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Real conversations about following Jesus when life doesn't slow down — from a pastor who's still figuring it out too.
So, honestly, when's the last time you read something in the Bible and it actually changed what you did that day?
Kristi:I had no clue how everything was connected.
Greg:When you're chugging through a Bible in a in a year plan
Kristi:There'll be days I'm like, I don't I don't remember that that information about that because I was on autopilot.
Greg:You've got all the right things to say, but you never actually apply it.
Kristi:The Bible actually came to life to me.
Greg:So today on the God Made Podcast, we wanna show you how to stop merely finishing a Bible plan and letting the Bible shape your life.
Kristi:Why do some Christians read the Bible for years and years and are not changed, not transformed?
Greg:Well, I think I've been there myself. I think you've been there yourself because we read it, and we just kinda well, think about the first time you read through, you did the bible in a year. Mhmm. How much of that did you retain?
Kristi:Not much.
Greg:Yeah. I know the first time I did it, it was years ago. And I actually was trying to do the bible in ninety days. Oh. Didn't pull that off.
Greg:I remember it was just get it done, get it done, get it done, get it done. Yeah. And I'm not saying there's no value in that, but I didn't retain much. I mean, the word never returns void. So there was value in it, but I wasn't letting it I wasn't sitting in what the word said.
Greg:So I think that's the problem. Most of us, we show up to church on Sunday and we hear a sermon, or we hear a podcast like this that may be on a topic, and you kinda hear that. Or you know all the bible stories, and you might memorize a few verses, and you've got all the right things to say, but you never actually apply it.
Kristi:Right. Well, I remember years ago, we did, like, a a New Testament and Old Testament survey. I did not know much about the bible. I knew some of the stories. I didn't know all the Sunday I didn't know all the Sunday school stories.
Kristi:But after watching those videos, the Bible actually came to life to me, because I had no clue how everything was connected. I had no clue you know, everyone was always like, oh, the Old Testament's boring and blah blah blah.
Greg:Yeah.
Kristi:But it's really, really not. And I think until you dig in and see the connections and see, every day, look for characteristics of God, and learn more about Him, instead of just being like so and so, so and so's dad, just getting it's like knowing history instead of learning history back in school.
Greg:Yeah. Maybe the way you look at it maybe the way we should look at it, and I think those tapes helped us do that, especially you, those really spoke to you. You've talked about that a lot over the years. You're trying to get to know God and not just to know about God. But I think so many of us, we sit down and we just read the scriptures to check off that list and maybe learn a few facts, but we're not really getting to know God and have a relationship.
Greg:Or or it could go the other way. I know a lot of people and, again, there's nothing wrong with this. These have a ton of value. It just can't be the only thing we do, where you read a devotional. Mhmm.
Greg:In the devotional I know I did a devotional with a group here a while back, and there was literally one or two verses in it per day. And then, like, two paragraphs of somebody's commentary on it, which is talking about life. And it really wasn't talking about the scripture, it was talking about just their life. Mhmm. There's value in that.
Greg:We learn from that, but that can't be all it is because then the scripture's not really transforming us.
Kristi:Right. It's just surface level. And it's good to hear testimonies of other people and how they applied that scripture to their life and so forth, but you you've gotta dig in yourself.
Greg:And the the best way to do that is really you gotta marinate on God's word. You can't just when you're chugging through a bible in a in a year plan man, I know there's one a lot of our people at our church do it. You do it. I've done it in the past, The Tara Lee Cobble bible in a year plan is great because she does give commentary with it. That's really applicable.
Greg:It's not just like devotional commentary. I mean, she's really teaching scripture in it. Mhmm. But it's so much information that you're taking in that I don't, I mean, honestly, some of the days when I did it, I couldn't go back in. If I could listen to it again, I'd be like, oh, that must be new.
Greg:I've never heard that. And it's the same stuff.
Kristi:It is. And I I've done that. I've done it. I think I'm on my fourth trip through with her. And there'll be days I'm like, I don't I don't remember that that information about that because I was on autopilot and just trying to check out because I love to check off a list.
Greg:Why is that? Why why sometimes checking off the list and getting it done feels more accomplished than actually changing? You ever thought about it?
Kristi:Right. Well
Greg:because we don't wanna change.
Kristi:Don't know. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Probably. I I don't know.
Kristi:It's probably just an internal thing, I got something done today kind of thing. You never stop transforming, and you never stop changing, so there's no end to that. You can't you haven't accomplished the end goal Yeah. Until till you're gone to be with him. So yeah.
Kristi:I don't know. But just marking off a to do list is
Greg:Oh, I know. You're the one that's gotta add something to a checklist. Even if you did it already, you gotta add it. Just you can check it off. Can see the check on there.
Greg:It's wonderful. It's not
Kristi:It's a rush. You don't even have a list. How do you know? I do
Greg:have a list. It's it's not nearly nearly like yours is. So Okay.
Kristi:Alright. So basically, if you sum everything up that we just talked about, information doesn't equal transformation.
Greg:No. I mean, you can take it to a you listen to a sermon on Sunday. If you don't take anything from it other than, you know, whatever that that sermon's takeaway line is or whatever those main points were, but you never actually go and do that. Mhmm. What's the point?
Kristi:Yeah. You're just wasting your time.
Greg:Yeah. And it's the same thing with just your regular bible reading. If you're reading the bible every day and you're like, oh, that's really cool, and that's it. Right. What's the point?
Kristi:When when I was looking at all of this before the podcast, I was it I don't know. When I'm thinking about God and us, it always, in my mind, I relate back to being a parent and our children, and our children may know exactly. They they may have listened to us. They may know what the rules are. You know, I don't wanna call the Bible rules, but they might know what they're supposed to do.
Kristi:But they just choose to ignore it
Greg:Yeah.
Kristi:A lot of the times, and it's it's kinda like we are with God. We we've heard the word, but we're not applying it. Yeah. It's it's just separate.
Greg:Yeah. And it's like that with everything. I read a book a while back called Atomic Habits, and you know how many atomic habits I have now?
Kristi:Zero.
Greg:Yeah. I read the book. It was awesome. I didn't not implement any of it. I think I tried to get you to read it, if I remember right.
Kristi:Started listening to it.
Greg:Yeah. And So I need to go back and read it and actually do it because it did not change anything for me.
Kristi:Yeah. Maybe you have
Greg:to worse.
Kristi:Maybe you have to make a habit of reading atomic habits.
Greg:Maybe so. It's worse when you do that with scripture, though.
Kristi:Right.
Greg:When you dig into it and don't let it change anything.
Kristi:So God's not really impressed with all of our knowledge. He wants No. Hearts He wants that are open
Greg:to change. He wants your heart. He wants your mind to be changed. He doesn't just want it to be filled with with knowledge. Right.
Greg:You read in in James, we've been going through the book of James with our church for now for it seems like, you know, five years. And it's been really powerful, but we kinda go back into where we started in James in James chapter one. So sorry if you're with our church, and we're going back into to that for you. But it says this, and and starting in verse 22, but don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says.
Greg:Otherwise, you were only fooling yourselves. I think that's pretty powerful there. You gotta do it or you're just fooling yourselves. Then it says, for if you listen to word and don't obey, it's like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself walk away and forget what you look like.
Greg:But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. I think some people hear God will bless you for doing it. It sounds like it's a reward.
Kristi:Right.
Greg:But really the blessing is getting to know God, and he transforms you into an entirely new being when you let scripture do it. Scripture's a powerful thing. It is. It reveals in you who you are. It shows us sin, which is the part that's really horrible because we don't wanna know what that is.
Greg:I hate those those parts. You know, I preached a sermon recently on how we deal with our our finances and our treasures and our resources, and I hated it because it exposed stuff in me and you that we had to discuss and how we're gonna start doing that and utilize and we're we're tithers. We give pretty regularly, but we aren't utilizing everything for the kingdom, and that exposed it in us. Yeah. What scripture does.
Greg:It exposes things you don't want to be exposed.
Kristi:It's more than money.
Greg:Yeah. Yeah.
Kristi:It's Every resource that we're given
Greg:Yeah.
Kristi:Along with money. I'm not saying if you do all of the others, you don't have to give your money because God gave you that. You need to give it back to him.
Greg:So if you if you read that passage in James, scripture shows you who you are. You should see it, and then you should respond to it. But typically, we walk away and don't do anything with what we've taken away from scripture.
Kristi:We read for knowledge instead of relationship. Yeah. And the Pharisees knew
Greg:A ton of knowledge, yeah.
Kristi:They knew the Scripture, and Jesus was standing right in front of them, but they missed him.
Greg:Yeah. You know who knows scripture really well nowadays? Atheists. They can argue scripture with the best of them. They don't apply scripture, and they don't understand scripture, but they know scripture better than a lot of Christians do.
Greg:And that's kinda kinda the whole point that we're talking about here. You can read scripture all day long, but if you don't apply it, you're not getting to know God, and he's not changing you through his word.
Kristi:Right. So what do we do to change? How do we change? How do we transform our our habits and sitting in scripture and not just checking off that box?
Greg:Well, first, it does need to be a habit. I mean, spiritual habits, spiritual disciplines are important. There was a I've shared this with our church before, a study done a while back. I think it was several years ago. I think the place was the Bible Engagement Center or something like that, but they surveyed, like, 40,000 people on on Bible engagement.
Greg:And, I mean, there's flaws with the survey because it's all kinda it's not like hard scientific evidence, but you can take a lot from from the responses to the survey. And what they found was Christians who read their bible four or more days a week have see significant life change. Mhmm. Christians who read their Bible three or fewer days a week see very little life change. Now what that tells me is you gotta be in your Bible, and you look at four days a week, that means you're in it at least every other day.
Greg:But there's also something to the way you do it. Mhmm. It's not just reading scripture.
Kristi:Right.
Greg:Which I've done it, you know? Last year, I did the whole Bible in a year plan, checked it off. But I I've kinda come across something this year that maybe it'll help some people. I've been sharing it with some guys that I meet with. None of them are doing it yet because it it does seem like a lot, but it's really not.
Greg:I've been doing it now for for the last couple of months, and it's it's awesome. John MacArthur, who if you don't know who John MacArthur is, he's a he was a world renowned evangelical pastor out in California, but he had this whole bible immersion idea. And, basically, it's read through the New Testament 30 times, But you don't just read through it 30 times. You you don't sit down and read it from beginning to end 30 times. You sit down and you read sections of it for a month at a time.
Greg:So for instance, I started with the book of first John. Read first John every single day for a month. It's only five chapters. It takes about fifteen minutes. Mhmm.
Greg:Some days you read it, and it's like, same stuff I read yesterday. But it's amazing how much you'll read it, and it's like, oh, I didn't pick up on that the first 20 times I read it. And what I have found is I'm as I'm reading it, and I'm almost done with first John now and with my time in first John, what I found is as I'm reading it, I can look and it's kinda in me now. I haven't memorized it by any stretch of the imagination, but I have memorized the ideas of it. Mhmm.
Greg:And I think it's starting to to kinda seep into me. Robbie Gallady, he's a a pastor. Actually, our nephew and his wife, it's it's their pastor out in Middle Tennessee. He has a saying he uses all the time. He's used it for years when I've I've heard him, and he says, you've gotta get in the Bible so that the Bible gets into you.
Greg:And that's really what this plan is. You read, and it doesn't have to be this, you know, get in the Bible regularly and just read small bits and meditate on them. That's what this plan does. You meditate on that for thirty days. That can become a checklist too.
Greg:Mhmm. It's really your approach to it. But if you're reading small bits and not just trying to check off these chunks and complete this plan within this amount of time, you know, I I told you read this for a month. Well, it's actually taken me about six weeks to get through the first month because we miss days, you know?
Kristi:Right.
Greg:But it happens. But it changes you. You've got to get into scripture and then just kinda always I know it sounds weird, but marinate in scripture. Just let it just sit in it.
Kristi:And I've heard where people just read a verse a day. They they just get and read that verse.
Greg:If that's where you're at, do that. Let that verse change you. Right. So then what do you do with it? You you don't just read it.
Greg:Yeah. I mean, you can read it and then check off and say, oh, I read it today. No. You you you can't just do that. You gotta slow down.
Greg:What does it actually say?
Kristi:Mhmm.
Greg:So so here's what I do. I'll just use this as an example. Again, this works for me. It doesn't have to work for anybody else. I've got a I'm marking up my Bible, and I I kinda highlight what does this and I'm not doing it like the whole book at once.
Greg:I'm doing sections. So what does this passage tell me about God? I mark that in blue. What's this telling me a promise to me or something I need to do? I mark that in green.
Greg:Are there any warnings in here? I mark those in red. And then I'll get my highlighter, and I'll just highlight, I wanna memorize this verse or I wanna really plant this verse. So it's more than just reading it. You're actually trying to see what it says.
Greg:Right. And then pick one thing. One thing. This week, I'm gonna do that.
Kristi:Right. Apply at least one thought or one lesson to your own life instead of and it sounds so simple instead
Greg:It is of simple.
Kristi:I mean, next to the like, and there's nothing wrong with Bible reading plans.
Greg:No, they're important, we need them.
Kristi:But it's, stop rushing through it, and and let it soak into you.
Greg:Yeah. Wow.
Kristi:Yeah. It sounds
Greg:so easy. You you have to be intentional.
Kristi:Mhmm.
Greg:So you take something, you say, alright. This scripture says this. I'm gonna do that this week. Make it a practice. And if you get to the end of week, you're like, well, I didn't do it this week.
Greg:Okay. Do it again next week
Kristi:Right.
Greg:Till it becomes a habit, till it becomes part of who you are. And when you start doing that over and over again with biblical principles, you start to be transformed by God's word. You apply it. You don't just read it.
Kristi:Right. And and and I've gone through this too, where getting into scripture wasn't a priority, and you're not gonna grow if you're not doing that. That's that's God's letter to us to get to know him. How are we gonna know him if we don't read his word?
Greg:If you really if you're a believer and you really want to let the word change you, number one, you've got to make the decision that I'm gonna do it. Don't just rely on your pastor to do it for you. Don't just rely on what you're learning on a Sunday morning. I want the word of God to change me. We are changed through the power of the Holy Spirit, but he speaks to us through his word.
Greg:So we've got to read his word. That's how you know God and what he he wants for your life. That's how you understand biblical principles and how to how to actually live in a way that brings glory to God. So you gotta make a decision to do it. Do it every day, but don't beat yourself up if you miss a day.
Greg:I mean, it's not over if you miss a day. You know? That study we talked about a few minutes ago was basically in every other day, it's changing you. So at least try to get in every other day. Mhmm.
Greg:Let the Lord change you, and read it slow. Try it for thirty days. Not anything magical about that. Scripture doesn't say if you read this for thirty days, it's gonna change you. Thirty days is just kind of a a number that works for human beings.
Greg:It's a month. So Mhmm. Try it for a month. A month's too long to commit? Try it for a week.
Greg:Commit to this for a week. I'm gonna sit with scripture today. I'm gonna read however you feel that, I wanna read four chapters. I wanna read four verses, whatever it is. But don't just read through them.
Greg:Don't just mark it off. I did it today. Mhmm. What does that say? Now I'm gonna go do that.
Kristi:And honestly, if you do it, even for seven days, it's gonna change your attitude about scripture, I really think. Yeah. Because once you see yourself doing it, applying it to your life, it's kinda like you catch a virus, and you you it just rolls rolls on after that.
Greg:Really what it comes down to is most Christians say they want spiritual growth, and they'll pray, God help me to grow. Okay. Put in the work. Spiritual growth, it's not some some great revelation from God that can happen. That's not typically how it happens.
Greg:Spiritual growth is reading his word and doing it. Mhmm. It's kinda boring if you really get down to it. It's it's practice over and over and over again.
Kristi:And it's not a quick thing. Like I said earlier, we're transformed our whole lives after becoming a Christian. It's not like you get saved, and then the next day you know everything, and you're all, have all the wisdom and all the answers. Yeah. It's it's a slow process.
Greg:Christianity is about transformation of your your mind, your heart, your actions. And and it happens through the reading, teaching, understanding of God's word, and then actually doing what it says. So it tells us over and over again, do what I say. Do what I say. Do what I say.
Greg:Jesus said if you love me, you will do what I say. James says if you're not doing what what he says, then maybe you're not even a Christian. That could be the case. But right the Christians that I know, it's not because they don't want to, it's they've not been taught to. Mhmm.
Greg:So that's what this is all about. You've gotta sit down. You've gotta make the commitment, and then repeated obedience changes you.
Kristi:That looks like something that would be on the screen in a sermon.
Greg:Maybe I'll use that sometime. Repeated obedience changes you. Okay. We made a note of that.
Kristi:We recorded it.
Greg:We used that one day. So, the bible shows you exactly what needs to change. Now it's on us to go do
Kristi:it. Right.
Greg:Christianity is a participation sport. Yes. You've got to do it. Right. The Lord does change you through the power of the spirit, but you you have a role.
Kristi:Yeah. He made us that way. I mean, he's not gonna just do it for us. We we we need to want it
Greg:Yeah.
Kristi:And do it.
Greg:Yeah. So one caution before we get off here, and then you kinda hit on a little bit earlier. If you make this commitment and you say, I'm gonna do this for thirty days or I'm gonna do it for a week, however long you feel like you can commit, and you get to the end and you say, there wasn't a lot of change, don't beat yourself up. Do it again and do it again. Alright.
Greg:I promise you, you're gonna look back in a year, and you're gonna be like, wow. I actually am changed.
Kristi:So do you have a recommendation on where to start doing what you're talking about in scripture where it's going to I mean, you can start anywhere, but what would you what's your opinion?
Greg:Well, I mean, really depends on where you're at as a Christian, but John MacArthur recommended you start in first John. I think that's a great place to start. But you could also start in the book of John if you're trying to learn who Jesus is and all about the gospel, the book of John, but don't read it all at once. Read, like, the first five chapters. First four whatever.
Greg:Whatever fits in your time. Right. Whatever you feel like you can whatever chunk you can do, and then read that over and over again for a week or thirty days or whatever it looks like. Then say, what's that say? Now I'm gonna go do it.
Greg:Don't just sit back and read it. Do what it says. Kinda like on a football team. The coach can give you the plays. Now you gotta go run the plays.
Kristi:Right.
Greg:If you don't do them, you're gonna lose the game.
Kristi:It's a good way to think of it.
Greg:Yeah. Anything to close it with?
Kristi:No. I'm I'm gonna start reading first John and do I'm I'm serious.
Greg:Yeah. I mean, it really has been good for me. I've been doing it, like I say, for six weeks, and even as a pastor who who reads the bible all the time, I'm usually reading that to teach. It has made a big impact on me. So I recommend it.
Greg:Go give it a try. It's not a magic bullet. It still takes work, and you still just gotta apply what it says. So that's just a good method. There's other methods out there, but find one, stick to it, and don't just mark it off.
Greg:Go do what it says.
Kristi:Quit making excuses.
Greg:Quit making excuses. So that's the god god made.
Kristi:That was good.
Greg:We will put an edit
Kristi:Oh, no. You need to leave that in. I like it.
Greg:That is the God Made Podcast for this week. We'll be back with you in just a couple of days for a follow-up episode. We do these every week because we just wanna sit down and actually look at what does it take to live as a Christian because we know showing up on Sunday doesn't fix everything. Being a Christian, it's a day to day walk. So we wanna walk through this with you and give you some tips on on what's helping us, and maybe we can learn something from you.
Greg:Leave some comments or some questions on the podcast down in the comment section. Like this video or like this if you're listening to the audio version. Make sure you subscribe, and do us a favor. Share it with somebody who you know could use this, who's trying to walk in in their Christian faith. Or maybe they're not even believers and they're just trying to figure out what they believe.
Greg:Share this with them. Maybe it'll help them along their walk. And we will see you in a couple of days for the next episode of the God Made Podcast.