Writing Scripture on Your Heart

I was asked to speak to our middle school youth group last weekend. I shared a brief testimony about giving my life to Christ when I was in 8th grade. Then I focused on my early spiritual development which was heavily steeped in reading the Bible- and encouraged these students to spend time reading their own Bible. Not only is our nation's attention span dwindling with every passing year, but with the availability of podcasts and mini-teachings and social media reels that give 30-second inspirations, the Bible is becoming increasingly hard to focus on and actually read. There are so many "substitutes" in the vein of quick teachings by random people on the internet- but how can we know if what they're saying is even rooted in Truth? To recognize what is true, you have to actually KNOW what is true. And if you believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God then we know it's the gold standard of Truth that all other things need to line up against. But what if you don't actually know what it says?

I played a little "game" in which I asked the students some foundational theology questions with multiple choice answers. Each answer is something that is commonly heard either in our culture, the news, or even in many churches, but only 1 answer was based in Biblical truth. Sadly I was not surprised that most kids chose incorrect answers to many of the questions. But it definitely got their attention and I was pleasantly surprised how many of them kept their eyes on me the whole time, seeming to grasp the importance of what I was saying. If you don't know the Bible, how can you know if you're being misled?

For those who just cannot focus on what they're reading in the Bible and have a hard time remembering or taking anything away from it, here's a few tips.

Read a passage at a time and then ask yourself these 4 questions; they can be used for any passage in the Bible.

1. What does this passage tell us about God?

2. What does this passage tell us about man?

3. What does this passage tell us about the relationship between God and man?

4. What is 1 take-away that I want to remember?

Use different color highlighters (they make Bible highlighters that won't bleed through the thin pages) and underline or highlight any verse that hits you as you read a paragraph. Then when you're done reading; re-read everything you've highlighted. Grab a pen and write down 1 key verse, either in a journal or on a notecard.

When I was in middle school and high school I kept a stack of notecards next to my Bible. I wrote down the verses that hit me and would look through them regularly. Some of them I had intentionally memorized; others I was just familiar with enough that I could go back and look up the exact words if I wanted to reference it. This is what built my foundation of knowing scripture. Slowly, paragraph by paragraph, year after year, the Bible was etched into the depths of my heart. 30 years later and I can comfortably find most topics in Scripture; and have an ability to listen through what someone says about the Bible and recognize if it's taken out of context; or if its deliberately misleading; or if it's an insightful way to analyze scripture; or if it's just something basic that I needed to be reminded of for encouragement and decision-making. Without taking the time to sit with a Bible in my hands, I could very easily fall for misinterpretations or false teachings, just like many of these students.

Jesus clearly told us that He will return. And He warned us that before He returns there will be many who will deceive us. Matthew 24:24, "For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones." If you're not in the habit of spending time reading the Bible, I highly recommend taking some action steps to incorporate it into your routine. Otherwise, how will you know if you're being deceived?