Why It's Vital To Know How You Learn Bible Truths The Best

Think back to grade school for a minute. Remember the tests we took to find out what kind of learner we are? Some of us grasp concepts better when we can see them, others when they hear them and others when they interact and get hands-on. Did you have an experience like that, where this important lesson about yourself became clear?

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am a hands-on learner. I can't listen to someone explain something and understand it perfectly. Even when I read directions myself or watch someone else do that thing, I don't always comprehend and retain things. What this screams to me is that I have to study it, work on it, trial-by-fire experience it for myself or I'll never get it to connect.

This idea of knowing how we learn best is so vitally important when it comes to our Bible study time. Who wants to waste time every single day because we're doing what we think we're supposed to do. It's not about reading the Bible through in a year (although I love doing that), or spending an hour in quiet time every morning (which would be amazing) or even reading a book every week (another thing I enjoy). Those things are all amazing, but if they're not helping you grow your relationship with the Lord, they're not working for you. If you're not grasping everything you read or you're journaling because you think you have to in order to be considered a good Christian, it's just not worth it.

God certainly knows the difference.

In our youth group, I know how each of our teens learns best. There is one who isn't a strong writer or speller, but who listens to the lesson and discussion while drawing and coloring on our worksheets - and gets it! We have one teen who likes questions and discussions and files away those answers and truths to keep forever. Another one loves it when things get serious, when we put the games away and get down to business. They're all individuals, and when we fill our lessons with everything we know they cling to and how they learn best.

Why do we not treat ourselves the same way? If you learn best by reading a chapter a day, read a chapter a day. If you love reading commentaries alongside your Bible reading, read commentaries. If you enjoy listening to Scripture being read while you're working around the house or driving in the car, listen to Scripture. If it works for you and you're learning and growing closer to God, do it!

With the same comparison, if it's not working ... don't do it. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. Let's not be insane, ok? If you're trying to read three or four chapters every day, but you're just reading words and not getting anything out of it ... don't do it. If you don't understand what a certain word or phrase means, take the time to learn. The Bible isn't about staying at the kindergarten level - walk away from your quiet time with at least one nugget that you didn't know before you sat down. That's learning. That's growing. That's becoming a mature Christian.

I'm encouraging you today to do what works for you, to do whatever it takes to spend time with the Lord, grow your relationship with Him and learn His will for your life. My prayer is that you'll take just a few minutes today to pay attention to how you're learning Bible truths, keep doing the things that work and stop doing the things that don't. Spend time with the Lord, dig in to what His word says and let the Holy Spirit teach you exactly what He wants you to know. That's how you grow.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more