What Comes Next

Swimming in the Word of God
I am convinced that nobody ever really knows what the Bible is when they first start reading it. Not to mention that, but given the cultural gap and difference of a couple thousand years, I think most people just don’t know what to do with it. I mean, I think most are aware we are supposed to read it, but when it actually comes down to the task, like dipping one’s foot in a cold pond, we often resist the uncomfortable water. But the words in the Bible are not like some murky swamp, they are the refreshing pools and streams of living water. The Bible is cleansing to the soul, and it is like ointment and bandages for our damaged hearts and minds.
The Bible is very often and rightfully referred to as the word of God, and Jesus is also called the Word of God. The book of Ephesians says Jesus washes us with the waters of the word,1 and in John 15:3, Jesus says he cleanses us with his word. This is why study is so important. When we dip our feet and want to resist, we should resist the urge to resist, and we should dive right in! Like a cool and clear pool on a hot day, how awesome and refreshing is it to dive in the deep end and actually swim? Sure, I know some like to slowly enter the shallows, cringing at each step, hair slowly standing up as the cool water gets closer to the…more tender and hidden areas. How many times though, do these people abort and exit the water? But when you dive in, you are all at once submersed, shocked and refreshed, and with no turning back. You are stimulated to move around, to swim, and to explore.
You feel alive when you are in the water, and the more often you swim, the better you feel. You become strong, toned and conditioned, and you build up stamina and endurance—but you have to keep coming back. You have to keep returning to the pool. You have to keep diving in, and you have to keep swimming. This is how it is with the Bible. It’s not always easy to do, just as it is not always easy to keep consistent on your laps. Some days you don’t want to, and even when you manage, you want to quit before you even work up a sweat. This is when you have to press in. This is where you decide how close you really want your walk with Jesus to be.
You have to want the results more than you don’t want to do the work—any personal trainer will tell you this, and training in the Bible is no different. The time you spend in Bible study will make or break your Christian development. There’s just no way around it. Coupled with prayer, your Bible study habits will ultimately decide whether you have a close walk with the Lord…or if you do not.

Reading Versus Study
If you want growth, if you want to know God, and if you want direction in your Christian walk, then you have to read and study the Bible. I would also add, that if your church or group, or denomination or mentors, or anyone else discourages you from reading the Bible—or if they insist that you can only truly understand it by their enlightenment or with their additional resources—something is amiss and you should seek alternative fellowship. I’m not saying there won’t be questions you need to ask someone who has been studying longer than you have, but you need to be reading your Bible—and I’m not just talking about on Sunday at church either.
Personal growth requires a personal walk with God and time in personal reading, prayer, and study…And no truly Christian person or group would ever discourage you from this. Many call it devotional time, and rightfully so; it takes devotion to really set aside time for God. Church is good, fellowship is good, Christian entertainment and worship music are good, and they all have their place, but it is quality time spent studying the word of God that will really stretch and grow your understanding of what you are doing in your faith, or of what any of it even means.