D.L. Moody once said:

“I prayed for faith and thought that some day it would come down and strike me like lightning. But faith didn’t seem to come. One day I read in Romans that ‘faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.’ I had, up to this time, closed my Bible and prayed for faith. Now I opened my Bible and began to study and faith has been growing ever since.”

How many of us think we can get through our Christian life without digging into God’s Word and really learning it? Doing a quick five-minute devotion in the morning without ever sitting down to really study Scripture is the spiritual equivalent of eating nothing but a granola bar every day.

If your church offers a Bible study, I encourage you to participate. If you are not plugged into a church yet, ask God to lead you to one that is committed to studying at teaching the Bible. Why join a Bible study instead of just learning on your own at home? Here are my suggestions

– having a mature teacher provides guidance and discipleship
– attending a group study ensures that you invest a significant chunk of time into your study instead of being tempted to do it quickly (and you can avoid the usual distractions of home life)
– hearing others’ questions and comments can be encouraging and inspiring
– your input can be a blessing to others, including the leader!