Monday, June 8, 2009

All Over Again

I started a class last Wednesday morning at my church in Dallas. I'll spend the next 11 Wednesday mornings among three friends and a room full of 50 or so others, who want to learn how to spend quality and consistent time in the Bible.

For someone who loves to read and who is also a Christian, I know that I have failed to combine both of those things into consistent Bible reading. My Bible studying up to this point has been more random and sporadic; I'm looking to make it more methodical and applicable to my daily life. For all the time I've spent reading books by Rick Warren, C.S. Lewis and other Christian minds, I've successfully edged the Bible without reading it in its entirety. Ever. I have always blamed it on not knowing "how" to read it without getting lost somewhere around Moses. I've read chapters and books here and there, but nothing cohesive.

Truth be told- the desire hasn't always been as strong as I find it to be now, to learn more.

I have been attending church my entire life, became a Christian at age 12, and have more or less sought God mostly depending on my circumstances. The more I feel I need God or want something from Him, the more I spend time praying and studying and in the Bible. This means that the opposite is also true; if life is coasting along, I don't seek God when I feel I don't "need" Him as much. Truth be told- that is my own misconception, because I need God all the time. Everyday. The most important relationship in my life cannot thrive with such a lack of effort my my part.

It was encouraging to walk into a room that morning with all of those people, dressed in their business casual, consuming coffee by the gallon and ready for a full day at work. There people have also made a small sacrifice to wake up once a week for a 6:30 AM class.

I've sadly never done anything like this before, but I'm optimistic as to how 11 weeks can make a difference. I think it comes at a good time- the friends I do Bible Study/Community Group with just wrapped up our study of Galatians on Thursday, and we will have less of a standard format as to what our studies will look like over the next two months since summer has arrived.

My friend MK's younger sister is home from college for the summer and confessed to her the other night that she prefers hanging out with us because we seem to be pretty entertaining in our post-workday delirium. This is after we readily agreed with my roommates that Community Group is the thing we most look forward to during the week.

That might qualify me as the most boring 24-year-old in the history of my age group, but I'm strangely okay with it.

"The trouble is that relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing has yet been done."
-C.S. Lewis

5 comments:

tootie said...

It sounds like a great class! I bet you will learn a lot. You'll have to keep us posted on how it goes.

Carrie said...

Amen. My dad has two groups he meets with each week, both of which start before 6:00 am. He always says that there is nothing as wonderful as waking up early and spending time with the Lord. He's kept it up for years, so there must be something to it.

Anonymous said...

that is soo awesome. i am actually going to start going to a bible study morning class this coming up week. so i will be there with you, in my work clothes and taking my coffee from an i.v. because that is the only way one should take their coffee at that hour in the morning!!

jlc said...

Can't wait to hear more about it!!

Bluebelle said...

Sounds good, let us know how it goes! I'm the same - love reading but find it really hard to read the Bible and connect with it. At the moment a friend and I are reading Acts together to try and keep each other motivated.