Bible: Read

(Part 3 of 6 posts about reading the Bible.)

Step two: read. Duh.

After you ask for God's help, just read it. This isn't something super-spiritual. You don't need to dress like a monk or anything. Just read what it says. There will be stuff you don't understand and that's okay. Just take it in. Read. What. It. Says.

"But where do I start?"

Good question. What genre do you want to try first. The Bible is one book; but it is also like a library. It is one book made up of 66 smaller books. Each stands alone; yet all work together to tell the whole story of God's work in the world through Jesus. They're basically divided like this (look at the table of contents in your Bible to see what I'm talking about):

Genesis through Esther = History books. You read each of these straight through because each tells a historical  story.
Job through Song of Songs = Wisdom literature. These include conversations, poems, songs, witty sayings, and deep thoughts.
Isaiah through Malachi = Prophets. God spoke through these books to His people, addressing them directly. You'll find some history in here too; but the main feature is God's speeches to His people.
Matthew through Acts = More history books. Actually, Matthew through Luke are biographies of Jesus; but each reads the same as a history book, from beginning to end. Acts is the history of the church when it first got started.
Romans through Jude = Letters. Read these like you're looking at someone's mail. Each book is a letter written by a person to another person or group of people.
Revelation = Prophecy again.

So, just pray for God's help and start reading a book within The Book.

Bible: Pray

(Part 2 of 6 posts about reading the Bible.)

Step one: pray.

We pray before we attempt to read the Bible because we need God's help to understand it and respond to it. We need Him to give us eyes that see Him and ears that hear Him.

For example, David prayed:

"Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law."
- Psalm 119:18

You might repeat his prayer, meaning each word. Or you might pray your own words. The important thing is to depend on God to help you read the Bible. And the crazy thing is: He WILL!

Survival Skills: Bible

(Part 1 of 6 posts about reading the Bible.)

Your Bible is your field manual. Your canteen. Your sword. You can't survive spiritually without regularly reading it, drinking the living water it provides, and learning to use it in the battle of life. Yet many of us struggle to read our Bibles. It's hard to understand. Hard to enjoy. Hard to find time to even try. However, hard as it may be, you can do it. And you must. And like everything else that is difficult and wonderful, the more you work at it, the better it gets. Remember, at one time in your life, walking was hard. Reading was hard. We learn to do these things because they are essential to life. Reading your Bible is essential for your spiritual life and you can do it.

Here's a basic process you can try as you get acquainted with your Bible:
1. Pray
2. Read
3. Research
4. Reword
5. Respond

I'll be explanding on these five steps in the days to come.

Your Status

Jesus said that all of God's laws are summed up in two: Love God and love others. We've all broken both by worshipping other things over God and loving our selves more than others. We're guilty. That's the bad news.

The good news: If you can admit this and place your trust in Jesus' work on the cross for your forgiveness and acceptance with God, you are justified. Justification is an immediate, one-time event that takes place when a person gives his or her life to Jesus during which they are declared righteous.

Once you're justified (declared righteous), you begin a life of sanctification. Sanctification is the process of growing into righteousness. When God looks at a Christian, He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Once you're in Christ, you are forgiven and accepted by God. You don't have to earn it by reading your Bible, praying, etc.

Many try to earn justification by their work toward sanctification - but it doesn't work that way. Only once you are justified can you begin to grow into that new identity. This makes reading your Bible and praying a joyful privilege, not a stressful duty. It's something you get to do, not something you have to do.

Faith in Christ equals joyful forgiveness and acceptance before God, not religious duty.

This is hard to understand. If you're confused, watch this guy's explanation - might help. Might confuse your further. Who knows.

Second: Love Others

You are designed to love God and love others. Loving God means worshiping Him. Loving others means to live for their benefit.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 lays out God's definition of this kind of love:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Loving others isn't about warm fuzzy panda bear hugs. It's about selfless dedication to benefiting others in all of life. Being patient when people are difficult. Abandoning concern for what you have/don't have. Abandoning pride. Keeping no ledger for other people's sins against you. Delighting in the truth. Protecting, trusting, and giving others the benefit of the doubt. It's about persevering even though this type of lifestyle is insanely hard.*
 
*This type of lifestyle is actually impossible, which is where Jesus comes in. More on this next post.

First: Love God

You are designed to love God and love others. Loving God means worshiping Him.

Worshiping is not some strange out-of-body activity. Worshiping is recognizing and responding to the worth of something or someone. It's what we do every day.

Every decision is a act of worship during which we decide what is most valuable to us.

Every place is a place of worship, at which we decide what is worthy of our resources (time, energy, money, passion, etc.). Church. Walmart. Your friend's house. The mall. The stadium. You name it.

Every song is a worship song. Some songs worship love. Some worship women. Some worship fun. Some worship God. Regardless, every band is a praise band.

In everything we do, we are recognizing and responding to the value we perceive in people or things. This is worship. We are designed to worship God above all else. He is most worthy of our time, energy, money, and passion.

So, in order to fulfill your life's mission, you must grow to see God for who He is and respond accordingly, loving Him with all your mind, soul, and heart. This sort of love works itself out into every decision we make, every place we go, every song we sing, everything we do and all that we are.

As you attempt to love God, you'll soon realize that you can't simply change your preferences and suddenly find God ultra-valuable. This is why you need Jesus. When you place all your faith in Him for everything pertaining to life you are reborn with new desires. These new desires grow over time as you walk in obedience to His teaching (the Bible) and your new eyes grow to see God more and more clearly. The more clearly you see Him, the more you'll respond in worship, fulfilling your life's purpose.

Your Mission

Your mission is to love God and love others. Period (or exclamation mark, depending on how excitable you are).

This is your purpose. This is your design. Like painting a wall with a hammer, living for any other purpose will result in a damaged, ugly, useless life.

In Matthew 22:34-40, some religious guys asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. Here's what He said: You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Then He tossed in the second most important commandment while He was at it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

God and people. Everything else is temporary and unimportant. So don't waste your life living for yourself or stuff. Doing so will destroy you. Instead, live for God and others.

This blog is designed to help you figure out how. Come back often.
_____

PS: Note the poll to on the right of the screen. You can also discuss what most teens are living for on the Facebook Group discussion board.