“Whom will understand the message?……For precept must be upon precept….line upon line….here a little, there a little”  Isaiah 28:9, 10

“This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest and this is the refreshing.”  Isaiah 28:12

“….the knowledge of the Son of God….that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men….”  Ephesians 4:14

To study, based on the definition on Dictionary.com it means to: apply oneself to acquisition of knowledge, to apply oneself, to think deeply, reflect or consider.  Sounds kind of dry doesn’t it?  Maybe it sounds like the sort of things that scholars do.  Maybe, from a church or theological (even that word can sound imposing) standpoint I expect my pastor to do that sort of thing.  When do I have the time?  What will be my reward?

God completely understands the gulf between He and us.  He completely understands the depth of His knowledge compared to ours.  He is fully aware of our lack of understanding.  God knows our capacity or lack thereof to take in His meanings and lessons, especially all at once.  Thus God has broken down His word for us.  God has given us manageable chunks to try and absorb.  His Word is filled with precepts and then numerous examples showing the application of those precepts.

Yet you know, especially today, no worldly school (perhaps beside a seminary) is going to give me a grade for taking time to study the bible.  People at work don’t even want me to have my bible on my desk at work let alone be seen reading it.  My day is filled already and there is no “147 character” version that I can just skim through and get what I need.  What’s the point? It’s all about a bunch of old people in the past that doesn’t have any relevance today?

Dear Sisters and Brothers there is a tremendous amount of competition for our time.  Often because of our new technologies, more and more things and people connected to those things can make demands on our focus and our time.  Obviously if you’re reading this, there is something else that you’re not doing (thank you very much by the way, but if this is keeping you from bible time, please leave. 🙂 ).

But our Creator is calling for us.  Our Creator is trying to get our attention.  Our Creator is telling us that He has something for us.  Our Father in Heaven is telling us that He has the knowledge; the knowledge to and for our rest and refreshing, our knowledge for peace and even true, lasting prosperity, all this God has for us.  And unlike, some very pricey degree plans, this is at no cost, there will be no student loans to repay.  In fact we’ve actually received spiritual aid already.  The price for that aid was very high.  Christ came as our teacher and professor, and not only that but our savior as well, dying for us to be able to come to God’s university.

Though you might ask:  What should we be studying?  Who should we be listening to?  God, through the Holy Spirit told us that as well.  Through the apostles the Holy Spirit warned us that many would come with various man-made, world focused doctrines.  We were warned that these doctrines are false and those who follow them will perish.  So what is to be the basis of our study?  It starts with He who was at the beginning and through which all came into being; it starts with Jesus Christ.  It starts with studying the Word that declares Jesus Christ, the first and only truly begotten Son of God.  Then does that mean that I only study the New Testament and even then only the four gospels?  No, Jesus Christ tells us that the earlier scriptures point to Him.  So in studying the entire Old Testament and the entire New Testament, we see the wisdom of Our Heavenly Father in its totality plus we see the consistency of His Love and His message.

One final point to be careful about though, even in our most strenuous study, even with our most amazing epiphanies, we will never completely know or understand the Mind of God.  One aspect our study should bring about is the humility of acknowledging  the incomprehensibly complex and perfect wisdom of Our Heavenly Father.  Yet at the same time, it should strengthen our faith in His all encompassing power and majesty.  It should strengthen our faith in His utter faithfulness to keep His promises to us.  For He has promised us rest.  He has promised us a peace.  He has promised to bring us through everything into His presence through Jesus Christ.  That is the knowledge that comes from and through our diligent study.  That is a reward, a degree if you will, well worth the effort to obtain. Let’s get cracking!

Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father we admit that we long to know You.  We thank You that You have given us Your Word, You have given us Your Son as a great Teacher and Savior, that You have given us the Holy Spirit to reside within us to be a personal teacher.  Though we confess Heavenly Father that too often we neglect the time to truly study Your Word.  We also confess that we often neglect the resources that You have provided looking to our devices and doctrines to understand You.  Forgive us, Most Merciful Father and lead us back to the light of Your knowledge.  That in our study we may find the rest and refreshing that You have promised, that our strength in and praise of You will become ever greater.  We pray in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen