Be Intentional #4 - Getting The Most Out Of Your Bible Series

I am amazed about something. Maybe you share this amazement.

I am amazed at how many people would call themselves Christians but refuse to acknowledge what Christ says about a given subject.

Most people would say that God really doesn’t call something a sin, because He wants us to be happy, and if doing this makes me happy, than it’s okay.

They love the friendly Jesus.

Folks, many people have a false impression of Jesus that is not Biblical. They listen to society and to those who would call themselves scholars who tell us that Jesus is just loving and tolerant.

The problem is that while Jesus is very loving – so loving that He gave His life to pay the penalty for your sins, but He also will judge sin. And He spelled out what sin is. It is not friendly.

But it is truthful.

If you call yourself a Christian, you need to be in the Bible; the primary source of information about Jesus and His teachings. Anything else is bargain-basement theology that will come short when the ultimate questions come.

So what is the result of letting the Word of God transform you?

 Result: spiritual maturity which functions in and impacts the culture.

And isn’t that the goal as people who are to be salt and light, shining the light of Jesus into the world?

I think you get the idea that it’s important that you let the Word of God transform your life.

But for that to happen, it has to get into your life in the first place, so let’s look at…

Five ways to intake the Bible into your life:

1. Hear.

Coming to church or listening on the radio are the most common ways to do this. You might also have the Bible on tape or CD.

2. Read.

You can read the Bible if you have one. Let me give you a couple suggestions here:

First, use a translation you can understand. God is not limited to communicating with man using 17th century English, which is no longer in use anywhere in the world as a common language.

God chose to communicate in the languages of man. And if Scripture is to fulfill its goal of transforming a person, it has to be communicated in a way that’s understood by the person.

I generally use the New International Version in my personal study and preaching. That’s the version we use as our pew Bibles.

By the way, if you do not own a Bible in easy-to-understand English, please take one of these. We want you to have one, and it’s a blessing to us to give them away.

Second, if you are not in the habit of reading the Bible on a regular or daily basis, just start with a few minutes. Don’t set yourself up for failure by determining to read for an hour everyday and then getting down on yourself when you don’t do it, and then give up altogether.

Yesterday at the “Success That Matters” seminar, Dr. Rod Cooper said that any job worth doing is worth doing poorly. In this case, it’s much better to be in the Word for just a few minutes than not to be in it at all.

But read it.

Now the problem is that a lot of people’s hearing of the Bible and their Bible reading is limited to the church service.

And you can do both in the service. But that’s a pretty skimpy diet. In fact, I would compare that to eating air.