Jump Start # 1823

Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Tony Malito is a car salesman who advertises on Louisville radio stations everyday. He is known as “the dealer for the people.” His radio commercials rhyme, they are funny and he has a unique voice. You know when Tony’s on. At the end of his car commercials, and this is true for most car ads, in print, on TV or the radio, is the disclaimers. In a low, very rapid tone, all the details of the deal are announced. On TV, and in print, you will see the disclaimer in very small text. Contest often do the same. They reveal a disclaimer. This protects the company legally and sets the conditions of the deal.

Years ago, a friend and I worked up a series of sermons based upon the concept of disclaimers. You won’t find a printed disclaimer on the backside of your Bible. But there are things people learn, see and experience after they become a Christian that was not revealed to them. We called the series, “What they didn’t tell me when I became a Christian.” People didn’t purposely hide these truths from you and I, it’s just one of those things that people failed to mention. I ran across those sermons the other day. I want to use these for a Jump Start series.

One of the first disclaimers that no one told us about is the fact that some days the Bible seems dry as dust. No one wants to admit that. We are afraid if we were to say that out loud in a Bible class that we’d be taken to a small room in the basement and we would never be seen again. We wonder if there is something wrong with us for feeling this way. The latest novel, we plow through in a couple of nights. We can’t put the thing down. But to read a chapter of the Bible, some days is so hard. Our minds wander. We can’t stay focused. We can’t remember what we read. Is it supposed to be this way? Why didn’t someone tell me about this?

We know the power, beauty and the source of the Bible. As our passage states today, God’s word is what directs us and guides us. It shows us the way to go. It is a lamp and a light in a dark, dark world. Yet, there are sections of the Bible and there are days, reading the Bible is like eating dry toast. It can seem bland.

There are several misconceptions about the Bible that shapes and forms our attitude about it.

First, the Bible is not God’s “Chicken Soup for the soul.” The Bible is not a devotional book. The Bible is not a collection of cute stories that have happy endings. The Bible is not intended to be light, easy and every one lives happily ever after. The Bible isn’t written like a novel. Nor, as some claim, is the Bible a love letter. I used to write my wife poetry and love letters when we were dating. They were not like the Bible. Paul stated, as a matter of fact, that he was shipwrecked three times. No details. No pounding emotions. No hold on to your seat. No thrilling, emotional driven, breath-taking literary masterpieces. The Gospels tell us that Jesus was scourged. Three words. Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ movie, dedicated nearly twenty minutes to the scourging. It showed Roman guards trying to decide which whip to use. We saw blood. We saw the painful expressions upon Christ’s face. It was drawn out and stretched out. Three words in the Bible.

The Bible is designed to introduce us to God and to build faith in Christ. It helps us to think correctly. It is the will of God revealed.

Second, the Bible is more than just a collection of interesting expressions. You get the impression sometimes that the Bible is intended to give us great, short statements that we can paint on old barn wood and decorate our homes with. Or, it’s something to be stenciled on walls. If we are not careful, all we read are the nice, cute sayings from the Bible. Just reading verses here and there, can easily give us a warped theology that doesn’t see the complete picture. You can’t put God on a bumper sticker. We need to read the Bible in context. We need to read paragraphs and chapters and get the background so we understand why it says what it says.

Third, another misconception is that we shouldn’t need any help to understand the Bible. The Ethiopian needed help from Philip. He didn’t know who Isaiah was talking about. We don’t send college students home with a book and then say read it and you will be given a test. A professor explains the principles and teaches things. God sent preachers and teachers and apostles into that first century world to preach and explain His word.

So, reading the Bible begins with having the right attitude. You are not reading a newspaper. Just hitting the high points won’t work. Every word, every sentence is from God. Read slowly. Take it in. Let it soak. Think about it. Think about the people who first heard these words. Think about the times. Think about the order of the words. Think about your life.

You do not read the Bible to prove a point. You are not trying to find a loophole, justify yourself or look for a way to answer an argument. That’s not the point of the Bible. Reading it that way misses what it is about.

You can’t read the Bible hit and miss and hope to know anything about it. Find a plan. Pick out a book of the Bible and plow through it. Read it with a notepad and pen. Underline things. Write questions in your notebook. Stay with it. When you find things that you do not understand, ask someone who might know. Have them show you how they came to that conclusion. Have them help you to learn to study.

Reading is hard for some people. I’m meeting more and more folks who admit, “I don’t like to read.” The percentage of even college grads who never open a book the rest of their lives is alarming. If that’s you, then start listening to your Bible. Many websites will play the Bible audibly. Turn off the car radio and drive, listening to God’s word.

There are days you may not be in the mood to read the Bible. There are places in the Bible that may seem boring to you. Push yourself. You know it’s the right thing to do. Stay at it. Work at it. Try reading out loud. Try outlining chapters. Try memorizing some verses. Many ways and many methods to work on learning your Bible.

The Bible is not like a college text book. Most of us, once we finished reading through the text, studying for a test, were finished with those books. When the semester ended, we either sold the books back to the school or tossed them. Twenty years later, we do not read those textbooks. We are finished with them. The Bible is not like that. It has a power to it. It is living and active. You will read sections that you have already read a dozen times. But reading it again, you find things you missed. You see things with fresh eyes. You lower your nets and find depth, wisdom and insights that you have not seen before.

Yes, there are days that the Bible may seem dry as dust. That maybe nothing more than Satan working on us. But get in there and open it up and read, think and grow. You feed your faith by the word of God. The more Bible that is in us, the more our conscience will help us and the more we will walk pleasing God. To be a strong, thriving Christian, you must know the Bible. There is no other way.

The Bible is God’s way of talking to you. This is what He wants you to know. This is how you know Him.

Roger