Untitled - by Josh Roberts

Josh Roberts is a close friend of The Shelter and brother to Pastor Mike Roberts of Believer's Christian Fellowship.

The older I get - which at 24 is not so old – nonetheless, I have realized two things as I read and study the Word of God (aka The Bible): 1) I know so little about God, and 2) it’s never God that’s the problem; it’s me.

In regards to the first point, I have spent a good amount of time with my nose in the Bible and in books about the Bible; spent time studying the Hebrew language (which is the original language of the Old Testament) and translated ancient Hebrew texts. So I would definitely classify myself as a certified nerd. I don’t write this with the intention of making it seems like I am some sort of super-Christian. My goal is to display my passion and excitement for God and His Word. You see, the Bible has this sort of addictive property to it. Once you start “using” you don’t want to stop! And I have come to the realization that the more and more I study about God and His Word, the more I conclude I know so little! The study of the Bible is not exhaustive, and what I mean by that is you can never, and I mean never, know everything there is to know about God. That excites me! I know that every time I pick up the Bible, God can reveal something to me I have never seen before…it doesn’t matter if I have read that portion of text one time or one hundred times, there is always something new and revealing of God and His character.

Some of you may be thinking “I don’t like to read the Bible, its boring.” And to be honest with you, there are some books in the Bible that make me think the same way. But why is it boring? Because we don’t understand it. There are just some things in the Bible that seem so far from our understanding it makes reading it seem impossible. But here is where God, in His mercy and grace, has foreseen this “mental roadblock,” and has given us a tool to use in understanding His Word—His Holy Spirit. What has worked in my life in helping me to figure out some things is saying a little prayer before I open my Bible and start to read, and it goes “Father, thank you for Your Word. I ask that as I read it You reveal Yourself to me; Holy Spirit open up my eyes to see the truth and understand who God is. Amen.” When you take the time to read God’s Word and ask for His help to understand it, you will not want to put the Bible down…I promise!!!

Your growth and understanding of God’s word is dependent on the condition of your heart. You see, as much as God wants you to learn and grow, the devil wants desperately to take it all away! We need to keep our hearts right in order to receive and grow with God. Jesus took the time in His life on this earth to tell us about this problem; check out Matthew 13. Jesus tells a story about a man who goes out and plants some seed and that seed falls on various types of soil: hard soil, rocky soil, thorny soil, and good soil. The seed that falls on the hard soil was just eaten by the birds because the seed could not be rooted in hard soil. The seed that feel on rocky soil started to grow, but because the plant had no root, when the sun came up, it scorched the plant and it died. The seed that fell on thorny soil began to grow, but as it grew, those thorns choked the plant and it died. Yet, the seed that fell on good soil became rooted and grew strong.

Jesus goes on to explain the meaning of this little story. The seed represents the Word of God and the soil is us. For you see, it’s never the Seed (or the Word) that’s the problem, it’s the soil (or US!). We cannot be so hard that when we hear God’s Word that we don’t even let it register; that’s when the devil can come and snatch it away. It does nothing for us.

Neither can we be so shallow that we do not allow God’s Word to take root. Do not confuse emotional excitement for spiritual depth. Growing in God TAKES TIME! Let me say that again, growing in God TAKES TIME! Also, we cannot allow things in our life (sin) to choke the Word. If we allow sin to remain in our lives, every time we try to grow, we begin to choke! Am I saying you have to be perfect, no; no one’s perfect. There’s an awesome verse in the Bible and it goes “Your Word have I hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11) You will see, the more of God’s Word you put in your life, the easier it will be to say ‘no’ to sin. Notice, I didn’t say you won’t be tempted to sin, the temptation will always be there; but the more of His Word you know, the better off you will be! We need to be like the good soil, where we hear the Word; soak it in, let it take root, and start to grow!