Lisa and I were discussing yesterday how much it saddens us that it’s hard to find people passionate about the Word of God. There’s people on every street corner who try to be good, good enough, and there’s a lot of people who want to be a Sunday School teacher, or youth leader, or member of a Bible Study. But how many of us can claim, as Jeremiah did, “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty” (Jer 15:16)?
All too often I see people who read the Bible as if it were a story. People who, as they read it, only really listen to the parts that match up with their thinking. People who read without understanding, without really critically examining it. It saddens me when someone reads a passage of scripture quickly, then makes a claim that it says something totally unfounded, or merely assumes that the meaning of it all is “be nice to people.” In a “Chicken Soup” world, we’ve forgotten what a treasure God’s Word is, turned off our brains, and started living a Joel Osteen brand of Christianity–where it’s all “good advice” and heartwarming stories, and no real scriptural wisdom.
If you want more than that, I have two steps start here and ask God to change the way you view scripture:

Memorize and Meditate on Scripture

Study Scripture

Study Scripture with a Study Bible if you like, but I highly recommend downloading e-Sword (it’s free) and taking advantage of the zillions of translations and commentaries that you can download and read side-by-side to help you come to a deeper understanding of the wealth of wisdom contained in the Word of God.