something new

I think it's spiritually healthy to occasionally ask myself, "Do I feel close to God right now?" In the past I have had moments in my life when I knew my heart was pursuing Him and other times when I allowed myself to wander from His presence. I recently spent some time thinking about the current state of my faith. I went through my checklist that includes; prayer, Bible reading, church involvement, and sharing the message of Jesus. In my heart and mind I kept thinking specifically about the Bible; not only about the amount of time reading it, but I was convicted in the fact that I don't spend time studying the Scriptures like I did in college.

I used to study for hours on end to prepare Bible outlines for class, but since then I haven't put that kind of work into learning about God's word. I think it's easy for those in ministry to think that they are getting enough Bible study time as they prepare sermons and studies, but that time is in preparation to teach others about God. In being honest I know that the studies I prepared were for growing Christians and that my own learning wasn't being nurtured.

The author of the book of Hebrews talks about the differences of learning for infant versus mature Christians in chapter 5 verses 12 through 14; "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." [NIV]

Right now in my life I know that I am need of time to chew and digest the solid food of God's word. So I have begun a series I call Chapter by Chapter that will be posted here on my blog. It will be my thoughts and meditations on each chapter of the Bible, which may or may not make sense to anyone who reads them. I am doing this in addition to my personal Bible devotion time, but this will allow me have a regular opportunity to study, for myself, the words of God.