It has been my observation that scripture has more to say about studying and learning than first meets the eye. The classic statement on reading scripture appears in 2 Timothy 2:15; we learn from Paul that we should study scripture and be able to express our thoughts to others who do not understand the truth.

If we invest the time, we will benefit from reading the ancients wisdom.  How does this notion of ‘studying’ emerge in our life? It starts with the occasional emission of pithy observations in our favorite bible study (as we gradually find our voice). We sometimes surprise ourselves with the things that come from our heart. We wonder where they came from. Then God reminds us of the source.

The pithy stuff morphs into decisions about how we are to live our life (scripture gradually seeps into our heart, overrides our earthly thoughts). We could say that acquisition morphs to transformation. Acquiring information leads to a changed (transformed) heart. As a man thinks – a man is. You have heard me say this proverb many times in my essays. Take a minute and review Proverbs 23:7…

All who manage their thoughts and control that noise come out of the mouth will keep his soul from troubles (implied in Psalms 21:23). The righteous man consumes the wisdom of God to satisfy and feed his soul: but the belly of the wicked craves earthly prater (implied in Proverbs 13:25).

Decide to learn. Knowing God’s word helps us to see trouble coming and tiptoe around the landmines of false teachings and philosophies. Knowing God’s word helps us to see goodness when we are staring at it. When a man takes the time to press into the Word, amazing things start to happen. The journey starts when we decide we want to enrich our relationship with God. Success begets success. But, during the growth process it is not uncommon to compare ourselves with others. I suggest you refrain from comparing your learning pace to others.

Learning is an extremely personal process, detailed cookie cutter methods do not usually yield much fruit, we all grow at different paces, with different interests in the variety of topics discussed in scriptures. Proverbs tells us — The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out (Proverbs 18:15). Decide that now is the time to start. Now is the time to grow. Now is the time to crawl into God’s word.

Identify your initial learning targets.I think it is wise to develop a simple list of things in which you are interested. You probably have a vague idea of things you are interested in, but I suggest you make it more specific; with a list you can monitor your progress. A little success, documented, leads to more success.

Daniel tells us — To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds (Daniel 1:17).

In addition to the list, I suggest you declare a clear ‘why’ I want to know the stuff on the list. Having a clear goal defined will help you know when you have achieved the learning objective. Proverbs tell us — Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them (Proverbs 4:5).

You might have noted that I did not recommend building a formal, detailed learning plan. While this can be helpful for some efforts, I think in this case the level of effort would not bear much fruit. Planning everything out at the front does not leave much space for spontaneous pursuit of interesting stuff you did not know you wanted to explore. I can say for sure – you are learning goals will shift over time.

I noted in 1 Kings 3:5-10 an interesting exchange between God and Solomon — That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”   Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who does not know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For whom, by himself, is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom (NIV).

I think it might be helpful to approach learning with Solomons willing heart. The first two objectives of learning are (1) Decide to learn and (2) Focus on your learning targets. There is more. In the next essay I will continue this line of reasoning. If you are interested, find the essay titled – Infusing the Mind.

I choose Jesus.