Study Day

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." -2 Timothy 2:15

So here at good old Winthrop University we have a little day called Study Day. It is the day before all the madness of exams begin.  However, studying is the least likely thing you will see going on.  Just to give an example, my day has considered of a trip to Target, a baby shower, a nap, and will continue with pancakes with all my BCM friends later tonight.  Surprisingly when I think of Study Day, Winthrop was not the first thing that popped into my mind, but the verse above was.  I learned this verse years ago in AWANA because it is the key verse, Approved Workman Are Not Ashamed.

I got to thinking about how much I study my Bible.  I am currently in the process of reading the whole Bible, not from Genesis to Revelation exactly, but by reading whatever book God calls me to read next. He's recently had me skipping about the Old Testament covering 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. But I began thinking "what is the real purpose of studying our Bibles?" God is not going to give us a test, we don't always need verses to stir peoples hearts, and what's the point of knowing exactly where things are in your Bible with all the reference books we have today?  I was then reminded of this verse. We study our Bibles to show that we are dedicated to God's kingdom.  Everyday of our lives should be considered a Study Day and we should be preparing to accurately share our faith. There are many people who twist Bible verses and if you don't know the Bible, you will never catch the false teachers that the book of Jude warns us about. This is why we must be ready to "accurately handle the word of truth."

Lastly, I thought about the verse that comes from 1 Peter 3:15b which says "always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."  We should always be willing and ready to share our faith.  However, it is a little hard and unnerving to share something that you know very little about. I challenge you to read and memorize more of your Bible, to not be ashamed of God, and to always be ready to defend your faith.

*Someone suggested to me one time that a great way to memorize verses is to put them in your shower. It works!