Humbly Study the word

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he will lift you up. James 4:10

When I think of being humble I think about being teachable and open to instruction or correction. When it comes to God's Word, it is so important we open it in a humble way and be prepared for God to change our thoughts, change our attitude, change our direction, or change our hearts in a way we don't expect. As learned as I may be in the Bible, I am far away from being an expert. And I am far from being able to know what God will do when he puts his Word on my heart.

When it comes to being an authority or an expert on God's Word, there is no one who can make a claim. We all have so much more to learn, so much more to be taught. Our understanding is too often just touching the surface and we have so much deeper to go.

In the book of Hebrews 5:12 it says, "we need milk, not solid food." In other words we have not yet fully grasped the basics to move on to the more advanced levels of understanding. The day we feel we have mastered the basics of God's Word, of faith, and of our relationship with the Lord is the day we need to go back to the most foundational teachings of all.

So be ready to hear, be ready to learn, be ready to grow when you open the Word. Expect the unexpected. Take out all your assumptions and supposed mastery of the Bible. Don't let your pride get in the way to think that you have nothing new to learn.

Readings for this week:

June 22
2 Kings 3:1-4:17
Acts 14:8-28
Psalm 140:1-13
Proverbs 17:22

June 23
2 Kings 4:18-5:27
Acts 15:1-35
Psalm 141:1-10
Proverbs 17:23

June 24
2 Kings 6:1-7:20
Acts 15:36-16:15
Psalm 142:1-7
Proverbs 17:24-25

June 25
2 Kings 8:1-9:13
Acts 16:16-40
Psalm 143:1-12
Proverbs 17:26

June 26
2 Kings 9:14-10:31
Acts 17:1-34
Psalm 144:1-15
Proverbs 17:27-28

June 27
2 Kings 10:32-12:21
Acts 18:1-22
Psalm 145:1-21
Proverbs 18:1

June 28
2 Kings 13:1-14:29
Acts 18:23-19:12
Psalm 146:1-10
Proverbs 18:2-3
29 2 Kings 15:1-16:20