Episode #271 Beyond Bible Facts: Finding Real Change – Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Hey friend, it's Jen. I have some questions for you today, with no judgment here. How many podcasts are in your queue right now? How many books are on your nightstand? How many saved articles, pins and posts are you planning to get back to someday? I have lost count of mine in all of those categories, and the reality is we have access to more information than we could possibly consume in our lifetimes. We're drowning in content, yet somehow we also can feel spiritually dehydrated. Have you ever wondered why?

We're talking about that today in the context of the spiritual discipline of study, and I wanna talk about the difference between information and transformation, between collecting knowledge and being changed by it. In Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster talks about a common mistake, which is mistaking the accumulation of information for knowledge. They're not the same thing.

I've been there. I've collected biblical facts and memorized Bible verses without knowing how they could transform me from the inside out. True study, Foster tells us, involves four steps: repetition, concentration, comprehension, and the one we often miss—reflection. He says, "Although comprehension defines what we are studying, reflection defines the significance of what we are studying."

Now. We've talked about that in a few recent episodes, looking at where we give our attention to and how to meditate. I'll link those here in the show notes. But the emphasis for today is on the transformation that God wants to carry through in our lives. Studying for information's sake is missing the point, especially when it comes to being a student of God and of the Bible. If we just gather information, we're missing the reason he's giving us insights about him to begin with.

It reminds me of James 1:22-25, which warns us against merely acquiring information without allowing it to change us:

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do."

James uses this image of someone who looks in a mirror and then forgets what they saw. We can see that in our approach to the Bible. I know, I've literally experienced that with my Bible open. Where I would read truth about who God is and what he's like and who we are in him as his kids and how we get to live, and I would close my Bible and I would forget any or all of those things. I would miss the opportunity to seek understanding of how that word applies to my life. Or I would try and apply it, but I would forget that this is the word coming from a God who's like this shown in scripture or who cares for me in this way as I just read. I would put broken assumptions on myself or God or what obedience to the word even looked like.

But true study isn't about how much we know or even about how much we can figure out how to do on our own. It's about how deeply we've allowed what we know to change us. And this type of transformative study requires stillness, which is another thing that is so counter-cultural to our information saturated world.

We don't need to seek out more information and we don't need to do in our own strength. We get to study with intentionality and reflection, looking upon God on display in his word. Taking what he would give us and asking him how it applies to our own lives because we are his kids, because of who he is.

I wanna invite you to make space for reflection on something you already know. What truth have you heard so many times, but you haven't fully digested it yet?

What would it look like to let a certain piece of information sink more deeply from your head into your heart? Well, let's talk with God about that. Here's the question that you can take to him today:

God, what have you been trying to move from my head to my heart? How can I create space for you to transform me with that truth?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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