Get Informed

There is a serious issue in my life and the life of many believers within the body of Christ; the Church. That issue - we are misinformed! I would like to make it very clear here that I am speaking to myself on this issue. I have been misinformed for years about the Christian faith and it has been a huge detriment to my growth in relationship with God and me effectiveness as a disciple of Christ. Okay, let's get on with it then...

I don't read the Bible nearly enough. Ya, I know, that's so old school and conservative of me. NO! It really isn't. It's just plain silly. I am a committed follower of Jesus Christ and I don't know as much as I should about who God says He is and what that means for my life and the whole of Creation. That's a problem as far as I can tell. This problem has been the cause of huge amounts of hypocrisy within the Church over the years and we need to learn from it. I need to learn from it! So what's my issue? Why am I not spending more time reading the Bible? Well, there are several.

a) I'm too busy - Ya right. I actually have this pride issue in my life where I love not being too busy. I like for life to be calm and relaxing. I enjoy having time to myself so I can avoid stressing my mind, body and spirit to the max. I'm not too busy to read my Bible more!
b) I'm distracted - this one is true. I like sports, video games, iPhones, MacBooks, iPads,  food, friends, tv, the list goes on. They all distract me from knowing God more. Yes an argument can be made here that I can worship God amidst the toys and hobbies and passions but I think you can all relate with those times when I find myself sitting on Facebook for 30 + minutes doing a whole lot of nothing. I get drawn into the allure of mind melting and those distractions are very good at keeping you occupied for hours.
c) I'm complacent - If I'm honest with myself I really do think that I am great and don't need to be in God's presence because I have a god complex of my own. I have all the goods necessary to get through life just fine. Then I do something dumb, every day, I am humbled and I remember that I am messed up and can only find truth and freedom in relationship with Jesus. Complacency will eventually bring me back to God but I need to work at eliminating this habit.
d) I'm scared - The thought of opening God's Word often scares me. Amidst my distractions I am lured away from the promises that I know that God gives and I think about my unworthiness. I don't deserve to know God because I have failed him. Lies from the devil. I must not allow my emotions to govern my responses to God and His Word because He is unchanging and His love for me will always remain.

I could probably extend this list but let's address why Christians reading their Bibles is so vital to the health of the Church.

Illustration...I think Canada is awesome! There are plenty of reasons why so I won't list them. I have only ever voted once. I have no idea what the agenda of our current government is. This never really bothered me until I thought about the Church and our lack of commitment to being informed members of the faith. My lack of commitment to being informed about my government makes me someone who can't really say much about my own country. If I'm being honest I can't really promote Canada to anyone because I really don't know much about our government. I think Canada is awesome but I really have no understanding as to why I think that other then it's really beautiful and full of freedom. If I want to help advance the nation of Canada I must become more informed about what we are about. Logical, right?

If that logic holds true then the same goes for the people in the Church. If I, or anyone else for that matter, declare myself to be a disciple of Jesus Christ then I must be committed to understanding what that means. That doesn't mean that I need to know everything right this instant, but I need to be committed to knowing God more and more everyday through reading His Word and asking the Holy Spirit into that reading to guide my understanding. If I don't commit to this I remain uninformed and I remain quite unhelpful in the advancement of the Christian faith which is the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus and baptizing the nations in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I can't accomplish that to my best ability without reading the Word of God. If you read the Gospel accounts of Jesus' life you will see that Jesus was a man of God's Word. Jesus quoted the Old Testament time and time again because He came to tell all creation about the love of His Father in Heaven. The Father reveals himself through His Word manifested by the Church. If we, the Church, do not know His Word then how might we manifest it in our lives for people to witness?

I'm fired up about this. I am going to be more and more committed to God's Word so that it might take root in my heart and become manifested in my life for people to witness. I won't do this on my own strength or for my own purposes. I pray that God would guide me through his Holy scriptures and reveal Himself to me and His creation more and more each day.

Would you join me in this commitment?

For His Kingdom.