This morning I woke up with this verse pressing in on my heart, "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about ME, yet you refuse to come to ME to have life." (Jesus in John 5:39)
We all know as Christians that we are supposed to read and study the Bible. We hear it constantly. Teachers and preachers, writers and bloggers are hounding us to be in the Word of God. I say the same thing. The Word of God is important to me. And as a women's Bible study teacher, I'm constantly challenging people to diligently study the Bible. But, according to Jesus, we can diligently study the Scriptures and still miss the whole point! And that scares me. I don't want to do that. Nor do I want to teach others in a way that causes them to miss the point of Scripture.
So, I want to encourage myself and encourage you, let's not miss the point of Scripture! So many times we come to Scripture to find out how to have a good marriage, or how to parent well. We look for verses that will calm us if we are anxious and struggling with fear. We study and memorize verses so that we can overcome our anger problems, or unforgiveness, or a sinful habit or many other issues we may be struggling with. But if we come to the Scriptures to fix ourselves (or somebody else), we could possibly miss the whole point. The whole point of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is to reveal to us Jesus. Jesus tells us in this verse that the Scriptures testify about Him...and that it is in HIM that we have life. So, if we are diligently studying the Scriptures let us diligently study them to find Christ. Because it is in Christ that we find life. It is in Christ that we find our worth, identity, and security. It is Christ that we are given faith, it is in Christ that we find peace in the midst of our anxiety. It is Christ that we find calm in the midst of the storm. It is by fixing our eyes on Jesus that we are changed and transformed. The Scriptures point us to Christ and it is in Christ that we find life.
Let us continue to diligently study the Scripture and pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten our eyes so that we are able to see and savor Jesus as we study!
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