Fallen and Flawed

Currently using this system to go through the Bible at 10 chapters a day: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46416541831
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It’s been wonderful so far and I’d HIGHLY recommend it (for both new and long-time believers). It seems like a lot, but once you get going, you can’t get enough

I’ve spent my life in the Christian community. I grew up in a Christian home, went on to a Christian university, and am now living as a missionary in Germany. None of these things make me a Christian. It takes work, and sometimes that work feels overwhelming. I have to struggle with being bored by the Bible. I get lethargic and fall into this mindset of “I’ve heard this all before.” Right now I am reading through Romans and using a commentary by James Stifler. I keep thinking, “I know all this stuff, why am I reading this? I’ve heard it all since I was a child.” While talking with this about my wife the other day I mentioned how it seems to only be about setting up the groundwork for the Christian faith, many ideas that I already agree with and adhere to. Then it hit me: change my perspective. I imagined the Jews and early Christians listening to Paul explain the basis for the Christian faith, why it was correct and good. Maybe it was a Holy Spirit illumination thing but it helped me get out of the rut that was dragging the reading down to a duty, not a pleasure.

Nice topic overall Demian, as usual.. My question is where does the line between not understanding the bible because its ‘hard work’ and us not being born again gets drawn.

I’m currently at a place of doubt – cos my life at the moment goes aginst the grain of everything I knew growing up – maybe I’m expecting too much too soon, but surely there should be some attraction to study the bible, not just me telling myself I have to?

I just wrote this morning about part of my struggle in this area – http://bit.ly/gSf3G
I’ve noticed that partly coming to the Bible is an issue of hard work. But it is also an issue of attitude. There is a heart that has come to hear God speak, and there is a heart that has come to mechanically read to fulfill an obligation. I’ve fallen into the latter category too often, and it has drained the life out of my time in the Word. It is hard to get the Holy Spirit to move to bring understanding as God speaks when I am not there to hear Him speak in the first place. No, my heart won’t always be in perfect communion with God. I wish it was that way a lot more often. Part of that I am going to fault with my approach and heart attitude.

@akaBaGucci
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I think that wanting to want to love reading the Bible is a better way to test your heart and attitude than simply, do I want to read the Bible?
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The reasons we don’t desire God and His Word are many. I would venture to say, all of them due to sin. It’s something every Christian struggles with. But if we belong to Christ, we will be grieved by this and praying for our desires and longing to be what they should be.
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If we find reading the Bible boring and a chore and we aren’t grieved by this fact and praying for a different attitude, to me this indicates a bigger problem and questions about whether one is born-again. It’s indifference that is most concerning, in my mind.
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But a heart longing to long to love God and love the reading and understanding of His Word; a heart desiring the desire that it does not have and praying to that end, is, to me, a sweet fragrance. And God is faithful to answer, in the affirmative, the prayers that are asked in line with His will.

For the record, as an “unregenerate” I don’t hate the bible. I’m just not convinced that it’s the one book of scripture that actually does come from a deity. Like all the others, it comes across as man-made.

@akaBaGucci,
Seasons of doubt are inevitable in our walk with God. In fact, I believe if we never doubt than we’re not really encountering the living God, but just the idea of God.
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And there will be times when reading the Word is tedious or even at times seems lifeless. Not to worry. Like our physical lives, our spiritual lives have an ebb and flow. Both can bear fruit.
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I find that there’s nothing wrong with a bit of help reading God’s word. That’s why I signed up to receive the Back to God Hour’s daily devotional (http://backtogod.net/) and there are certainly others you can try, too. This arrives in my email every morning and, in addition to a particular verse, there is some commentary about the verse, as well as a link to BibleGateway(http://www.biblegateway.com/), which is an online Bible.
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This serves to prime the pump, if you will. I’ll often click the link to the rest of the chapter and read some more, which can then lead to following other verses… or not.
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You may find doing something like this helpful as well, particularly during those dry spells.

Here’s a great quote that I happen to agree with.

“It’s not the things I don’t understand in the Bible that bother me, it’s the things I do understand!” –Mark Twain

Robert: That’s classic. I love it!

akaBaGucci: Good question. I think Abigail did a superb job of following up…one thing to keep in mind…that you are even asking the question is a good indicator that your own the right path, but you just need help…namely God’s. [By the way, he Apostle Paul encourages believers to examine themselves, to make sure they are in the faith. See 2 Corinthians 13:5..., so questioning are faith is a good thing.]
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If you can recall a time in your past when you had an undeniable compulsion to read the Bible and found great joy in reading the Bible and not only experienced revelation [seeing truth] but illumination [comprehending that truth] and you felt a draw to share what you read and learned with others…you are likely simply in a rut…or a dark night of the soul. God said you’ll survive the temptation because it’s nothing men can’t endure. You’ll pull through, a better man.
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On the other hand, if you’ve never experienced the joy of Bible reading, revelation, illumination and an unquenchable thirst to share it, well, that’s a different story. You might have just been going through the motions. The beautiful thing is if you want it, asking God for clarity and joy and desire for and in his Word won’t go unanswered. As I noted above, humility and obedience are utmost important.
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Do know this, friend: I am praying for you. As I can assure you all the other Christians who regularly read this blog are, too. Please, I’d like to hear from you again. Take care.

Many Thanks… Will put some of these thoughts to action and see what gives… Thanks for sparing the time.. and the thoughts..

akaBaGucci: No problem. Please keep in touch. Email or comment. Whatever you feel comfortable with. Take care, brother.

The main reason it’s hard to understand the bible is that it was written by lots of different human beings over a long time, and some of them were clearly batshit nuts.

Also they had conflicting ideas of what god was like and what he wanted humans to do. It’s virtually impossible to reconcile the god of the OT with the NT version.

But please, keep on studying! Nothing breeds atheism like lots of good solid bible study.