It’s Crunch Time: Do or Die

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Let’s just be blunt and honest. (Like you expected anything less on this blog.) Lately I’ve taken a little sparring about being so involved in Bible study.  So I’ve been thinking a lot about why I do what I do when it comes to reading and studying God’s Word.

What do I do?  On Tuesday morning, I’m involved in Bible Study Fellowship, a wonderful international Christian organization that teaches God’s Word on a weekly basis.  We study the same book of the Bible for 9 months and answer questions about our reading for 6 days of the week. We have a two hour meeting once a week and share discussion about the passage, as well as listen to  a lecture regarding it. In all, there are over 1,000 BSF classes with 200,000 class members in 38 nations across six continents! Over 800 of the classes are held in the U.S. Pretty impressive, right?  But what makes me desire to be a part of such an endeavor?

Then every Thursday evening, I co-lead GROW, a prayer and Bible study community group that meets at a local coffeehouse.  We typically have anywhere from 4-10 women in attendance and are currently studying “A Journey Toward Contentment”, which is a topical in-depth 5 day personal study we discuss each week when we meet together. Why is my attendance and leadership in this group so crucial to me?   How do I have time to do both of these studies with such a large family and working part-time and…and…and?

From my heart of hearts, let me just say that I am not prone to do this on my own.  For years as a Christian, I was told that it was most important to read the Bible and  pray.  Seems pretty basic, right?  The problem is that I did it in my own strength.  I was inconsistent, unreliable, and rigid.  Reading my Bible was a check on the to-do list.

Once I developed a true relationship with the Father, a drive for growing that relationship, and a passion for wanting other people to experience what I’ve experienced, then I couldn’t go without reading my Bible.  I found myself in continual conversation with the Heavenly Father. Why?  Because I needed Him so much.  Drawing close to Him made me realize how dependent I am on Him. I can’t go without it. All the excuses go flying out the window…

I’m too busy.

I don’t have time.

I can’t find one  that I feel comfortable with.

The truth is that those very excuses are the reasons I need to be in the Word.  They are the reasons I need to be accountable to others for my growth.  They are the reasons I refuse to settle back into complacency.

So, point blank:

How much do you really want a close relationship with your Savior?

How badly do you need fellowship with other believers?

How much do you truly want to glorify God through learning His Word?

It’s Crunch Time.

Do or die.