The Lifelong Discipline of Learning

As our minds focus on Dads and Grads, let us not neglect the need to be lifelong learners in our faith. Remember the words of Christ:

“Love the Lord your God... with all your mind.” -Mark 12:29-30

If we are to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, we must set ourselves towards the discipline of learning. I know what some of you are saying right now, “I HATE READING!” I know some think that it is possible to divorce the fire of zeal from continuing to grow in Christ, but I would warn you about two possible ditches you must avoid. You see Satan doesn’t care which ditch he places you on — the right or the left. He just wants you in a ditch. So here is the warning. First, on the right, there is the ditch of perpetual learning without truly understanding. This principle is best illustrated in 2 Timothy 3:7 which points to those who are “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Instead of applying, going, and doing for Jesus, these individuals just sit and talk about it, much like philosophy classrooms. This may include interesting or stimulating conversation, but nothing else.

The second ditch to the left is “zeal without knowledge” (Proverbs 19:2). Zeal is the passion and drive to do! Zeal represents burning hearts. This is to be moved on an emotional level only. Yes, the Lord called us to love him with our heart, but he didn’t stop there. We are called to love him with our mind as well. The need here is to apply oneself to diligent study of God’s Word.

It should also be pointed out that just because someone is full of days, doesn’t mean they have knowledge or wisdom. Job 32:9 points out, “The abundant in years may not be wise, nor may elders understand justice.” I once pastored a woman who told me she didn’t need anymore Bible study because she had learned everything she needed to know. I was both shocked and appalled by this statement. I also pitied her. Can we ever get to a point where we know too much about our great love, our Lord Jesus Christ? But oh how sweet to meet a blessed saint who has applied the discipline of study to their lives for decades! Their knowledge and wisdom blesses all they encounter.

we must learn what Christlikeness means and how Jesus wants us to follow Him. We learn this through the Bible, of course, but it involves learning nonetheless.

Those whom the Bible considers wise and intelligent understand this. According to Scripture, “The wise lay up knowledge” and “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge” (Prov. 10:14; 18:15). So the primary measure- ment of wisdom and intelligence is not your IQ or GPA but whether you pursue knowledge, that is, whether you discipline yourself to continue learning the things of God throughout your life.

Intentional Learning

A hunger to learn the Word of God, the ways of God, and the will of God expresses a hunger for God Himself. Those who love God long to be taught about Him and from Him. That doesn’t mean all Christians are to manifest an affinity for learning exactly the same things and in identical ways. But it is true that apathy toward learning the things of God is a mark of those who do not know God.
We are blessed to live in a time when the means of and opportunities for expressing a love for God through learning greatly exceed our ability to take advantage of them. But all these profit little if a person doesn’t pursue them. This is why learning must always be a discipline, for a person can be surrounded by wisdom and knowledge yet live with- out their riches if he or she does not possess the discipline to learn them.

Thus, learning is indeed a gospel driven spiritual discipline; those who are not exerting themselves to learn the things of God will gain spiritual and biblical knowledge only by accident or mere convenience. By contrast, intentional learners will seek to learn the things of God and will do so individually as well as with the church, disciplining them- selves to learn from those who are gifted by God and recognized by the church as teachers.

What Is the Spiritual Disciple of Prayer?

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

-James 4:3 (ESV)

William Carey, (1767-1834) the father of the modern missions movement, once said that “Prayer - secret, fervent, believing prayer – lies at the root of all personal godliness.” But what is prayer? The most basic definition of prayer comes from the HIBD, which states:

                  

“PRAYER:  Dialogue between God and people, especially His covenant partners.”^[1]

I prefer the following definition for a fuller more biblical understanding of what prayer is:

“Prayer—is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant. It is a “beseeching the Lord” (Ex. 32:11); “pouring out the soul before the Lord” (1 Sam. 1:15); “praying and crying to heaven” (2 Chr. 32:20); “seeking unto God and making supplication” (Job 8:5); “drawing near to God” (Ps. 73:28); “bowing the knees” (Eph. 3:14).”^[2]

In the above passage, we have to ask what does it mean to ask “rightly” as opposed to “wrongly?” It would appear it boils down to a matter of transformed passions. What use is it to speak to God and ask Him for things that grieve Him or will not be for your benefit. In prayer, real prayer, we begin to think God’s thoughts after Him. Right and real prayer will mean to desire the things God desires, to love the things God loves, to will the things God wills. Gradually, we are taught to see our lives and others from God’s point of view. Prayer must be the main business of our lives. In Mark 1:35, we see Jesus getting up in the morning before the day, going out to a lonely place and praying.  King David’s desire for God broke the self-indulgent chains of sleep. And when the apostles are tempted to invest their time and energy into other important and necessary tasks, they determined to give themselves over continually to prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4). Even Martin Luther the reformer once said, “I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.”  John Wesley stated that “God does nothing but in answer to prayer,” and he went on to back it up by his conviction of devoting two hours daily to the sacred exercise.  So let’s make it our discipline, our intention to spend daily time with God in the most wonderful privileges of existence, speaking to our Lord and Savior.  If you have not already, carve out at least 10 minutes a day to speak to God in prayer and build that time up.  If you don’t have at least that much time to devote to prayer, you need to reconsider the priorities of your calendar.  Pray for our church to be ever increasing in faithfulness to the Great Commandments and the Great Commission.

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^[1]Randy Hatchett, “Prayer,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1320.

^[2] M. G. Easton, Easton’s Bible Dictionary (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893).

Why Commit Yourself to the Disciple of Daily Bible Intake?

But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes
from the mouth of God.’” -Matthew 4:4

In the passage above, Jesus points something out to us that should be a common practice among
believers. The practice of feasting on the Word of God. The statement Jesus makes is to the devil as he is tempted to turn stones to bread. This highlights our need to feast on the Word of God regularly. It is a commitment we should make before the day starts. You would be surprised by the benefits of feasting daily on the bread of life. Let me give you several things regular Bible intake will do for your life:

1. Make you wise for salvation.

Have you ever wondered at times, “Am I really a Believer? Do I have saving faith?” The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about his faith. He mentioned that Timothy had known the Scriptures from childhood and that they were, “Able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). If you don’t know precisely what you believe, the best place to begin is to spend a year reading the Bible for yourself. Cultural Christianity and modern media quote the same ten verses time and again. Why not dig a little deeper and take the time to reflect upon the entire message? There is nothing lost by spending a year reading the Bible, and there is much to gain.

2. Grow Your Relationship with God.

All relationships take time to build. Friends plan times to get together and catch up. Spouses reconnect on date nights. Church members chat over pot-lucks or in-home Bible studies. Building a fellowship with others takes time. If we want to grow a friendship with God, we need time in His presence for that relationship to flourish. Reading the Bible daily allows us the opportunity to get to know God. What does God care about? How does God respond to what he cares about? Whom does God love?

3. Help You fight Temptation.

We all struggle with sin in many ways. The Bible offers stories of imperfect people: liars, adulterers,
murderers, and idolaters. We are told that these stories were written for our benefit. Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. The Bible illuminates our tendency towards sin, as well as prepares us to fight it. The word of God acts as a sword against the attacks of the devil (Eph. 6:17). The Psalmist tells us, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11).

4. Nourish Your Soul.

Psalm 1 tells us the man who delights in the law of the Lord is like a “tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in seasons, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” Isaiah 55 compares time with the Lord to a feast in which he can delight our souls in the richest of fare. Jesus told us that abiding in Him was more necessary than food or water. Apart from Him, we can do nothing (See John 15). However, in Christ, we can do all things (Philippians 4:13). The most important gift you can give yourself in the coming years is time with Jesus.