Yesterday I talked about how rate X time = distance and what that means for our spiritual growth.
Remember: There is no shortcut to spiritual growth. This is not the matrix, I am not Morpheus and I can’t give you a red pill that will make you wake up spiritually mature tomorrow. IT. TAKES. TIME. It comes in the long haul.
That said, here is the number one thing that can speed up your rate: THE BIBLE.
I know that right now you are going “really preacher, that’s it? The Bible? You think reading a book will fix things and speed me up?”
No actually, I don’t think reading a book will fix things. We have to realize that the Bible is not a book. Its a living, moving, life changing…ummmmm….thing?
I can’t even really describe it to you with a label or a name because there is really nothing else like it in life, but here are some ways that the Bible explains itself to us that show how powerful and relevant it is to our every day lives:
The Bible is like an instruction manual for your new car.
The Bible is how God teaches us, trains us, equips us and corrects us (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
When you get a new car, reading the manual for it should be a first. It tells you important things like maintenance schedules, features, services details, safety features and more. If you fail to do this, you could cause major issues with your new car.
God cares about us so much that He didn’t just say “Ok, go for it, figure it out on your own!” Instead, He gave us a manual for life. But just like your new car, if you don’t read the manual, it doesn’t do you any good.
The Bible is like food. Without it you’ll starve.
Physical food is a must if you are ever going to grow and be healthy in life. Deuteronomy 8:1-3 says that spiritual food works the same way. It is a must to grow and live in Christ!
Think about it…what if you only are one meal a week? You would struggle through life and be weak all the time. Here’s the tragedy: Many Christians live life on one meal a week. Each Sunday they try to squeeze in enough spiritual food for the entire week. You can’t do it…its not enough nutrition to get your through. So instead of having a powerful life and being connected to God, many struggle.
Just like we are concerned about physical fitness and our diets, we must also be concerned about spiritual food and spiritual fitness. Our souls need nourishment that only the Bible can provide yet so often we try to survive on spiritual rations. No wonder we don’t make much progress…our souls are starving to death! The Bible is our spiritual food, but it only does us any good if we eat it!
The Bible is a flashlight when your power goes out.
In our lives, the Bible is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path (Psalm 119:105).
If the power goes out in your house, you need a light of some sort, a candle, a flashlight, your phone…without light you’ll stub your toe and stumble around in the darkness.
Sounds like life doesn’t it? In life we stumble and wander around often as we deal with our struggles, our hurts, our habits. But God never wanted us to stumble in the darkness, so He gave us a light for our live. The Bible can only illuminate our lives if we open it and use it
The Bible is like a weapon for a soldier.
Ephesians 6:17 calls the Bible a sword! Maybe you haven’t realized it yet, but from the moment you invite Christ to fill your life, you are in a fight! Life is an all out spiritual battle for your soul and unless you jump in to God’s word, your only weapon, you will eventually end up on the casualty list. If you are a Christian, you are a target. God gave you a weapon for the fight you are in, but if you never pick up that weapon and use it you face certain doom. Without it you’ll be captured or killed.
The Bible is like a magic mirror.
James 1:22-25 says that when we listen to God’s word but don’t DO what it says, its as if we are looking in a mirror and forgetting what we look like. Faith WITH action is what changes us.
A mirror shows you exactly what you look like. You spend at least a few moments every day looking in the mirror so that you can brush your teether, adjust your hair, shave, put your makeup on, etc. In other words, you look in the mirror so that you can make changes you need to make. The Bible does the same thing for us. It shows us the state of our lives so that we make changes with God’s help. Oh, and the reason I said its like a magic mirror is that the Bible doesn’t JUST show us where we fall short…its actually helps us change too!
So if you want to increase your rate of spiritual growth, read the Bible, remember things from the Bible, and repeat them all the time!
If you are a Christ follower, but you don’t spend time in God’s word regularly, I want to challenge you to increase your rate and dive in! Here is a post I did on how to read the Bible that might help you get started.
YouVersion also provides a TON of incredible reading plans that will help you stay on track!
