Live Free with Josh Howerton - Proven Benefits of Reading Your Bible | Ep. 76 | Monday May 22, 2023

Episode Date: May 22, 2023

Are you feeling lost, lonely or struggling to find direction in life? Regularly engaging with the Bible has been proven to positively affect our mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Today, Pastor Mike shares how regular engagement with the Bible creates life-changing benefits. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. Church slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what's up everybody? I hope you're having a great day. Thanks for tuning in to the Daily Drive and whatever you're doing today.

Maybe driving to work, you're headed to school, maybe you're in a gym curling 25-pound dumbbells, or you're sitting on the back porch with a cup of coffee and a brown-sugar frosted Pop-Tart. Whatever you're doing? Hey, welcome to the Daily Drive. We're currently walking through the book of Colossians together. We're just taking little bite-sized nuggets a day at a time.

And Colossians is a letter that's found in the New Testament section of the Bible written to a bunch of brand new Jesus followers living in a city called Colossi, hence the title, Colossians. And the writer of this letter is a guy named Paul. We've talked about him a bunch. He's a guy that God chose to plant and equip and encourage churches.

He didn't actually plant this particular church, but he was super impressed with them, and so he writes to encourage them that they are on the right track. We talked last episode that there were a bunch of, quote-unquote theologians, philosophers, religious zealots, trying to lead them away from their faith in Jesus. So Paul writes this letter saying,

listen, don't fall for any of that junk. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He has existed from the beginning. He created all things, including us. He holds all things together, including us. All the fullness of God is seen in him. He laid down his life to restore our broken relationship with God. He rose from the dead so that we can too.

So don't let anybody lead you astray. Don't let anybody take you your faith away from Jesus Christ. He tells them in the verses we saw yesterday, don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world rather than from Christ. He is enough. And then he tells them and us, hang on a second, let me just hit Paul's right here.

I've been seeing a post going around social media that says, If Paul could see the current condition of the church, we'd be getting a letter. And it is kind of cute, that little post. But the thing is, we already have gotten a letter. Paul wrote a bunch of them. And I know there's context and history, a descriptive, and prescriptive language, and real people of the day that he addresses. But please know that these letters, they're not antiquated, they're not non-relevant,

they're not first century-specific only. God's word is living and active and fresh, and it's just as relevant and just as personal as it's always been. So this letter he wrote is to us. And he writes verse 6 to those of us who are Jesus followers in 2023. He says, and now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, and how did you accept him? Through humility, faith, trust, and surrender.

Just as you accepted him, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him and let your lives be built on him. Deep roots, strong foundation. And he says, then, then, then as you do that, Your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will actually overflow with thankfulness. The image you hear reminds me of what a songwriter wrote about the people who do that in Psalm chapter 1 says, they delight in the Lord meditating on it day and night. They're like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit in each season.

Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. Here's a freeing thing. The job of the tree is not to produce fruit. This job is to be planted by the river, and as a result, it produces fruit. And that's why I'm so excited that many of you are tuning in every day, and you're opening God's word these days, you're trying to memorize some verses, and you're sticking some truth in your heart, and you're renewing your mind to a whole new way of thinking.

You are planting yourself by the life-giving river. And people who do that, they produce a lot of good fruit in their life. I think you've probably heard this with the Center for Bible Engagement, recently surveyed 40,000 Americans from ages 8 to 80, and they discovered something that they weren't even looking for. They discovered the people who read the Bible one time a week, maybe saw or only read a scripture in church on the weekend. They saw a negligible difference in their life.

Their anxiety levels or habits, behaviors, etc., didn't really change. Those who read the Bible twice a week also saw a negligible difference. Those who read it three times a week experienced like a small blip on the radar, like a heartbeat on the EKG, But here's what shocked the researchers. Those who engaged with the Bible four times a week or more, there was a huge jump. The life changed as spikes off the chart. They found that reading the Bible four times or more per week resulted in significant life change,

such as the feeling of loneliness dropped 30 percent. Anger issues dropped 32 percent. Bitterness in relationships dropped 40 percent. Alcoholism dropped 57 percent. Feeling spiritually stagnant dropped 60 percent. Viewing pornography dropped 60 percent. he dropped 61%. And on the proactive side of things, sharing their faith,

jumped 200% because they had so much confidence in the God that they were getting to know. Serving other people living beyond themselves? Jump 230%. That's why Jesus said, listen, remain in me. Let my words remain in you, and you'll never stop growing, you'll never stop learning,

and your life will flourish in ways that you never dreamed. You will walk through life knowing that you are accepted and secure in my love. So why don't we just do that today? Let's let our roots grow down into him because he is enough. Hope you have a great day. We'll pick up here next time. Thanks for tuning in today.

For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out? For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.compt.combe.combe.combe. slash daily drive.