Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - The Danger of Growing Up Christian | My Favorite Verses

Episode Date: April 7, 2021

Guest host Jensen Holt McNair shares her memories growing up as a Christian, and how easy it is to become numb to the power of the Bible. Do you follow us on https://twitter.com/tmbtpodcast (Twitter)? Now's a great time to start: https://twitter.com/tmbtpodcast (@tmbtpodcast). Want to follow https://twitter.com/PatrickKMiller_ (Patrick) or https://twitter.com/KeithSimon_ (Keith)? Check them out here: https://twitter.com/PatrickKMiller_ (PatrickKMiller_) & https://my.captivate.fm/Do%20you%20follow%20us%20on%20Twitter?%20Now%27s%20a%20great%20time%20to%20start:%20@tmbtpodcast.%20%20%20Want%20to%20follow%20Patrick%20or%20Keith?%20%20Check%20them%20out%20here:%20PatrickKMiller_%20&%20https://twitter.com/KeithSimon_ (KeithSimon_) Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to Tim Minna Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. My name is Patrick Miller. And I'm Keith Simon. We are currently exploring some of our favorite Bible verses and how they've changed our lives. Also, if you want to connect with us, follow us on Twitter at TMBT podcast. You can also check out our hashtag, hashtag, AskTTMBT, where you can ask us anything, and we'd love to connect with you. As a part of our series on verses that changed our lives, we're really excited to bring on some guest speakers. So here's the cool part. Every week, we are going to have a guest who is coming on to

share about a verse that changed his or her life. And our first guest is going to be Jensen Holt McNair. I've known Jensen for a long time. She previously worked at the crossing, which is where Keith and I are pastors in our college ministry, Veritas, which is actually where I got my start. And I've always thought that she's a sharp speaker who has great things to say. So I'm excited for you to hear from her today. Have you ever had to do something over and over again that in the moment felt like a huge waste of time? It's one of those things where you force yourself to do it, you finally finish it, and then all of a sudden you have to gear up to do it all over again. I'm sure you can think of lots of things. I can think of things that's true for. But if you're like me and you grew up in

Christian schools or Sunday school, well, that thing was Bible memory verses. And I know that sounds bad to admit, but even if you didn't grow up with them, imagine with me for a second, a world where every Friday before you got to go home from grade school and then middle school and then high school, you had to recite a random memory verse. And as soon as you were done, you'd get the new verse that you had to memorize for the next Friday. Now, don't hear what I'm not saying, right? Memorizing scripture is a good thing. I'm not saying it's not. And growing up going to Sunday school and Christian schooling, my whole childhood had a really positive impact on my life. But I think it also introduced a dangerous habit in my life. A habit of making scripture just another thing to read, study, and memorize. I think there's a danger for all of us who have been Christians for an extended period of time to fall. into the trap of becoming numb to the truth behind the words we're reading. And when we fall into that trap, we miss everything. See, I spent hundreds of hours of my life memorizing scripture,

learning the Bible stories, and studying God's word, so much time that it became second nature and then commonplace. And ultimately, it became powerless in my life. It took me a really long time to realize it was even happening. Looking back, I can see it happening so clearly, but I can also see how God used one of those very verses to break me out of the trap I had fallen into. See, in sixth grade, I had to memorize all of Psalm 139. It took an entire semester to memorize, and it stuck with me for years after. But it was just a party trick. It was something to be proud of knowing. I recited it hundreds of times without ever giving a thought to what the words might possibly mean for my life. It was a clear picture of how my heart had become numb to

scripture. Until, years later, when I went to the Grand Canyon. See, I don't know if you've ever been to the Grand Canyon, but it's incredible and intricate and huge and breathtaking and beautiful. It makes you feel small and insignificant. And while I was sitting there, Looking out at it, my friend and I, we decided to read the creation story. And to be honest, it changed everything. Genesis says that as God created the world, he said, it was good. It was good over and over again about the world he has made. And I'm looking out over this canyon and realizing that God made it. And he made it good. And it's not just words on a page anymore, but a real God who really made what was before my eyes. A God who's powerful enough to carve a canyon.

and creative enough to make it beautiful and steadfast enough to have sustained it for so long. It was good. But the coolest part is that when God creates humans, they weren't good. They were very good. And a light just went off in my head like, hey, I've heard this before. I know this. So I turned to Psalm 139 in my Bible and I read it and it meant something. I don't know if you've ever read Psalm 139 before, but it is a beautiful passage.

about God knowing us and his faithful people knowing him. There's a beautiful verse right in the middle of it that says, I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. And as I'm looking out at something that makes me feel small and insignificant, scripture brings me back to the reality that this may be stunning, but the prize of creation was humanity, not this canyon. And I don't know exactly what it was, but sitting there, taking in the truth of that scripture, Psalm 139 came to life. Something that had been lifeless and numb to me for so long, suddenly put so much into perspective. See, the creator of the universe called me very good. He crafted me in my mother's womb. I am fearfully

and wonderfully made by a God who created and sustained all of creation. I have a God who intimately cares about my life. whose presence I can't escape, whose mind I cannot fathom. Oh, Lord, you have searched me and you know me. That's the story I live in. That's the story of scripture. I am known by a God who calls me not just to know his word, but to understand its power and to live like I actually really, truly believe it. See, that day the last verse of Psalm 139 became my prayer for every day of my life. Search me, oh God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. See, if you're listening to this, you probably have some interest in knowing the Bible. But I want to challenge each one of us today to examine our heart.

and ask, do I really believe this? Do I want Scripture to change my life? Am I willing to live my whole life in light of the reality, the bigger story that Scripture points to? It's so easy. Trust me, I know I've lived it. It's so easy to be a part of the church, to walk a quote, unquote, faithful life, and spend years numb to the truth of the gospel. But the thing is, when we understand the truth of Scripture, when we see the bigger story, when we grasp the gospel, it changes everything. It changes the way we live, how we see ourselves, how we relate to God, to others. Imagine a church where we actually believed what we preached, where scripture wasn't

commonplace to us, but what we built our lives on, where people were living out their calling because they believed they were known by a God who loves them and created them for a purpose. Imagine how our communities would change. Imagine how much good would come if we lived like we believed the reality of the bigger story. See, if you're realizing you might be numb to the truth of scripture, well, then I invite you to pray the last verse of Psalm 139 with me today. Let's pray. Lord, search us, O God, and know our hearts. Know our thoughts, Lord. We want to be known by you, our creator.

You made us for a purpose and we want to live into that story. Search our hearts, God, and see if there is any grievous way in us. Lord, convict our hearts where we fail to open our eyes to the truth of your word. Uncover the ways we're blind to our ignorance. Lord, lead us in the way everlasting. Lead our hearts to understanding. May your word open our eyes to the reality of your story. May it convict us.

May it lead us. May we never know a day where we aren't walking in your presence and following your ways. Amen. 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. Texting 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.