Bible Study and appetite

 

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

2 Timothy 2:15 (New American Standard Bible)

It was a busy day so I ate light. I had a light breakfast and a light lunch. By dinner time, I was rushing to finish getting ready to teach a Bible study class. I prepared a few snacks for the class as well. 

The class went well. By the end of it, I ran out of gas. I had not eaten well, so I had a massive headache. I ate something light and promised not to do the same thing to myself the next day. 

Eating the proper amount of food with the proper amount of nutrition is so important to our bodies. Too bad we do not see the same importance when it comes to our spiritual life. 

We only feed of the word of God occasionally. Sundays are good times to do that. I'm not sure when you tried eating only once a week. How about eating only twice a week? I'm sure if that is a habit, it will lead to mortality. 

What if we spent most of your nutrition budget on cake icing? The truth is, our bodies were not built for this. Healthy bodies need all of those foods mom told us were good for us. God created them to nourish our bodies, minds, and even our soul. 

The best way to care for our spiritual life is to feed on the word of God. 

I am aware that there are other spiritual disciplines that are relevant to our spiritual walk and growth. I want to suggest that Bible reading and studying is highly neglected. 

We hope others will do it for us. We also want them to be funny, entertaining. We don't want them to step on our toes. We want scriptures that will be relevant to the situation we are going through. We want our ideas to fit the text. We want concierge service when it comes to the Bible.

Too bad God didn't write the book to fit our ideas of what the world should be. It is the other way around. We get to fit in the story of God. 

The Bible is a book about God, not a book about us. It is a book that speaks about God's plan for humanity. It is a book that tells us about Jesus from cover to cover. 

The Bible will offend you. If you are reading it correctly, it is highly offensive to the current culture. The Bible will step on your toes. If you are interpreting it as God intended, you will realize that the Bible it is a mirror and every mirror requires a response. 

We need to show up each day ready to work. We need to accurately handle the word of truth. We must get over the embarrassment of our last attempt to do so. 

We must forget about putting this responsibility on someone else. We must start from where we are, for this is what God asks of us. 

He never asked you to be a scholar an ultra teacher or a preacher. He called you to be His beloved child. He calls you in love. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Shake off any pressure to perform or to be seen as a church know it all. 

God is calling you to study, to read, to discover His word anew. 

Appetites are developed. Bible reading works the same way. The only way to created an appetite for Bible reading is to read the Bible. 

When I want to try a new food, I ask people who eat that certain food how I should eat it. I recently asked two friends about their country's food. They prepared it for us and they told us how to eat it. We only developed an appetite because we ate the food ourselves. Watching them eat the foods and tell us about it did nothing for my appetite. 

Hunger can blind you. You might be starving spiritually and you don't know it. You do feel distant from God. You won't do anything about it because your spiritual hunger is leading you to think that God will magically appear to you and just make gold glitter rain on top of your head. 

While God is all-powerful and He can appear magically, He often walks with those who choose to walk daily with Him. 

The best to do this is to read His book. 

Forget about your former experiences. Seek God anew. Read His book for yourself.