After God’s Own Heart, Dr. Jack Terry’s Class, Pt 2
Yesterday morning Dr Terry spoke about why King David was called “a man after God’s own heart” David was a murderer, an adulterer, and a ruthless warrior, though these events came later in life and didn’t define the character that built him. Still, God knew these things about him before they happened, and yet the Bible still calls him ‘after God’s own heart’. So why? Short version; because he was always engrossed in God’s Word, through study, prayer and psalms.
Dr Terry spoke of a study done by Fuller Seminary that surveyed its Seminary students with basic questions of Christianity and Bible beliefs. The questionnaire had several questions, but Dr Terry was only really interested in 3.
1) How many minutes per week do you spend in prayer?
2) How many Bible verses do you read per week, on your own time?
3) How many times do you attend a church service, per week?
Mind you, these questions were sent to either Seminary students or seasoned Christians, not the general population or newly converted. The answer shocked Dr Terry, though in my skepticism, I can’t say that I was all that surprised.
Answer to #1 – 32 seconds/week
Answer to #2 – 1/3 of a verse, per week (ex. ‘For God so loved the world that He gave’)
Answer to #3 – 2.25 times/week.
People, we cannot live like this. We cannot say that we believe the things in the Bible yet never read, study or memorize them, hiding them in our heart. We cannot be effective witnesses, effective ’salt of the earth’ with these kinds of statistics. Sure, we read commentaries and other books by C.S. Lewis or John Piper, Billy Graham, Max Lucado, Charles Stanley, etc.. And with all due respect to these men, they are not Bible authors. Yes, they have good things to say that we should want to read, but this isn’t a replacement for Biblical Study.
You cannot expect to lead the life of a Redeemed Saint and ignore these fundamental commandments that God has given us.