Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - 5 Ways Reading Helps Our Walk with Jesus + BOOK GIVEAWAY | Keith & Patrick

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to drive across town. I'm Keith Simon. And I'm Patrick Miller. On today's episode, we're going to take a step away from our series on 1 Corinthians 13 and Paul's definition of love. To talk about a habit that both Keith and I have developed over the years, and this habit has helped us tremendously in our walk with Jesus. That habit is reading. At the end of the episode, we're going to talk about a book giveaway that's coming up, so maybe make sure to stay tuned so you can find out how to enter.

Starting point is 00:00:38 Keith, why don't you start? When I was young, I love to read, but probably like most people, going to school, killed that desire. I just having to read became more of a chore than something I really enjoyed. But after I became a Christian, and then especially after I got out of college, I realized that I wanted to keep learning and growing, just as a person, as a husband, and then father and in my faith, and in all ways. And so what I started doing is reading as a way to have a mentor in my life, somebody to pour into me.

Starting point is 00:01:08 And most of us would love to have a mentor, and yet those are hard to find. And what I found is that when I began to read, I was really learning from other people and getting their input into my life. It was helping me become a better Christian, a better father, a better husband. And so I became a reader because I knew that I needed to grow. And that's what drove me to become the kind of person who just loves to read now. Okay, so if you had to pick one author who's been your biggest mentor, who would it be? If you're talking about parenting teenagers, it's Paul Tripp. If you're talking about theological development, it was probably Jonathan Edwards.

Starting point is 00:01:42 If you're talking about how to think about the gospel and grace, it was probably Tim Keller. I've always looked for all kinds of different people who are experts in different areas to help me grow and develop. That's great. And hey, now we just gave other people some good ideas and mentors. They can start listening to via books. How did you become a reader? Yeah, so I have not been a reader my whole life. In fact, I'm sure everybody had this experience of being in an English class in high school where they would tell you to read a certain amount of the book. And then when you're done, look up, I was always the last person to look up. I was the slowest reader in my classes. I had a hard time reading, had a hard time visualizing what I was seeing. So for me, at least, becoming a reader, it wasn't really a natural thing. But what really changed was actually after I became a Christian too, I, had these Christian friends and they were talking about ideas, the Bible, theology, and I just felt

Starting point is 00:02:34 totally left out of the conversation. And I quickly realized that following Jesus wasn't just a faith of the heart, it was a faith of the mind. And if I was going to engage my mind, I was going to have to become a reader. I was going to have to learn theology. I was going to have to read books about the Bible. And so to be a part of the conversation, I started doing it. I did it very slowly. Again, I was a very, very slow reader. But eventually I became a part of the conversation. And the funny thing for me is I've seen that this has benefited me outside of just my Christian walk. I mean, when I go over to someone's house and they're having a conversation, because I read pretty widely, I've usually got something to contribute. I've usually got good questions that I can ask.

Starting point is 00:03:15 It doesn't matter if it's Christianity. You know, I can talk about politics or art or business. So reading, you know, it makes me a good dinner guest as well, I guess. I agree so much. I cannot sit into another dinner conversation and talk about kids' activities and how busy everyone it is. is it drives me nuts. And when you read magazines, newspapers, books, whatever it is, you feel like there's more subjects that you can discuss and it just makes the night more fun and relationships more interesting. I totally agree. Another reason I read is because I want to make a difference in my life and I've never heard anyone say that they've become a better leader or that they've made a difference by watching a lot of television. I mean, you just never hear anybody say that. And so I know part of it's just

Starting point is 00:03:59 personality and the way I'm wired. But I don't watch TV other than some sports, mainly football, and it's football season now. So my TV's on a little bit more than usual. But when you talk about the popular television shows, The Office, Never Seen an episode. Parks and Rec, never seen an episode. Wait, wait. Let's just pause. You're saying you've never watched an episode of the Office. I've never watched an episode of the Office, Parks and Rec, Mad Men. How do you make it in the world? I've never watched Game of Thrones. I've never watched any of the popular Grey's Anatomy. Anything that you can think of.

Starting point is 00:04:31 You're a very high-functioning non-TV watcher. I feel like I have kids and whatever, and I talk to people like I've heard about all those things. I feel like I know some of the characters and, you know, the Sopranos. I can talk about it a little bit, but I really have never seen any of them. And that's because I just want to do something else with my time. Reading equips me, I think, to make a bigger difference in my life. world than watching television does. So let me be clear. I'm not against watching all that shows. I've heard it's the golden age of television. All of those are wonderful things and people enjoy them.

Starting point is 00:05:05 Great. It's just that I had to give up something in order to read. And that's one of the things I chose to give up. That's great. I think everybody does want to make a difference in the world. And practically, what that looks like is caring for people. And that leads into another reason that I like to read. Reading helps me understand others. I remember, this is probably five or six years ago, I read a book about an autistic teenager. And I don't have autism. I've never had a family member with autism. It's not something that's really close to my own personal story.

Starting point is 00:05:38 But reading that story, it gave me the ability to enter into his experience and to understand a little bit more, not perfectly, but a little bit more what it would be like. I spent a lot of time meeting with people. It's part of being a pastor. And reading fiction has helped me understand people. stories so much more quickly, so much more easily. I remember meeting with one guy. He liked to be, this is what he said. He goes, I was telling him he should start reading fiction. He goes, I don't read fake stuff. And I laughed to myself. I thought, reading fake stuff is what helps me

Starting point is 00:06:09 not be fake with people. It's a thing that helps me make sense of others. I read a book several years ago called The Fault in Our Stars, and it was about a couple of kids with cancer. And I still remember a line, one of the characters delivered in the course of the narrative. And this is a person that was unhappy and her friends were trying to get her to move to be happier. And she said, I think I've mastered the ability to be unhappy wherever I live. And I thought, what an insight into my life, to be honest. And what an insight into the people I meet with and know. So I agree. It helps you know people and where they're coming from. Another reason that I think reading is important, especially reading people who hold perspectives different than your own, is that it helps you

Starting point is 00:06:53 sharpen your arguments. It helps you understand what you believe and why you believe it. And sometimes it helps you even change your mind because you're persuaded by someone else's argument. So I try to read very widely. I try to read things from both a liberal and a conservative point of view. I try to read people who disagree with me theologically, biblically, on how to run a church. They might have a different perspective. I try to read people who hold different political beliefs because I want to really have my beliefs tested. And I think in our world where we kind of have fallen into tribalism, it's really important to be a part of a broader conversation than just people who agree with

Starting point is 00:07:34 you all the time. And I think it helps you kind of have respect for people who are different than you, because you kind of have this sense that they're not dumb. I mean, they've got good things to offer. They've got good arguments. And you have a certain amount of respect for them and compassion, understanding where they're coming from and why they believe the way they do, why they act the way they do. So I think reading widely helps us to love our neighbor and have more empathy and have our own

Starting point is 00:08:02 ideas challenged. I think it's pretty important in my life. So five ways that reading has helped us in our walk with Jesus. Number one, it gives us mentors. Number two, it helps us join into the conversation. Number three, readers change the world, not TV watchers. I mean, you can watch TV and still change the world, but readers especially. Number four, it helps you understand others. And number five, it protects you against tribalism. It helps us to love people who are different than us, which is exactly what Jesus calls us to do. So let's end here by just giving a few pieces of advice to all of our non-readers out there, because I can imagine someone listening to this. And I're thinking, look, I've wanted to read, I've tried to read. It's just never worked out for me. So it's great

Starting point is 00:08:44 that you guys are saying this, but I've already given up. Well, what can they do? Well, I think start with something that you're interested in. Don't try to read something that somebody else told you you should read if you don't have a genuine interest in it. I'd also look for a recommendation. What's a book that a friend of yours read that that person really enjoyed? And if it's a similar interest of yours, then pick that up. Start with that. And don't overdo it. I mean, it can just be really simple. You don't have to pick a really challenging book. You can pick a shorter book or a book with shorter chapters. I think the key is to get started because I'm convinced that if you get started, you're going to get sucked in and you're going to come back for more because you're going to love

Starting point is 00:09:27 being challenged. You're going to love learning. And so I think the key is, start with something interesting, start with a recommendation, start with something fairly easy and try to just build it into your habits. I think building it into your habits is huge too. For me, I've got a few times in my day that I read. I always read before I go to sleep. It helps me fall asleep. I usually read whenever I wake up in the morning. It's just one of the first things I do when I get out of bed. What about you? When do you read?

Starting point is 00:09:53 One place I read is at the gym. I have figured out a way to have my Kindle on an elliptical, and I read every morning that I'm at the gym. Now, I get it that I'm not getting the best workout, but I'm getting some workout, and I'm able to read more books than I would if I didn't read while I was working out. So I think if you can figure out how to look for little places in your life where you can add reading, maybe it's while you wait for your kids to get out of a practice. You've got a book and you're ready to read a little bit.

Starting point is 00:10:23 Whatever it is, look for small ways to incorporate reading into your already busy life. Yeah, and that's one reason I like things like having a Kindle, because when I go to the doctor's office, it's right there on my phone if I want to read something. Or something that's been good for me, and I know you're not as big of a fan as audiobooks. You can listen to it while you're driving. You can listen to it while you're waiting. for me, that's been one of my primary modes of reading, especially, you know, I've got little kids, and so it can be hard to sit down with a book. It can be hard to find long periods of time,

Starting point is 00:10:51 but I can get, you know, three or four minutes of a book in here and there. So let's just say that you read two pages every day. Every person that's listening to this, no matter how busy you are, you'd probably say, I could do that. I could read two pages a day. So, look, I'm not a math major, but I'm pretty sure that if you read two pages a day every day for a year, that'd be over 750 pages. Now, if a book is 200 pages long, you've read almost four books. And for some of you, that would be a lot more than you read last year. So two pages a day would get you through four really good books, books that would be really good for your faith. So obviously, we're just getting started on this podcast, and we're trying to get word out about the podcast, let people know

Starting point is 00:11:34 about what we're doing. And fitting along with today's theme, we thought a cool idea would be to give away some books. So we're going to do a book giveaway starting today, and it's going to run through next Monday. Here's how you do it. If you go to the Crossing's Facebook page, that's the Crossing Como, and you find the post that's related to this particular episode, go on there and tag a friend in it. Tell a friend, hey, I think you'd like this podcast. If you tag a friend and then you subscribe to this podcast, you'll be entered into a free book giveaway. So let's talk about the three books we want to give away. One book I want to give away is, a book called Confronting Christianity by a woman named Rebecca McLaughlin. She's a PhD from Cambridge,

Starting point is 00:12:15 and she has taken on some of the common questions, common objections that people have toward faith, toward Christianity in the 21st century. And it's really well done book. Now, one reason I'm motivated to give it away is because she is coming to speak here at the crossing on the last Sunday of October. And it would be great if you had read her book and were able to kind of track what she would saying on that Sunday morning. So let's start with that one. Oh, by the way, she has a British accent, so we know everyone's going to love her. I wish I had a British accent. Yeah, you sound smarter. They'd take me more seriously. Yeah, people take you pretty seriously. That's because I wear glasses. If you don't have a British accent, just put on glasses, that's second

Starting point is 00:12:57 best. I'm screwed. Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. So for our second book, the book I want to give away is a book called How God Became King by NT Wright. So if someone asked you tomorrow, what's the gospel. Would you have an answer? Would you know what to say? For a lot of my life, I think I would have had some sort of answer to that question. But when I picked up NTWrites book, how God became king, he really challenged my perspective, how I would define what the gospel is, what the good news is. It's a book that I've read multiple times, and it's had a pretty big impact on my own faith, so I'm excited to give it out. I love that book. I've read it twice myself and probably would enjoy reading it again. For the third and final book, it's going to be a surprise, a mystery book that I am going to throw in.

Starting point is 00:13:42 Are you saying it's of the mystery genre? No, I'm just saying that you're not going to know what it is. To be honest, I don't know what it is right now. I've got several options in mind. And all I will say is it won't be a Christian book. It will be something else from a different genre, a different kind of thing that I think people will find interesting. I get some ideas, but I don't want to commit to any of them right now. I don't know if I should be excited or scared, but I guess I won't be winning, so it doesn't matter.

Starting point is 00:14:05 Awesome. So just to repeat, if you go onto the Crossings Facebook page and tag a friend in that post and subscribe and subscribe, you've got to do both, tag a friend and subscribe. You'll be entered into this contest. We're going to pick three winners who will all win those three books. So make sure to go online and check that out. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with. an episode to a friend or family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - 5 Ways Reading Helps Our Walk with Jesus + BOOK GIVEAWAY | Keith & Patrick

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