DO THE HEAVY LIFTING. 2 Peter 3:15-16; 2 Timothy 2:15.

Posted bySteven WalesPosted inanti-intellectualism, Hard Work/ Work Ethic, Study the WordTags:, , , ,

Do you agree with these principles?

  1. If God is real, nothing you will ever do in life matters more than knowing him.
  2. If there is any area of life that deserves serious attention, study, and your hardest work, it is learning everything you can about God. (Can you name anything more worthy of your attention?)
  3. God the Creator is a person of infinite genius. His creation is practically infinite. You could spend a thousand lifetimes discovering the beauty, mystery, glory, and love that God puts into everything He does.
  4. Therefore, if God has surrounded us with His amazing creation, His own infinite being, and His incredible Word that explains both, HOW CAN WE BE LAZY ABOUT STUDYING both His creation and His word?

–Yet, most Christians prefer sermons that skim the surface and never get deep.

We get nervous when we hear words like “doctrine,” or “eschatology.” We want preachers to tell good stories and make us feel inspired, but we don’t want to think too much. We want to sing songs about our feelings, not hymns filled with life-changing words about God’s amazing qualities.

Ask yourself this simple question: does church remind you more of a rock concert or a university classroom? Perhaps there is a place for both. But if church doesn’t remind you of a classroom at least once in a while, you may be in the wrong church. Peter and Paul wrestled with deep topics. Peter writes about Paul’s epistles:

“Our dear brother Paul has written to you according to the wisdom given to him. He speaks about these things in all his letters in which there are some matters that are hard to understand” 2 Peter 3:15-16.

Peter ADMITS there are some matters in Paul’s writings that are hard to understand.

But does Peter say it’s okay to give up? No. He assumes his audience will work to figure it out, telling them to “grow in the grace AND KNOWLEDGE of Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 3:18.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, rightly interpreting the Word” 2 Timothy 2:15.

In other words, DO THE HEAVY LIFTING. Don’t be lazy about Bible study.

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Published by Steven Wales

Dad's Daily Devotional began as text messages to my family. I wanted my teenagers to know their father was reading the Bible. But they were at school by then. Initially, I sent them a favorite verse or an insight based on what I read each day. That grew into drafting a devotional readng which I would send them via text. I work as an attorney and an adjunct professor, and recently wrote a book called HOW TO MAKE A'S.

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