Our society is perpetually in a hurry. We always find ways to shorten our task or even shave off just few seconds to accomplish it. We can do more in a day now because of cell phones, fax machines, email and video conferencing. We all rely so much on these devices to help us get through the day.
This becomes a problem when we allow our fast-paced, instant-gratification life and world shape our thinking. Too many people in our society today view life in terms of shortcuts. Hence, the concept of time-consuming, hard work is becoming totally foreign to us. Everywhere, we see people are trying to minimize the effort they have to put forth and maximize their time off.
It is good to be reminded that Christian life is not about quick fixes, shortcuts, or hurrying. Our desire to become Christ-like and the pursuit of holiness take time. Real spiritual growth does not happen in short bursts or quick fixes. It is a lifelong struggle against our old sinful nature. True spiritual growth takes thoughtful, consistent effort, and weeding sin out of our lives is a long, difficult process.
No matter where you are in your spiritual maturity, we want to encourage you to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2) by spending time in God’s Word. The hard work of spiritual growth - forsaking sin and temptation and cultivating righteous habits - starts with your spiritual intake. The basic step is to fill and refill your mind with the powerful truth of God’s Word. Scripture alone is able to strengthen and sustain your spiritual growth, and only the biblical truth will help you successfully fight off temptation.
A fast-paced lifestyle makes it difficult to slow down, read the Bible, pray, and meditate on God’s Word. It is necessary for believers to prioritize and carve out time with the Lord. Therefore, we encourage all of you to start implementing a discipline of reading, studying and meditating on Scripture passages on a daily basis. There are many tools available to schedule daily reading.
We encourage you to use different translations and paraphrases of the Bible to get a better understanding of the Word. There are two important reasons for this. First, the Bible was originally written using 11,280 Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words, but the typical English translation uses only around 6,000 words. Obviously, nuances and shades of meaning can be missed, so it is always helpful to compare translations. Second, we often miss the full impact of familiar verses, not because of poor translating, but simply because they have become so familiar! The different translations and paraphrases can help you see God’s truth in new, fresh ways.
May the Lord Bless you as you devote your time in His Word.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB).
