And finally, reading His word.  Reading the bible is a great way to seek the Lord.  In these readings, the Lord will reveal things he wants you to know about.  Reading the word is one way you can hear from the Lord.  
He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstablepeople distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.-- 2 Peter 3:16

Are we understanding all the Lord has for us?  Or are we distorting His word to what we think we want to hear?  This is a huge indication that we do not understand the Word of God.  The best way we can come to understand it, is to study the word on a regular basis.  

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.-- 2 Timothy 2:15

Finally, we see that we are to Do our best!  That's it.  That's all God asks for is our best.  Are you doing your best to present yourself?  Are you a worker?  Are you unashamed?  Do you correctly handle the word of truth?  These are all things we should look at as we study the word of God.  From the word of God we learn. We are taught.  

In closing, what areas could you be working on in order to become wiser?  I know that I need to discipline myself to get in the word Daily.  

Father God, 

Help me to become more disciplined to reading your word daily.  Amen. 

Day of Rest

What is a day of rest for you?  For me, I kind of feel like I do not ever get a full day of rest.  I set my intentions on resting for a day, but then I find that this needs my attention or that needs my attention, so my day of rest gets tossed out with the dish water, so I thought it would be a great time to really research what a day of rest means. 

In the secular world, we equate the day of rest with a day of being lazy.  Laying around on the couch all day watching tv.  That is the worldly way to look at the day of rest.  But, what is the spiritual way to look at the day of rest?  Many times we don't really divide up what exactly it means.  It does not mean doing nothing.  On the contrary, it means a day of worship. 

Knowing now that a day of rest means a day of worship, I thought it would be appropriate to look at a passage from the Old Testament.  In Exodus 20:8, the Lord says, "Remember the sabbath day, by keeping it holy."  so as we chew on this, here are a couple of definitions that are appropriate:

sabbath-- the seventh day of the week observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening as a day of rest and worship by Jews and some Christians; Sunday observed among Christians as a day of rest and worship;

a time of rest.  

 

holy--connected to a god or a religion; religious and morally good

 

So from that I pull that the seventh day of the week, we are to worship, rest, and keep connected to the Lord, practicing morally good behavior.  This has me thinking at this point, so what day of the week should my sabbath be?  The Lord did not say that Sunday has to be the day that we all practice the Sabbath, but he said the 7th day.  So my next question to you would be, what is the one day a week you can devote to the Lord?  It may be that you can devote Tuesdays to the Lord, then I would recommend doing that.  

 

Now, keeping in mind that you are worshipping, does this mean that you cannot do dishes, or feed your family, no it doesn't.  You can pray and whorship to the Lord while doing those activities.  In my opinion it means that we should unplug from the world and plug into the Lord.  Go off of social media for a day.  Plug into the Lord.  Start your day with prayer, praise and worship, dig into the word of the Lord (also known as the Bible), continue worshipping and praying as your day goes on.  End your day with more prayer and worship.  Really connect with the Lord.  If you feel that you are not knowing what to say to the Lord, perhaps he is telling you to be still.  

 

Psalm 46:10 says, "He says, 'Be still and know that I am God; I will be exhalted among the nations, I will be exhalted among the earth.'"

 

There is time for talking to him, and we all are really good at asking for what we want, but are we good at asking for what HE wants for us?  I know this is one area that I am not good in right now.  We are a needy world, and he wants to give us what He has for us.  Then there are times when we must listen because he has something for us.  He will speak to us in many ways, and that's all for another post, but just know that there are times when you must be still and listen for that voice of the Lord.  

 

Blessings!