Do you have personal devotions? How about a quiet time? Maybe you read the Daily Bread? Maybe you use a phone app. I really like an app called Lectio 365. Some people try to read the through Bible in a year.
There are all sorts of ways people read and study Scripture. So much of it, including all the ways I listed above are individual, personal, alone. Just between the person and God. That idea of a personal relationship with God, including personal devotions and reading Scripture by oneself can be very good. I encourage it. I myself practice it.
But personal, individual, solo study of Scripture is deficient. I’m not saying that solo Bible study, in its deficiency, is wrong. Solo Bible study is good, but it is still deficient. Personal Bible study is deficient in the sense that it is not enough. So don’t hear me saying that I think disciples of Jesus should not have personal devotions. What you should hear me saying is that in addition to personal Bible study, we need to add something else very important to our study of Scripture.
In our blog series on relationships in the church, this week I’m going to try to show that the Bible itself teaches that when it comes to studying the Bible, we followers of Jesus need more than just personal devotions. What more do we need? Join me as I talk about it. (Hint: The more than we need is why I like my church’s sermon discussion class better than the sermon.)
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 