“I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.” [Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933]

Facing an unemployment rate of over 25%, over 5,000 failed banks, and innumerable families declaring bankruptcy, President Roosevelt says the only thing we need to fear is fear. Essentially, fear nothing, don’t be afraid. Everything that would make an ordinary person  tremble with fear was everywhere and the leader of the country says “don’t be afraid.” He told the country that fear was “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror.” If ever there was a time when fear was justified, it was during the Great Depression. But FDR didn’t see it that way. He decided to face it head on and conquer the fear “which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” In other words, he wasn’t going to run away from this monster. He was facing it head on. And that changed everything.

2 Ti 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

FDR had a very biblical approach to fear. Given his circumstances, it should help us put things in perspective. Spiritually, fear is the most damaging weapon to our walk with God. Despite the fact that God has not given us a fearful spirit, somehow we continually allow ourselves to reside in fear and even accept that we should be afraid of some things. Preachers, ministers, elders, and leaders throughout Christianity make excuses for their fear instead of acknowledging it and overcoming. Those responsible for leading the church in the war against the enemy run away, paralyzed by their fear of the world–fear of homosexuality, fear of prostitutes, fear of pornography, fear of drug addicts, sex addicts, alcoholics, gangsters, punks, goths, or anyone who is remotely different than the stereotypical Christian man or woman. Instead of embracing the world and helping it heal, Christianity is separating itself from the world because of its fear. What would happen if we stopped being so afraid?

First think about your personal life. What are you afraid of? Surveys show that the majority of Americans are afraid of public speaking. Is that true for you? Are you afraid of heights or flying or tight spaces? Have you ever sat down and thought about why you’re afraid of these things? Take heights for example. If you were on the top of the Empire State Building, what immediate danger would you be in? Could you fall off? Is the building going to fall over? No. They have very tall metal fences going all around the observation deck preventing anyone from falling off or being thrown off or anything. You are just as safe on that observation deck looking down on New York as you are on the ground level looking up (maybe safer since they have you go through metal detectors as you enter the building). The only difference is fear. What about flying? Thousands of people are afraid of flying, yet they drive their cars everyday. Statistics show that 1 in 100 people die from car accidents and 1 in 20,000 die from plane crashes. It’s proven that flying is 200 times safer than driving, yet hardly anyone is afraid to get behind the wheel. How are you with trying new foods? Some people resort to excuses like, “I am a creature of habit. I always get the same thing.” Some people say, “I don’t want to risk ordering something new and not liking it.” Essentially, and this is true for me, people don’t try new food because they’re afraid of it. (I’ll discuss how I overcame my fear of new food in a minute.)

Physically, fear dictates what we eat, how we travel, how we are entertained, and many other things. Fear hinders our ability to experience everything life has to offer.

Spiritually, fear dictates what we believe, how we worship, how and if we evangelize, and how closely we adhere to Christ’s standards of morality.

“God has not given us a spirit of fear.” Once I realized this, everything changed for me both physically and spiritually. It started a few weeks ago when I was preparing a lesson for a job interview in Arkansas. I chose the topic of fear because of a conversation I had with my wife a few days earlier. We were walking through the neighborhood and saw a kid learning to do kick-flips with his skateboard. After watching him fail about thirty times, I said to my wife, “He’s not getting high enough because he’s afraid he’s going to fall down.” That led to a conversation about all the things in my childhood I never accomplished or tried because I was afraid. I tried to learn flatland freestyle bicycle tricks in middle school but was never any good because I was afraid of falling off my bike. I didn’t ride a real roller coaster until 8th grade. I didn’t ask a girl out on a date until 11th grade. I avoided a lot of social events because I was afraid of what people would think about me. Failure scared me to death. Thankfully I grew out of those things, but then I started thinking about spiritual fears. Why am I afraid to help someone in need? Why am I afraid of talking to someone about Jesus? What keeps me from accomplishing great things for the Kingdom? Fear.

“God has given us a spirit of power.” As I kept thinking about fear in preparation for my interview, I slowly realized how much of my life was dictated by my fear. I sat and thought to myself, “How am I going to overcome this?” I had been afraid for so long that I didn’t know what to do to overcome it. Then I went back to the verse. “Hey! God has not given me this fear,” I said to myself. “God has given me a Spirit of Power!” Neither you nor I are powerless in the face of our fear! God has given us a power that transcends this world in the form of his Spirit that dwells within us. We are not weak! We are powerful! As this realization hit me, I just sat in awe of God and marveled in this new awakening that I felt within my soul. I also found the answer I was looking for: “All I have to do is change my mind.” It sounds utterly simple and yet difficult at the same time. But if what God said is true, then it will work. So at that point I decided I was not going to be afraid anymore. I committed to myself and to God that I would let go of every fear within me and experience life as God wanted me to experience it.

A few days later my wife’s family came into town and we were having lunch together. The menu was fajitas. I love Mexican food and have eaten fajitas many times. However, my version of fajitas consisted of meat and cheese. As I got my plate, I asked myself why I didn’t eat the onions, peppers, and refried beans. Fear was the only reason I came up with; so I loaded my tortilla with onions, peppers, beans, rice, and even tried the guacamole. And you know what happened? I didn’t die. I actually liked it. Since then I have eaten many new foods that I had always avoided before, I have been more confident around strangers with my faith and have asked how I can pray for random strangers that I meet in public. It all came down to making a decision to not allow fear to dictate the way I live anymore.

“God has given us a spirit of love and self-discipline.” Already having experienced a life-changing amount of application from 2 Timothy 1:7, I didn’t think I could gain much more from the final six words. But with my new fearless approach to life, I decided I would see what kind of truths the end of the verse held for my life. What does it mean to have a spirit of love and self-discipline? Like many people, there are temptations in my life that are constantly reminding me of my depravity. While struggling with lust and porn may be the “typical” temptations for guys to have, I was fed up with it. I’ve listened to speakers and I’ve read the books and I’ve been told I will struggle with this temptation forever. (That stinks!) It’s almost like the Christian community expects every guy to struggle with porn. In fact, I had adopted a feeling of normalcy for struggling with this. However, something didn’t seem right. I decided I would combine my new outlook on fear with the spirit of power, love and self-discipline and see where it took me.

Being an analytical person, I wanted to understand why I continually struggle with wanting to look at porn and why, despite my constant prayers, these desires are not taken away from me. I asked God, “What are you showing me? What am I missing here about my sinful nature?” I knew I was on the brink of having another spiritual awakening, but I didn’t know how to get there. So I just waited. A few days passed and then something happened. I was getting ready for bed and talking to my wife about a close family member who is struggling with a sexual addiction. He had been sober for a month or so and then fell back into his sinful habits, re-destroying his fragile marriage and hurting his kids all over again. The conversation went like this:

“I know it’s an ‘addiction’ and all, but I don’t care how addicted you are. If he wanted to stop badly enough, he could stop. If he cared about his family, he could stop.” I said as I put some toothpaste on my toothbrush.

“Then why can’t you stop?” My wife said very pointedly as I put my toothbrush in my mouth.

My heart fell to the pit of my stomach. Following her comment was a very long silence as I thought to myself, “Wow, that is so true. If I wanted to stop giving in to porn badly enough, I would stop. God has given me a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. The only reason I continue to struggle with this is because I want to.”

“You’re right,” I finally said to her with an immense feeling of self-awareness and guilt.

I didn’t say much the rest of the night. Coming to grips with my sinful nature was difficult. Only then did I truly realize that when I give in to those temptations, I am betraying both my wife and the Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline that God has put within me. God spoke very clearly into my life that night. He revealed to me what the spirit of love and self-discipline is. It means that I make choices everyday, every hour, and every minute to follow a spirit. I can follow my spirit of fear–fear of what my life might look like if I didn’t struggle with porn–or I can follow the spirit of power, love, and self-discipline and make the decision to stop giving in.

This doesn’t only apply to me. It applies to you too. Every temptation that presents itself to you comes with a choice. You can choose to give in to it or you can choose to overcome. When something happens that would make a normal person cuss or get angry, you have a choice. When you have to lie or get punished, you have a choice. Regardless of how much you want to give in or how badly your physical or chemical dependencies are telling  you to give in, you always have a choice. You can choose to satisfy the sinful nature and walk the path of fear, giving in because you’re afraid of what might happen if you don’t, or you can embrace the true Spirit that lives within you: The Spirit of God that comes with all of his power, all of his love, and all of his self-discipline. I have made a change in my life. I am not going to be governed by my fear. I am going to choose to stop giving in to porn. I am going to walk with Christ.

God forbid we allow fear to ruin our lives anymore! Take a stand against fear. Don’t let it dictate what you do or how you live anymore. You have the Spirit of Christ living in you if you are a follower of Christ. Don’t deny its power! Embrace it and allow it to change you into who God wants you to be. Don’t make excuses. Don’t be weak. Don’t justify your sin any longer. Don’t give in. Don’t give up. You can do this because the Spirit living in you is NOT a spirit of fear; it is a Spirit of Power! Yes and Amen!

If you haven’t seen the movie, don’t worry; I’m not going to reveal any key plot elements or twists. I want to look just under the surface level of the movie and see what’s there. In order for a movie to be as big as The Dark Knight, it has to have certain ingredients that draw viewers back more than once. Contrary to what you may think, sexuality, filthy language, and bloody violence are not the things most people desire to see in a movie (only 2 of the top 50 highest grossing movies are rated R, with one of them being The Passion of the Christ).

Some aspects that bring people back to a movie multiple times are a suspenseful battle between good and evil (not one where you know exactly what’s going to happen), a character they can identify with (maybe not literally, but with the struggle that the character is facing), and something unexpected (either a great plot twist or amazing creativity in the storyline). Obviously, these can/will be different for everyone, but for me, that “something unexpected” is being able to draw a spiritual parallel to the movie. When I walk out of movie and say “That was great,” it means I was entertained. When I walk out a movie and say, “That was utterly amazing,” or “that was one of the best movies I’ve ever seen,” it means I saw something more than a good explosion.

In The Dark Knight, the world is given a glimpse of someone who doesn’t compromise his morality despite being faced with the toughest of decisions, some determining who lives and who dies. By never using lethal force—not even when it could be easily justified, Batman sets himself apart from all other heroes. The Joker even says to him, “you really are incorruptible” (one of the best quotes in the movie). Christians everywhere can learn a lesson from the standards that Batman sets and upholds for himself. No one told him how to be hero or how to fight crime with honor; rather, his instructor in Batman Begins wanted him to kill a prisoner in the name of justice to complete his training, which he refused to do.

At it’s core, Batman is just a fictitious character created for our viewing pleasure. However, if you walk away from this movie only seeing good special effects, great acting, and a very intriguing plot, you’ve missed an amazing point from which we can all benefit. Temptations face us everyday and call us out in front of our loved ones and friends. They [temptations] laugh at us when we fail and push us over when we’re on the edge. Satan tests us and tries us until we reach the end of our rope and all he wants to see us do is self-destruct. The way in which the Joker was portrayed in the movie plays a direct parallel to Satan’s involvement in our lives. Alfred summed it up best when he was explaining a story to Bruce and said, “Sometimes all people want is to see the world burn.” There’s no explanation. There’s no reasoning behind it. Satan simply wants to destroy us and take our families and friends down too.

How do we stand up to a force like Satan? How do we compete with someone, who, like the Joker, doesn’t care how many people die in the wake of his destruction? Simply put, we don’t. Christ does. Christ in us allows us to make a stand. He gives us the ability to not back down. He gives us the strength to keep going. He is the reason we don’t give in and stay uncorrupted. “The Voice of Truth says ‘do not be afraid’” Just when Batman was about to give in to the Joker’s demands and reveal his identity, Alfred reasoned with him and helped him understand his role in the seemingly endless tragedy. From here, you must go see the movie for yourself. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.

One more thing, when you approach the Christ and the Bible, make sure you see more than just a good story because Christ is real and he sets us an even more amazing example than movies or fictitious heroes ever can. “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” 1 Peter 2:21. Follow in his steps.

In your efforts to be Christlike and attain what the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21 (To live is CHRIST), ask yourself this question, “Would Jesus tell someone they were going to hell?” Not meaning generically, as in the sense of an “unrepentant sinner” or “one who doesn’t do my Father’s will,” but, like we do today, would Jesus condemn a specific person or specific group of people to hell? According to scripture the answer is YES, but before you start feeling justified and pat yourself on the back, you might want to know who received Christ’s condemnation because only one group of people did. Search your New Testament; who was it and why did they deserve Christ’s condemnation?

Was it the prostitutes and tax collectors with which Jesus ate? No…he actually chose a tax collector, Matthew, as an apostle. (Matthew 9:9)

It should have been Peter after his triple denial! But it wasn’t. Christ used him to build the church. (Matt 16:18 )

Surely it was the men who nailed Jesus to the cross! Right? No…he forgave them. (Luke 23:34)

Well, then who was it?

It was the religious leaders of the day. That’s right. Those who were in charge of communicating and teaching the word of God were the ones to receive Christ’s condemnation. See for yourself:

Matthew 23:15, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.”

…and a few verses later…

Matthew 23:33-34, “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.”

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know a lot about the Pharisees and teachers of the law. What matters is that they were the ones in charge of teaching God’s law to the people, much like today’s elders, ministers, and preachers, and they received Christ’s condemnation. I hope and pray that if Christ walked the earth today the outcome would be different. But are today’s church leaders doing the same things the Pharisees and teachers of the law did to provoke these words from Christ?

What led the Pharisees to receive Christ’s condemnation? What led Christ to call the Pharisees “sons of hell?” What were the Pharisees doing that would make a convert “twice as much a son of hell?”

Read Christ’s words to the Pharisees and teachers of the law in Matthew 23:

“They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”

“Everything they do is done for men to see…”

“You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.”

“You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.”

“You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools!”

“You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.”

“You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

“You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”

“You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.”

“In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?”

It seems as if Christ is not only focusing on the sheer hypocrisy of the Pharisees, but also on their inability to understand and discern what is most important in the law, its meaning and purpose, and how to apply it to their lives. The Pharisees were focusing on all the wrong things. They were “straining out a gnat” by making sure they give exactly 10% of their spices but neglecting the “more important” aspects of “Justice, mercy and faithfulness.” Does this sound familiar? Are there rules you follow to the “n”th degree while failing to see the poor man standing right next to you?

The details were consuming their ministry to the point that they were forgetting the big picture. What would that look like today? … Preachers, elders, and ministers taking scriptures out of context, making them into commandments and laws, only to forget the abundantly clear verses that talk about love, grace, and forgiveness. … Making up rules for the worship service that are found nowhere in the scriptures and then allowing them to be raised into the focal point of the service instead of Christ. … Telling a congregation that their salvation depends on these “self-imposed” rules with no justification. … The mentality that Christ cares more about what a person wears to worship than what they were doing 12 hours earlier. … Thinking that it actually matters what translation of the Bible we use. … Does that look anything like you, your church, or the Christians you know?

Being a minister, this realization makes me take my position more seriously than ever before. But for those of you who aren’t ministers or church leaders, do you think you’re exempt from the plague that brought down the Pharisees? You’re not. While it may be easier for people in the leadership positions of the church to fall into these hypocritical lifestyles, that doesn’t mean everyone else is safe and sound. Regardless of who you are, what role you play in the church body, or how long you’ve been a Christian, you are just as susceptible to the downfall of the Pharisees and I am.

Our only hope of preventing Christ’s Condemnation is not allowing ourselves to acquire the detrimental legalistic self-righteous religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. If we succeed in keeping this plague out of our minds and hearts, we will succeed in keeping the other more important aspects of the law of Christ in our minds and hearts: love, grace, and forgiveness.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.

[I was in no way prepared for the experience that I had while in India. I've been out of the country before, but only during high school, and I obviously have grown incredibly in my spiritual life since my high school days.]

Very rarely does a person have the opportunity to experience a life-changing trip like the one I experienced. When we landed and walked off the plane and into the Aurangabad Airport, I sensed that something amazing was going to happen over the next 7 days. At first I thought that feeling was due to not sleeping for 36 hours, but later I realized that God was preparing my heart for the people of India. Coming into a culture that is as far apart from American society as anything can be opened my eyes to a side of the world that I knew was there but only in the back of my mind. I knew people suffered for the gospel. I’ve heard stories about families disowning their own children because of Christianity. I knew that poverty in other countries was much more severe than in America. I knew people sacrificed for Christ. I just didn’t know what any of that really meant. Theory is one thing. Reality is something completely different. Reading a story about someone living in poverty for the sake of Christ is a good story. Walking into a home that was smaller than my dorm room in college and seeing that there was only a twin bed for the parents, that the two teenagers slept on the floor, and the family used public bathrooms everyday because they had no running water in their house hits you in a way that transcends words and pictures. Having people treat you as if you were a celebrity and bring out the equivalent of Ritz Crackers to serve you when you come into their home when they live off of less than $100 a month opens your eyes to what generosity really means. Walking away from these experiences and going back to a hotel room with running water, air-conditioning, and room-service makes you think about the kind of life you’re living and whether you’ve ever learned what it means to be “in need.”

Now I must say that this hotel room was about $30 a night; so we weren’t staying in some 5-star hotel. But like I said, the poor make about $3 a day and are above average in their communities. Most of the people, if I were to guess, live off less than $1 a day. Middle class would be someone who makes between $150-200/month, about what a typical American family spends on three or four restaurant meals a month.

The purpose of our trip was to visit and teach at the Aurangabad Bible College during the mornings and spend the afternoon and evenings preaching gospel meetings in local churches and villages. The Bible college is a 2-year program that enrolls 15 students per year. My congregation, the West End Church of Christ, fully supports the work of the school, including the professors’ salaries, rent on the school and dorms for the students, as well as other needs. Don’t start thinking this is like a Holiday Inn for these students, like when you went off to college. The dorm life is not easy for these students. Before West End purchased mattresses for the students, they slept on a piece of fabric on tile floors. I believe the 30 students share 2 bathrooms, which is also where they wash their clothes. If they don’t use the bathroom to wash their clothes, they take them out on the front porch and wash them on the floor. In the dorm, school, and every other house or apartment we visited, no one had air conditioning. Just open the door and turn on the fan. It wasn’t too bad while we were there because the temperature stayed around 75 degrees. But in the hot season or cold season, you’d really miss that central A/C. I spent the week teaching on 1 and 2 Timothy while Russell taught on Congregational Development and other various topics. Despite the conditions these students lived with, they were very dedicated to their studies and had developed an amazing knowledge of the Bible. The Aurangabad Bible College is doing an outstanding job bringing up ministers of God’s Word.

The need is endless in India. We spent our evenings preaching gospel meetings in churches around Aurangabad and in villages outside the city. You wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the condition of the people living inside the city. While they are living in sub-standard conditions in less-than ideal situations, many had transportation (bicycle or motorcycle) and some kind of permanent roof over their head. However, just driving down the street would reveal tent-communities on the sides of the road where the poorest people had settled. It was a sight to behold. Sometimes six or seven people would be living under a tarp held up by some sticks with blankets for walls and a pile of burning trash keeping them warm.

When you go out into the villages, you really experience poverty. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing in all of America-even the poorest people living under bridges, compares to the lives these people wake up to everyday. The homeless in America have shelters serving hot food and donation centers giving out care packages. They have the Salvation Army and Rescue Missions opening every evening with clean sheets and sanitary showers. Just 15 miles outside of Aurangabad are people living in conditions that resemble the 3rd and 4th centuries. While some people have electricity, many do not and no one has running water. The women walk long distances and draw water from a well or lake or something and carry it in buckets on their heads all the way back home. American wives have it so easy. As we drove to these villages, we would pass countless women carrying sticks for firewood or water on their heads. The homes looked like something you would see in National Geographic. Mud walls with thatch roofs made up many of their dwellings. Some would be lucky enough to have metal roofs and a real door. Needless to say, when three Americans (Russell, Jim, and myself) rolled into town in our Toyota (NOTE: We hired a driver. It is NOT safe to drive in India unless you’re from there.) it was as if George W. Bush was arriving in Knoxville. Shaking hands with hundreds of people at every village and people begging for us to take a picture of them (with our camera–if I remember correctly, only one person in one of the villages had a camera and took our picture) became the routine in every place. Many, if not the majority, of the thousand pictures I took were of the people because they loved having their picture taken. It made them feel so special to have an American pay so much attention to them.

We preached at ten congregations, six were in villages and four in the city, and baptized almost 150 people. Well, we didn’t do the baptizing; the local preacher would baptize them. Sometimes there would be a baptistery, but at one village the people were baptized in a drinking trough for the cows. To see so many people accept Christ after hearing his name and listening to his story for the first time touched my heart and really revealed to me what it means to have a child-like faith. These people were not corrupted by the arguing, fighting, hypocrisy, and name-calling that goes on between churches today. They were not skeptical or suspicious of our motives or message. They didn’t need us to prove to them that we weren’t out to trick them. They just listened to the message of Christ, and when we presented it to them, they accepted it! Praise God! Faith and spirituality in America have become so distorted and polluted that whenever you bring up the name of Christ, people think you want their money and are trying to trick them, or you’re telling them they’re going to hell, saying they’re stupid, wrong, ignorant, evil, or immoral, and if they don’t change and believe exactly like you do, there’s no hope for their soul. Is that the method of Christ? Is that how Christ spread the good news?

Don’t get me wrong here, that’s not how it always happens. Every once and awhile you’ll come across someone who is open to listening. But don’t you wonder why it has become that way? Why are people so afraid of Christians in America and not afraid of us in other countries? Well, it’s because so many people have held a position of faith or called themselves Christians and turned out to be evil, greedy, immoral, a liar, a thief, an adulterer, a child molester, a murderer! Now is this to say that there aren’t hypocrites in other countries? Of course not. Wherever there is faith, there will be hypocrites. In America, however, the media has a tendency to publicly malign the faith whenever they can to accentuate the fact that these people “called themselves Christians.” That type of publicity, seen all over the world, has done terrible things to the cause of Christianity, especially in America.

The other reason the message of the gospel is readily accepted in these situations, as it was at the day of Pentecost, as opposed to in America, is because it didn’t come with any stipulations. We didn’t require them to answer a list of questions testing their knowledge of Acts or asked them to recite the plan of Salvation. We didn’t ask for a written report explaining why they wanted to be baptized. We just presented the truth of Christ’s sacrifice and offered the saving grace of Jesus. The way we went about it while in India was exactly how the apostles taught new converts in the first century. These 150 people who were baptized over the past week knew everything they needed to know to be baptized and receive the gift of eternal life. They knew Jesus was God’s son, that he died for their sins, he rose from the dead, and eternal life comes through Jesus’ blood and baptism. What more is there?

So you’ve heard about the baptisms, the poverty, the living conditions, the Bible College, and the extreme need the people of India have. Now we get to the real problem: What are we supposed to do about it? Our brothers and sisters in Christ are living in need while we have plenty. They suffer while we’re comfortable. We turn on the TV to relax; they don’t even have a soft pillow on which to lay their head. Then we have the audacity to complain when gas prices go up 10 cents! It’s time to stop complaining about our plush American lives and learn to be content with what God has given us. Make this your LIFE-SLOGAN: “But Godliness with Contentment is GREAT GAIN!” (1 Tim 6:6) Paul goes on to write, “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (6:7-10)

Don’t think you can focus only on the word “contentment.” God doesn’t tell us to “be content and forget about all the hurting people out there.” It said, “GODLINESS with contentment is GREAT GAIN.”

Being “in need” is a concept most Americans have never experienced. It’s hard to be “in need” when you’ve got a Wal-Mart down the street and an emergency credit card for when the car breaks down. Whenever you run out of something in the pantry, you hop in the car and go buy some more. If you come home from work late to find there’s “nothing” in the house to eat, you have dinner delivered to your house in 30 minutes or less. Simply put, we’ve forgotten the difference between “WANT” and “NEED.” When you think of being in need, think about not having food on the table for so long that you’ve forgotten what it feels like to be full. Think about not having more than two shirts to wear all together. Think about feeling insufficient in life because you can’t even provide the basics for your children like shelter and a bed to sleep on.

To be godly, you have to make a personal commitment to helping those in need. You have to come to terms with how much God has blessed your life and how much of that he is calling you to devote to helping people in need. Typically, we help others based on how much is left over in the budget at the end of the month. Christ calls us to rearrange our budgets to make room to help as many people as possible, which should be more than zero, and if that means you can’t go to Chili’s or Olive Garden more than once this month, then you’ll just have to deal with it.

Now take it one step further and learn what it means to rely on God to meet all your needs. (Physically and Spiritually)

But wait, when we don’t have a single “need” in our life, how are we supposed to rely on God to meet our needs? Why are we so fortunate to be born into a country like America while billions of people are born into countries where the majority of households don’t have running water? What are we supposed to do? The answer is this: Learn weakness.

Christians in America, compared to believers all over the world, have advantages in every aspect of life except in one area: spirituality. Why do I say this? Because Christ said this: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul responded by saying, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Can you delight in weakness? Have you ever been weak? Can you delight in insults? Have you ever been insulted for being a Christian? Can you delight in hardships? How hard is it to be a Christian in America? Can you delight in persecutions? Who has been persecuted in America? Can you delight in difficulty? How difficult is it to live in America? For when you are strong, you don’t know what it means to be weak.

Here’s what I’m saying: Having Christ’s power rest on us as Christians in America is unfamiliar territory. We’ve been trained to rely on ourselves, have faith in ourselves, trust no one besides ourselves, provide for ourselves, work for ourselves. Depending and relying on someone else is as foreign as living in another country. So what can we do? How do we learn to depend on God like the people of India depend on Him for their basic needs? How do we learn to rely on Him in all situations when we have self-help books and radio talk-shows answering all of our questions?

As sure as Christ is my Lord, I am living every moment of my life in pursuit of this answer, striving every day to fully and completely rely on Him instead of myself. May this be your life-goal: TO SURRENDER YOUR INDEPENDENCE AND FULLY RELY ON THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN TRULY MEET ALL YOUR NEEDS: JESUS CHRIST. Yes and Amen.

[If you want to know of some specific ways you can help the Aurangabad Bible College or the Christians in India, please leave a comment or send an email to: davis@wecoc.org]

Some people think that if they could just escape their jobs, buy this new thing or that new car, replace their terrible kid with the neighbor’s well-behaved one, improve their spouse’s personality defects, and get that perfect body they’ve always dreamed of, their life would be perfect. I know you’ve thought these things before, but of course, you’d never admit to it. You want to have the perfect life, but at the same time, want everyone to think your life is already perfect. So while you’re striving to get that promotion, working late, and neglecting your friends or family because you believe it will make the difference in your happiness, you fail to see the reality of your efforts: IT IS MEANINGLESS.

Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”

Why is it meaningless you might ask? A better job means more money, which means more stuff, and more stuff means you can give more to the church and help more people, right? That can’t be meaningless, can it? Well, if your attitude is truly one that is seeking gain in order to give back, that’s one thing. Usually, however, it doesn’t work that way. Most people seek gain because they want more stuff and justify their selfish desires by telling themselves they’ll be able to help more people, too. The reality is that those who don’t give out of what they have now won’t give out of what they have next week or next year. (Okay, back to the point…)

Solomon goes on to call wisdom meaningless, toil and work meaningless, fame and fortune meaningless, and advancement meaningless. For a man who was the wisest to live up to his day, negativity truly permeated his writing. But don’t think that was the purpose or intention of his writing. Let’s look at the glimpses of hope Solomon gives throughout the book of Ecclesiastes.

Life Isn’t Totally Meaningless…

(Side note) Whenever you’re feeling depressed by the condition of your life or saddened by the circumstances around you which may or may not be out of your control and you turn to the Word of God in those times, be sure you don’t open to Ecclesiastes.

Having just finished looking at the meaninglessness of life as written by Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes, we’re moving towards the glimpses of hope that are given throughout the book. Now that I think about it, “throughout” may have been an exaggeration. Regardless of how often, hope is found in the book; it’s just hard to find. Let’s look at Solomon’s messages of hope that he so sparingly hid inside his writing.

(In order to keep this relatively short, here is a good list of all the hopeful statements: Eccl 2:24-25, 3:12-14, 5:1-7, 5:18-20, 8:15, 9:7-10)

As we come to the end of the book, we are confronted with the final verses, hoping they will bring a happy ending to this wearisome book. Let’s focus on the concluding two verses found in chapter 12 verses 13 and 14:

Solomon writes in verse 13, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter.” After having all of the strength drained from your body as you pushed and endured through the twelve long chapters during which only slight glimmers of hope shone through the repetitive echoes of “meaningless, meaningless,” you finally reach the point where it will all make sense—hopefully. So what does Solomon write to conclude this depressing dissertation? “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” The Wisdom of Solomon can not be matched by anyone this generation or any generation has ever known (except Jesus). So for him to search so extensively for something of meaning and sum it all up in 14 words means you should stop what you’re doing and pay attention. I mean it. Stop and pay attention!

Fear God! Keep his commandments! This is the whole duty of man. Don’t you get it? Nothing in this world has meaning without a life devoted to God. Anything you do, anywhere you go, anything you buy, anyone you seek to have a relationship with—all of it will end up as a meaningless waste of time without God guiding it, leading it, and holding it each step of the way. Until you realize the full extent to which God should be and needs to be involved in your life, you are living a meaningless existence. Don’t take my word for it. Listen to the man whom God blessed with so much wisdom people still refer to him as, “The wisest man to ever live” (1 Kings 3:12).

The only meaningless days in life are the ones without God. Now it’s your job to make sure he has the lead role in each and every one.

First, I’m sure you’re wondering about the whole “religious oppression” that is a huge factor in the books. Well, the group that is supposed to be “the Church” is nothing more than a generic governing body-a toned down approach from what the books portray. Actually, it is more than just a generic government, it appears from the movie that the “Magisterium” is the Government. They come complete with their own Police force, K-9 dogs, weapons, secret mechanical spy bugs, and everything. I’m sorry to say that I haven’t yet seen a religious group that has a police force (in the movie, the officers are called “Gobblers”). Needless to say, anyone who lives in America, with our separation of Church and state, will be totally unable to draw any parallels between the Magisterium and the Church. The character who is known as “The Authority” never appeared in the movie, but was mentioned a couple of times in an authoritative manner, but in no way were the references to “The Authority” spiritual, supernatural, deity-like, or godly in any way shape or form. (However, what the books say could be completely different…so watch out.)

(Let’s jump to the end for a moment to deal with one more issue concerning the Magisterium) As the movie ends, one of the witches is talking to Lee Scoresby, who is a pilot of sorts, and asks him if he has heard the prophesy of the war. She goes on to describe the war as one that will be over free will. The witch describes how the Magisterium is trying to control all people in all worlds and take away their free will. Lord Asriel, who is being held by the Magisterium at the end of the movie, if he has discovered a way to travel between the worlds, could possibly show the Magisterium how to get into these other worlds and then there would be no stopping the control the Magisterium would have. (Hopefully you followed that.)

With the mention of free will, you can think one of two things. First, you can think that this is a good sign that the Magisterium is going to end up paralleling a religious organization. However, then you’d have to reconcile the fact that God only gives free will, he doesn’t take it away–nor does any church I have ever known say they desire to end free will. If you went back a thousand plus years, you could possibly compare this mentality to the Roman Catholic Church that was one with the government, but it is too far a stretch to be any sort of modern day religious organization. Also, I have read many sources that say Pullman’s attempt was to attack the Catholic Church specifically. Secondly, you could view this “removing of free will” concept as merely the goal of an evil fantasy government organization, which it is and be at peace with The Golden Compass. I only need to say one more time that as the other movies are released, the foundation that has been established could indeed change into something else that is actually offensive, but to this point, it isn’t.

The Golden Compass is fantasy. Good guys and bad guys exist in a world where people’s souls walk alongside them in the form of animal personalities called “daemons” (pronounced “demons”). Polar bears are portrayed as the highest race of animals and exist as a fighting species fully equipped with body armor. By the way, the fighting polar bear scenes are the most exciting in the movie. As a note to parents, there is a bit of gore at one point, and when you meet the main polar bear character for the first time, he is a drunk. Another interesting thing is the mention of “Dust.” This is very vaguely explained but talked about quite often. Apparently the Magisterium is trying to conceal any existence of “Dust,” and at one point Lady Coulter (Nicole Kidman) explains that “Dust” is what happens when people disobey “The Authority.” She goes on to say that the Magisterium is trying to separate children’s “daemons” from them in order to keep the influence of “Dust” away. If that sounds confusing, it was confusing in the movie, too. Furthermore, the “Gobblers,” or police force, were actually stealing children by order of the Magisterium and sending them off to a medical-type research facility where “testing” was going on. Actually, they were performing the procedure of separating the daemons from the children.

Well, it is obvious from the movie that the Magisterium and Gobblers are the bad guys and Lyra (the main character) and the Gyptians (a group of renegade parents who are trying to protect the children from the Gobblers) are the good guys. The plot is very well done with the exception of the lingering problem of “Dust,” which I’m sure they’ll explain more as the trilogy continues. When the movie ends, it leaves no doubt that a second movie is in the works. Also, the religious boycott seemed to cause little disturbance. The Golden Compass grossed $26,125,000 opening weekend. Disney’s Enchanted was second place with a mere $10 million.

As I conclude my views on The Golden Compass, I have to say that it is pretty much impossible for anyone to come away from this movie with the impression that the Magisterium represents a religious organization much less the Church as we know it based on the movie alone. The only slight chance that could happen would be in the situation someone goes into the movie looking for something offensive and pairs the Magisterium with the Church only because they read a bunch of emails and heard a bunch of Christians talking about how the books were an attack on the Church. Parents can safely allow their older teens to watch this movie without wondering if they’re going to become atheists. But before going out to buy the books, be sure you read them first. The movie is said to be a “watered-down” version of the books.

Finally, while I enjoyed the movie thoroughly and thought the polar bears were incredibly entertaining, I am in no way saying that the trilogy as a whole will not at some point say, do, or imply some attack or condescension towards the Church nor am I saying the books are not anti-religious. Take the movie for what it is right now: Fantasy and Entertainment. I saw the Golden Compass and that’s all I have to say about it.

What is the answer to the problem of busyness in the world today? How do we eliminate the things that don’t matter from our schedule and begin to focus our priorities on the important things? If that question were easy to answer, I don’t think any of the problems mentioned above would have applied to you, but I have a suspicion that most, if not all, of them did.

Here’s a perspective that might help. I like to go to these passages when I find that my schedule is too crazy and my life is slowly spiraling out of control. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? …But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-27, 33-34)

If you really take this passage to heart and listen to its message, you will find a very important lesson about the busyness by which you are constantly afflicted. Much of the busyness that we endure is because we try to take control of many things that God has promised to provide. When we take those things into our own hands, we not only increase our workload, but we increase our stress level which causes us to worry. The more full your calendar gets, the more you worry, right? Well, here’s the point: The more you trust and rely on God to provide the basics in life, the more time you’ll have to devote to the things that really need your attention, like playing with your kids, spending time with your wife, and reading the Word. Let tomorrow worry about itself, and focus on what you can get done today. Remember, tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.

THE ILLUSION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Some people have developed their own magic show called, “I am a Christian.” It consists of them going to church, reading the Bible, and even praying on occasion. However, it also consists of them lacking the conviction to stand up for what they believe in, lacking a faith the size of a mustard seed, lacking the deeds that set them apart, and lacking the cross that should be on their backs daily. This is called “The Illusion of Righteousness.” Simply speaking, they do the bare minimum to give the appearance of holiness (to themselves) but all the while have never developed a Passion for Christ. This is just the beginning. Not only does this illusion give someone the sense they are righteous, it also convinces them that the sin in their life isn’t really sin. Lies aren’t really lies; they’ve become “I care about other people’s feelings.” Pride isn’t pride anymore; it has become “I’m just being the best I can be.” Greed isn’t greed; it’s “setting high standards.” Jealousy becomes “honest competition.” The illusion comes in and rearranges all of the thoughts in a person’s head to make them think they are righteous and holy, but in reality they are simply living on the stage of a magic show.

THE PASSION FOR CHRIST. The Passion of the Christ was a movie depicting the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for humanity’s sins. Specifically, the word “passion” in that sense meant “sacrifice.” When all the smoke has cleared and you’re looking at the basics of Christianity, what it is, what it stands for, and the primary goal, you’re going to find it all comes down to the amount of Passion you have for Jesus. Throughout the scriptures, Jesus calls you to deny yourself and follow him, to deny your desires and follow him, to deny everything, take up your cross, and follow him. The passion you have for Christ is (directly proportional to) the amount you’re willing to sacrifice for his name. The more passionate you are for Jesus, the more you’re willing to give up. The less passionate you are for Jesus, the less you’re willing to give up.

THE FIRE INSIDE YOU. Deep down inside you there should be a place that burns with Passion for Christ. It should be like a fire within you, a “consuming fire,” as God is called in Deut 4:24. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.” The imagery of a Passionate fire burning inside you shouldn’t look like a small fireplace found in a cheap hotel room. When you pictured the fire, you may have seen a fireplace or a candle (even worse). Forget that. The fire inside you should be more like the Human Torch from Fantastic Four. Seriously, the fire should come out of every limb, every joint, every finger and every toe in your entire body. The only way you’ll be able to “take up your cross daily” and “put on the full armor of God” is to be so consumed with Passion for Christ that every part of your body is radiating the glory of God! It’s the only way you’ll be able to “Resist the Devil.”

ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER. When that Passion for Christ begins to burn so bright that you can’t contain it, you’ll begin to experience changes in your spiritual life you never thought possible. The sin in your life that you always thought you’d deal with all of the sudden will seem trivial and you’ll “stand up under it.” The anger management problems you used to fight will disappear, “for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” Your life will begin to become one with your Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit will move powerfully through you and “guide you into all truth.” All it takes is surrendering everything for his name’s sake. You have to give it all up. Every sin, every person you love, every earthly possession, every dollar, every car, every mutual fund, every impure thought, every paycheck, every day of every week you’ll ever live for the rest of your life…surrendered to HIM. Sound tough? Imagine what it took for Jesus to walk the road to the cross. If you think it’s tough to give up a pornography addiction, eating disorder, or stop gossiping to your friends, imagine how difficult it would be if you were called to account for those sins and had to die for them. Thankfully Jesus did that for us already. He gave it all. Why can’t you?

PASSIONATE EMOTIONS. The passion doesn’t end with surrendering. Passion also involves your emotions. Usually when someone uses the word “passion,” they are describing an emotion. You’ll find that once you go through the process of developing The Passion for Christ through surrender and sacrifice, you won’t have any problem finding an emotional passion for Christ as well. This emotional passion will drive you even further in your sacrificial Passion for Christ. They work together and feed off each other so you are continually renewed and edified as you live for Christ. Your emotional passion drives you to a deeper sacrificial passion and then that act of surrendering leads you into a deeper emotional passion. Having the Passionate love for Christ that overwhelms you beyond anything else is what you should strive for everyday. Waking up in the morning overwhelmed by the feeling of God’s presence comes as a result of The Passion for Christ.

May God bless you as you become Passionate for Jesus. Light The Passion for Christ inside you.

Literally, it was probably the most disturbing movie I have ever seen in my life. I can see some vague points that were made by the movie that I will hit on through this post, however, the overall point is still eluding me. The points of the movie revolve around the our humanity and what it becomes in its most basic form. When all security has evaporated, when our dignity is taken away, when we’re reduced to survive any way we can, what do we become? What dictates our actions when there is no one holding authority over us (except ultimately God, who was portrayed as the instigator of the atrocities that took place in the movie by a female “prophetess” preaching fire and brimstone out of Revelation incorrectly and essentially giving all Christians a bad name through her role in the movie-but I’ll get to that in a minute) ?? When the government isn’t there, when 911 isn’t there, and all we have to rely on is each other, what happens? Those are the questions this movie surfaced.

Stephen King is obviously drawing an allusion between the literal monsters in the The Mist and what human beings can become when we’re forced to survive by any means. Based on the ending of the movie, it is apparent that human beings are capable of being more monstrous when forced to survive than the actual monsters forcing them to survive. However, a couple other aspects of the movie draw me to this conclusion. First of all, when the people are stuck in the grocery store, which is the entire movie for the most part, they immediately begin taking sides. One group of people were fortunate enough (if you can call it that-fortunate only because they were able to be wise afterwards) to witness the monsters first. The other group, led by a very stubborn logical lawyer who is convinced the talk of monsters is just a joke, forms their own opinions about what is happening, ultimately leading them out into the Mist. It is implied that they are all killed in the Mist. This example portrays the ability of humans to be so stuck in their ways of viewing the world and personal opinions that regardless of the evidence (actual monster guts on the floor and blood everywhere) they are unable to be convinced of the truth. The best quote in the movie comes before the monster is seen for the first time. The lead character, while trying to convince the other men they shouldn’t open the loading dock, says, “Are you willfully being dense?” This quote totally sums up about half of the characters in the movie.

The second example comes when the “Christian” woman (I must use “quotes” because she is about as far away from being a Christian as is possible) begins to make converts of the people in the store. She starts off being just a crazy woman, but as the movie goes on and some of her “predictions” are substantiated, more people begin to jump on her side. She believes that God is actually bringing the end times upon them. The monsters are a result of the wrath of God against humanity, paying us back for our pride and arrogance. She convinces the people, after being in the store a couple days, that “expiation” is the only way to appease the monsters and get through another day. “Expiation” is used to signify the giving of a sacrifice to make atonement. Needless to say, the “Christian” woman finds out one of the military boys in the store knew about the monsters and convinces the people to offer him as a sacrifice to the monster, which is probably the second most disturbing sequences in the movie. This series of events I can only assume represent the degradation of human reasoning and theological understanding when forced into impossible situations.

Finally, let’s try to put some perspective on the final scene of the movie. Just to let you know, this will spoil the ending. The main character, his 8 year old son, one 30-something woman, and two elderly people, one man and one woman, manage to get to his vehicle in the parking lot, dodging monster bugs and a killer 30′ tall praying mantis looking thing. They weren’t the only ones trying to get to the vehicle. Four people were eaten by the monster bugs on the way to the SUV. The survivors drive out of the city finding along the way total destruction and death, until they run out of gas. On the way to an empty tank, they witness the largest monster, seemingly a hundred or more feet tall. The only thing I can realize is that this image puts them over the edge in the end-I’ll explain. As the group is sitting in the vehicle after running out of gas, you experience this very long silence. You see the dad get the gun and count the bullets. He’s got four. I hate to even type what happened because it is so awful. He kills everyone in the car and then gets out to sacrifice himself to the monster. Unfortunately, this is the ending of the movie and the military drives by and the camera pans out to reveal the Mist is over and the creatures have been destroyed. WHAT? I know. It’s hard to believe. What do you say after watching something like that?

The only thing I can think is that humans are not capable of relying on themselves for survival. Hope is not something we can produce on our own. When things get so bad that mass suicide is apparently the only option, humans need something greater than themselves on which to rely. This is where the God I know comes into play. He is the giver of hope and supplier of strength when things get desperate. When all we’re left with is our own minds, our own strength, and our own capabilities, we won’t make it. Humans are not capable of determining what is best for themselves. Being able to have a God above on whom to call on is our saving grace and redeeming solace.

May you rely on God and his guidance, his hope, and his love as you survive in this world where spiritual monsters are attacking and fighting for our souls without ceasing. Only in God does life make sense. Only in God can you find true survival.

There are many more messages that I didn’t hit on from this movie. I could write entire posts on the radical “Christian” woman. If you’re interested in this discussion or want to contribute to these thoughts, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll respond if you wish.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3)

I had someone come into my office a couple weeks ago and offer me a 1Y Bible. I wouldn’t have taken it but I had to. I can’t explain why. While he was still in my office, he was asking me if my youth group kids would like copies as well. I was hesitant and told him I’d get back to him on it. It just so happened that at that exact moment I had been writing my lesson on Bible study and was coincidentally listing negative aspects of the 1Y Bible. The man in my office picked up on my hesitation and began trying to convince me of the benefits of the 1Y Bible. He said, “It’s been proven that if the sections are already split up for you, you’re more likely to complete it…pause…It’s a good thing to read through the Bible in a year…and it gives your EGO a boost.”

I had everything I needed for my lesson. Just when I was doubting my opinions on the 1Y Bible, God sends affirmation right into my office. I knew at that point I was totally on track with my thoughts on the 1Y Bible.

It’s a bad approach to study using the 1Y Bible. Imagine if classroom teachers at school used the same approach. What if they broke their textbook down into 365 parts and told you to read one part a day for homework until you finished it. When the year is up and you have to take the final, do you think you’ll have any idea what you read 364 days ago? Those sections of scripture that do the most good, i.e. Sermon on the Mount, how can you only read those once a year and expect them to have any lasting impact on your life?

It’s not about QUANTITY. The 1Y Bible is all about reading the entire Bible. That doesn’t sound bad, right? No, it’s not bad, but it’s not good either. Reading the Bible is NOT about reading the Bible. It’s about getting to know Jesus. Who cares if you’ve read the entire Bible every year for 10 years? How well do you know Jesus? It’s not about the quantity of Bible verses that you read every day. It’s about the level of understanding you walk away with and how that understanding helps you grow closer to Jesus. The 1Y Bible puts all of the focus on completing your quota and ignores the entire relationship aspect. You can’t sit down at a table with your spouse, start a 10 minute timer, talk until it rings, and then say “I’ll see you tomorrow!” That won’t work! Don’t treat your relationship with God like you’re punching a card or checking off a To-Do List. You’re in a relationship with the Living God. Thrive on the time you spend with him. Don’t wish it away or fly through it without putting any thought into what you’re doing.

Pride creeps in and kills our effort. If you are a normal human being, which I hope you are, you thrive on affirmation from other people. If you’re a Christian, you are hopefully seeking God’s affirmation. What better way to get God’s affirmation than to read the Bible every day and complete the whole Bible every year? (sarcasm) Isn’t that the motivation behind so many people’s 1Y Bible studies? People think that by reading every day, they’re becoming more holy. People think that by reading the Bible every year, they’re learning the Bible. When in reality, they’re reading the Bible everyday because being able to say at the end of the year “I read the entire Bible this year” just feels good. In reality, they think God is preparing for them a bigger place in heaven because they pushed through Numbers yet again this year. If pride is the motivating factor behind why you or anyone reads the Bible, I’ve got some bad news: IT DOESN’T COUNT. Just look up Jesus’ teaching on the Pharisees who prayed on the street corners or the ones who fasted in public or the ones who dumped large sums of coins in the collection tray: “I tell you the truth, they’ve received their reward in full.”

Just reading your Bible is not enough. So many times I’ve sat down, read my Bible, gone to sleep, and then woke up the next morning without any recollection of what I read the night before. Happened to you, too? That means you read without thinking. You look but don’t listen. You hear but don’t understand. It means you’re not walking away from it with a better understanding of what you’ve read. The only way to fix that is to cut back on how much you’re reading-or read some time other than right before bed. Here’s the plan:

Let’s start with one of the most profound scriptures in the New Testament, John 5:39-40: You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

IT’S NOT THE BIBLE THAT SAVES YOU, IT’S JESUS. In this passage from John, Jesus says, “…you think…” which means you have an assumption that is incorrect.  That assumption is this: The Bible gives you eternal life. The crowd that Jesus was talking to was so consumed with knowing the scriptures that they failed to see the purpose. The purpose is that you are led to Jesus. You have to understand that the Bible is just a means of getting to Jesus. It’s the way you begin your relationship with Jesus, who saves you. It’s not knowing the most scripture or being able to quote the most passages that saves you. It’s a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that saves you, when he is Lord of your life. So as you begin this new approach to Bible study, you have to realize the purpose of your labors: Developing a relationship with Jesus.

READ FOR UNDERSTANDING NOT FOR ACCOMPLISHMENT. If your main goal is just to accomplish reading a certain amount of scripture, then why even read? Based on what was just said, your Bible reading is supposed to help you grow closer to Jesus; it’s not supposed to be a card that gets punched every day. The whole perspective on Bible study has been distorted. It’s based on pride rather than understanding. The design of the 1Y Bible is to read the Bible in a year, not to understand the Bible. It is technically impossible to read through the Bible in a year and understand everything you read. (When I say “understand,” I mean actually retain some amount of information from the content.) It’s understanding the scriptures that builds your relationship with Jesus, nothing less is beneficial. So as you form your Bible study program, be sure to be flexible enough to adapt and change how much you read each day so you only get as much as you can understand.

REPETITION IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING. If the 1Y Bible is just one aspect of your Bible study program, that is one thing. If it is the only aspect of your Bible study program, you’re not doing yourself any favors. How are you going to truly understand difficult passages of the New Testament only reading them once a year? Certain sections of the New Testament and Old Testament need to be read and re-read as often as possible. Sections like the Sermon on the Mount, the book of James, Proverbs, many of the Psalms, Malachi, and many others should be regular recurring portions of a steady Bible study program. You’re putting your spiritual life at a disadvantage only visiting these meaty sections of scripture once a year. If you’re truly going to get the most benefit from these sections, you need to keep them at the top of your reading list. Furthermore, there are entire books that don’t need to be read once a year. You can read Ezekiel once a year or once every other year and not miss anything. While Ezekiel has some good points, the entire book can be summarized with a few sentences. Leviticus is another book with great historical value, but it shouldn’t be part of your regular Bible study program. The point is that the sections of scripture that have the greatest spiritual value and application (which not all scriptures have the same spiritual value) should be read the most often. Those with the least amount of spiritual application should be read the least often. The 1Y Bible gives the same amount of time and repetition (once) to every section of scripture. A well-balanced Bible study program is heavy in Jesus’ teachings and light on Old Testament law. You get the idea. As you develop your Bible study program, be sure to repeat the sections of scripture that you benefit from the most.

Hopefully you’ve been inspired to take a deeper look into your Bible study and make the changes necessary to get the most out of it. Remember, every time you pick up your Bible you’re spending time with Jesus. It doesn’t matter how much you read. All that matters is how much you see Jesus through what you’re reading.