I was searching for a particular Christian book on Amazon the other day when I noticed that it was ranked #230 on their Christian books bestselling list. The thought of a bestsellers list piqued my interest, so I clicked on the list to see what are the top Christian books people are buying on Amazon? In the top 11, I noticed a trend, and I want to see if you notice it. Here are the titles of 5 of the top 11 books: The Bible in 52 Weeks, The Bible Recap, No More Boring Bible Study, The Bible Simplified, and the Lightning Fast Field Guide to the Bible.
Now, some may look at those titles and be encouraged that there is so much interest in the Bible specifically. I saw it differently. It seems that the recurring theme of the books is some kind of shortcut or Cliff Notes approach to the Word of God. Can’t sit down and read your Bible? Here’s the recap. Bible study taking too long? Here is the lightning-fast way to know it! We live in such a fast-paced culture where everything is available to us right away, but we cannot approach Bible study like that. There is no quick fix to Bible study. Knowing your Bible is more like a crockpot and not like a microwave. Here are some helps to having profitable times of personal Bible study.
First, you must love God’s Word. 4 times in Psalm 119, the writer says he ‘loves God’s law’ (119:97, 113, 163, 165). This is what should drive you to Bible study in the first place. But what if you don’t love it? How do you fix that? Well, you can’t think of God’s Word as a piece of literature to entertain you. When I was a teen, I read the book Jurassic Park, and it was incredible. I loved that book because it was so exciting and entertaining. But God’s Word is not like that, nor is it meant to be. God’s Word is meant to sanctify me, not thrill me. The psalm writer loves God’s Word because he knows it comes from the very mouth of God Himself and it is his daily bread and milk for his spiritual sustenance. That is how we begin to love His word.
Second, you must discipline yourself to read God’s Word. Everyone starts with good intentions on January 1st but then fizzle out by the end of the month. But, the consistent, steady, reading of God’s Word takes personal discipline just like anything else. Maybe you’re committed to working out or accomplishing some personal goal; that takes discipline. Bible reading is no different. We must be like Ezra who ‘set his heart to study the law of the Lord’ (Ezra 7:10). He made a disciplined choice to make it a priority, and he wouldn’t let anything else interfere. If you can sit down every night to watch the news or your favorite show, you can discipline yourself to spend time in God’s Word.
Third, you must meditate on what you read. Too many people say they stopped reading because they weren’t getting anything out of it. First off, they were probably approaching it like they were reading Jurassic Park, looking for the ‘wow’ moment. Secondly, they probably read it and forgot it. It went in one ear and out the other. Psalm 1 says that the righteous meditate on God’s law day and night (v 2). That means there is serious reflection, serious pondering of the truths contained within, purposeful thoughts of how the word influences my life. You must let the Word marinate in your heart a little bit. After you read ask yourself some critical questions: is there a command to follow, a lesson to learn, a behavior to avoid, a sin to forsake, a truth to believe, a principle to hold? That type of spiritual meditation will cause the Word to take root inside of you.
There may be shortcuts to lots of things in life but there are no shortcuts to knowing God’s Word. It takes diligent discipline to get in it and stay in it. But that discipline begins before and continues after. Before, you must have the heart mindset of loving His word. And after, you must take a few moments to meditate on what you have read so that it permeates into your soul.