Challenge #3: Study

Last night I had a nightmare.

It's been years since I've had such a horrible, vivid dream - one which would prohibit any return to decent sleep.  I awoke from the dream at 2:30am and after an hour of tossing and turning and trying to eradicate the disturbing images from my head, I chose to get dressed and go climb the "M" on Mount Sentinel.

Upon opening my front door, I was surprised to find the entire neighborhood blanketed by 2 inches of snow!  This did not deter me from driving to the trailhead and beginning my ascent.  I was completely alone - there were no footprints in the snow.  The mountain was mine.

I wish I could say it was an effortless climb, but my 38-year-old body was puffing and wheezing most of the way.  Once I finally made it to the base of the concrete letter, I looked out over the city.

I began to study.

Most of the time, when we think about "study" we conjure up dreaded images of books, notes, diagrams, memory-work, thinking and more thinking…  The Discipline of Study is not an exciting endeavor!

Or is it?  When we speak of a Bible Study, the notion is that someone, or some curriculum, will provide us with several keys to interpretation of the Scripture - interpretation that we could not have achieved on our own.  We open the Bible, often with a prejudice that the Book is way too big, way too cumbersome to tackle by ourselves.  In a way, this thought is true - the Bible is a never-ending conglomeration of God-inspired law, history, poetry, cryptic prophecy, mundane genealogies, quips of wisdom, songs, etc., etc…

But in another, very real way, it is a personal tool of communication between you and God.  It is a means for the Spirit of God to speak to each of us in a way that, individually, we must hear.  Next time, when you study, try to simply read the Word of God without thought of verse numbers and cross-references.  Read a part of Scripture, then re-read it… and then re-read it again.  Let the words of God seep into your heart, your mind.  Listen for the Spirit to speak.

On Mount Sentinel, I stood, overlooking the city of Missoula - no Bible in hand.  And yet I studied.

The Discipline of Study is not confined to Scripture!  We study life!  Open your eyes and begin to search for meaning in the world around you.  Study a piece of Creation - find the Creator in a starry sky, a tree, a mountain.  Study people - the way they talk, the way they interact, the things that make us cheerful, ecstatic, or filled with despair.  Study culture - the technology, the history, the language.  Study life!

Challenge #3:  Find something to study!  Study Scripture!  Read it.  Digest it.  Memorize it.  Your challenge for this week is to memorize three verses of Scripture.  Feel free to share with everyone what verses you have chosen!

I studied Missoula.  I pondered her beauty, her history.  I wondered the ways I could love her.  Like Abraham looking upon Gomorrah, I prayed to God that He would save the city.  I studied the river running through it.  I studied the movement of the few cars, listened to the bellow of a train horn, traced city neighborhoods with my finger...

And I listened.  I will never forget the nightmare that brought me to the mountain that caused me to study the city I love so much.