So, my favorite term for a Christian was coined by my favorite Christian author, Jen Hatmaker. She states that she "went to church as a
fetus." I'll one up you, Jen. I'm pretty sure my mother went to church
as a fetus too, so my involvement in everything church spans
generations. Booyah. I may or may not have actually auditioned for
My favorite tv show 2nd only to Saved by the Bell after school...
I actually do know a real life "Larry" whom the below was patterned after...and he is cool as a cucumber.
I
might even been a flowergirl in an African wedding in a church that technically might have been a cult (we walked down the
aisle backwards and then ran around the perimeter yelling "Hosanna!" I
was in more church skits than I can remember.I even know the guy who
played "tomb Jesus" in the Jesus Story movie. His big toe is famous. Oh,
I'm in the system, had the koolaid in my bottle for sure. But here
comes my most embarrassing confession. Get ready...
I suck at studying the Bible.
Deep
breathe. That feels good to get out. It's
why I loved my church in CA. It's why I will jump down your throat if
you make comments about how women's Bible's studies should not just be
Beth Moore Book Clubs because few can make the scripture deeply accessible like she can. I am a professional spiritual bolemic. I am
really good at communicating and articulating what I have already heard
and well, regurgitating someone else's quiet time. The sad part? I'm a
freakin' preacher's kid. I've had access to this stuff! Do you know how
many concordances and Greek lexicon programs I've had access too?! Now,
because I need some grace here I'll profess I have cracked them open before and
dabbled in spiritual academia-WHEN I WAS 12! Oh, I'm sorry. You can't
see me? Let me jump up and wave my arms and hopefully you can see me
confess this over the view of ALL the idols that have accumulated over
the years. Don't judge me, life gets busier the older you get. And, yes, humor is the tool I most often use to hide my insecurity or awkwardness. Please recognize that I actually feel very vulnerable in writing this as I know so many "spiritual jugernauts" in my life will read this shocked and maybe even a bit impressed at my "acting" abilities over the years. Good works can hide spiritual immaturity very well, after all.
The new testament never documents a quiet time Jesus had. We see him retreating, praying, hiking, talking to His Heavenly Father quite often, but we are not given a program for success based on his study of scripture. Dang it. Historically, Jesus as a Jewish male would have essentially gone to the ultimate "christian school" and studied, hard- like memorized the Torah between the ages of 6-10. For some really great context on spiritual formation in Jesus' time take, a whole hour of your life and watch:
Jen Hatmaker Teaches on Jewish Discipleship Traditions (start at about minute 14)
"What the heck am I supposed to do without a checklist!" I yell hands opened desperately up to the sky. A great moment in the session linked above speaks of a moment when the Rabbi would give the children honey right before they cracked open the word and tell them that God's word was just as sweet. I know people that feast in this way. I used to...when I had that two hour break between college classes. When I had jobs where I served up the muffins and literally clocked in and out. When I didn't have to be on the road at 6:45 ready to mold young minds. When I didn't have twice the laundry to do. I'm sure the rest of you are nodding your head in agreement as you read this on your phone, making a pb&j for the little one saying "Eat!" for the twelve millionth time.
I'm too busy to listen. So, it is a matter of environment. According to Luke 5:15-16, Jesus...
15 But
despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even
faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of
their diseases. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
60% of the conversation in my household is fantasizing about what truly "going off the grid" would be like. During an anniversary trip to Kauai last year, our kayaking guide told us about a village at the end of the famous 2 day, 11 mile, Napoli coast hike, where some hikers native and visiting live for months at a time, making volleyball nets from fishing nets they found, living off the mango trees and spear fishing...Go off the grid...yea
This is an example Jesus set.
Acquiring the word in our hearts takes time that we do not have make in our culture. So, how do you make it? I am seriously asking. God is jealous for our time and hearts and I often wait for seasons to binge on him. Like now, the teacher summer break feeds my soul and affords me the flexibility to choose him first, before a morning facebook status update or tweet and sometimes even before a shower, but I know that real life is coming quick. I have yet to find a daily or weekly routine to keep my cup overflowing. These are ideas and ponderings, but practically I think it looks like this checklist (and I am doing my best to make this list based on Biblical findings and not just what I think it should be).
Setting an Environment Conducive to Biblical Growth
1.
Go to the Wilderness
Unplug technology, set aside a to do list, Jesus did this in a cause and effect type rythm. When the noise got too loud, he retreated. Do I know when the Holy Spirit is being drowned out enough to remove myself from all the noise? The wilderness also evokes the idea of fasting, relying on what is around you in terms of supplies. Maybe the wilderness is physical and a fast from that video game that helps you relax or that happy hour you live for on Fridays or just one more episode of Duck Dynasty (oh yeah, I went there)
2.
Create a Rythm:
The time in prayer and in the word itself is sweet, organic, and all that jazz but that doesn't mean you are not allowed to calendar it. You can listen to the Holy Spirit moment by moment, but the work of striving after him must be deliberate. It becomes a matter of discipline and making the time you require. If it is a whole day. Calendar it. A week? Calendar it. 30 minutes? Calendar it. Why not fight back against slavery to a plugged in culture by using it to set our time with the word. Ever feel really guilty when you hear about respected, faithful Christians who haven't missed a 5am quite time in 35 years. Rythm is about regularity and repetition, but more in the sense of being triggered as Jesus was in his season of celebrity. HOWEVER, if Matthew 4:4 says...
But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
...then how often should I really be in the word or memorizing the word. As often as I eat bread? As often as I get hungry? 3 big meals a day?5 small meals a day? The Rythm is for you to decide as long as it is consistent.
Word Studies: Contextualizing Scripture for Growth
The ideas of sabbath, prayer retreat, utilizing the wilderness, and study habits are counter cultural for me. This is an encouraging dilemma, because it means my heart is hungry for "new wineskins." Which brings me to my next point. If the environment is set, context can teach better than anything. Now, I truly believe that the word is meant for all intellectual capacities and walks of life, but I have found the practice of researching context to be medicine for the cynical Christian's soul. I can read it for the sake of overview and themes, but I typically I roll my eyes about hearing a tale for the 50 millionth time with the same "aha" moment of real life implications. The sweet stuff for me is when historical and social context enlightens scripture. This is tricky because I typically qualify a great Bible study from a good one by whether or not scripture is taught with context or if it is used to create context for man's ideas. Don't use scripture to prove your point, let scripture make the point to you.
I think I learned this from my dad and Beth Moore, but word study is my first baby step to better studying the Bible. This was a great resource/how to site I came across for we Bible study infants:
How to do a Word Study
I struggle desperately with worry, anxiety, and idolizing the future. There is my topic for the
day week month year life. Here is an example of context through word study. My goal? Simply listening for/learning something new and checking for scriptural directives for my life so I can be a doer of the word. Take Matthew 6:25-31
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry
about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what
you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you
of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Step 1: Look it up Academically! After that word study site, I choose worry as the most important word and looked at it grammatically.The word "worry" is the Greek "Merimnao" which means:
- to be anxious
- to be troubled with cares
- to care for, look out for (a thing)
- to seek to promote one's interests
caring or providing for
Time to dust off my teacher brain, as I see that there are two ways this word is used as a verb. It is both an action word and a state of being verb. I can actually worry in my actions which will become my state of being. It also details worry as not a feeling but physically seeking to promote my own interests. Now doesn't that sound like someone who is consistently dying to self and putting Christ in place of my idols of status, renown, career, beauty, goodness? Yea right.
You can see that I'm already doing
Step 2: Asking questions. That one hurts. When I worry, let my emotions run rampant, allow thoughts to have no boundaries, I am physically putting my idols back on the alter. I'm asking how these words relate to my current reality. Does this passage identify the problem I have? Yes. Does it prescribe a solution?
Step 3: Action Plan. Thank God this time there is a specific directive to help me answer these questions! I like rules and do want to be a doer of the word. How can scripture implicate and create action and change in my life? The solution is in verse 33 and that kicks me right back to step 1.
The work "seek" in "seek ye first the kingdom" is the Greek word "Zeteo" which means...
- to seek in order to find
- to seek a thing
- to seek [in order to find out] by thinking, meditating, reasoning, to enquire into
- to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after
- to seek i.e. require, demand
to crave, demand something from someone
Seeking here is not just an action but a highly charged emotional one. Seeking after his kingdom is a passionate craving where I don't stop bugging God for answers and revelation and relationship. Once again, implications. This one hurts too, I typically play wears Waldo with my Bible. Seriously, I have little time and am overwhelmed at where to start. Maybe if I read one Proverbs per day since there are 31? Maybe if I choose at random it will speak to me like a Ouiji board? Seeking after his kingdom requires more of me, but seek what exactly? See how I went from step 2 to 3 and now I'm being kicked back to Step 1?
The Greek word for "kingdom" of that "seek ye first his kingdom" is "Basileia."
- royal power, kingship, dominion, rule
- not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom
- of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah
- of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah's kingdom
- a kingdom, the territory subject to the rule of a king
- used in the N.T. to refer to the reign of the Messiah
Now "kingdom" is a noun here that takes on a few connotations such as: not trying to get to actual heaven, craving a relationship with Jesus as the one who brings grace and takes away my sin, and the power conferred on me as a believer to try and be like Jesus in the gifts he has given me. This takes me to Step 2 questions like: What are my giftings? Am I using them? How often do I really passionately seek on the idea that this really good girl sins a lot and Jesus died from my stupid pride too? I get a sense of passionately hunting for time FIRST with Jesus/ abiding and time using my gifts doing his work. Input to Output frees me from worry or is there another result?
THEN there is the Greek word for "things" as in "all these things will be added to you" when you seek first his kingdom. I mean, doesn't our flesh immediately want to know what we get out of this?! And behind door number 3 is....drumroll....THINGS! Prosperity gospel alert! Hardly. The Greek word for "things" is not awe inspiring like the previous. It is general, vague, and unspecific. When I read this I giggled at the tone. This word study gave me the feeling that by doing the hard, passionate work of striving after His kingdom by abiding and working for his glory in this world that we will get, well...Meh...is the word I see instead of things complete with a flippant hand gesture of dismissal. "Things" we on a broken earth worry about like the basics (food, clothing, shelter) and specific (a difficult 2 year old that no longer respond to our tantrum ending tricks, deliverance from failing healthy, what people think of you, retirement funds, the equity in our home, the perfect wedding, grades, if we will EVER find the one). All the things that keep us up at night will become "Meh" in our eyes if we seek first his kingdom. It's bigger than just having a daily 5am quiet time for 35 years.
And that ladies and gentlemen, is how context can make the word real and alive for ya!