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On Sunday, Pastor walked us through James 1:1, helping us understand the author, the audience, and the general theme of this letter.  As he demonstrated from Scripture, this epistle is written by James the son of Mary and the half-brother of Jesus.  As he worked through which of the four prominent James’ wrote this epistle, I was struck by the reality that it genuinely takes a good deal of effort to understand what God’s Word communicates.  However, I was also struck by how often in my own life I end up not putting in any effort.

Why is that? For me, the most common reason I don’t diligently study God’s Word is laziness.  I might think, “It takes too much time to read my Bible.”  If I honest, what I are doing in those moments is allowing something other than God’s Word to take priority in my lives.

I have also told myself, “It takes too much work.”  Indeed, studying the Bible takes effort. However, 2 Timothy 2:15 instructs not only pastors, but all Christians to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

Another excuse I bring is, “I’m just not smart enough.”   This has special appeal, for it means that I can leave the hard questions of the Bible to “the experts” while I sit on the sidelines. But I must remember that God has made Himself known in His Word, and he has also given His children the Holy Spirit who helps us understand God (1 Corinthians 2:6-16).

Perhaps you also can claim the above excuses (or even additional ones).  What, then, are some practical ways that we can make every effort to study God’s Word?  Here are a few thoughts and ideas that have come to my mind that I am seeking to incorporate this week.

-Identify what in your life is taking priority over studying God’s Word and then repent (turn away from it). I have personally been convicted of allowing social media and YouTube to eat up time that I could spend reading my Bible; recognizing this as sin, I have turned to the Lord and asked Him to help me grow by putting aside these distractions to better pursue His Word.

-Intentionally set aside time each day to study God’s Word.  I have found that mornings before I begin the work of the day or the evenings before bed are opportune moments to study God’s Word.  Find a time that works best for you, but recognize that the time might change depending on what season of life you are in.  Also, do not feel guilty if you can only devote 15-20 minutes to reading your Bible; but on the flipside, if you can make more time to study God’s Word (like by putting aside unnecessary distractions), then do so!

-Utilize the “OIA” approach to Bible Study.  If you have been a part of Pastor’s Wednesday evening Bible study, then this acronym should sound familiar!  The “O” stands for “observation”—what words, phrases, or ideas do you see in a passage?  The “I” stands for “interpretation”—what do these words, phrases, and ideas mean both in their immediate context (the previous or following verses) and their broader context (the chapter or the whole book)?  The “A” stands for “application”—how does what these verses communicate affect my life?

-Lastly, appropriately utilize study Bibles, books/commentaries, and articles.  I use the word “appropriately” intentionally, for these resources can also feed our laziness.  Furthermore, we may end up adopting someone’s viewpoint that is biblically inaccurate or unfaithful if we rely solely on the words of other people.  The best approach is to study a passage on your own first, jotting down questions and observations, and then turn to study aids.