"You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (NRSV: John: 5:39-40)
In biblical times the Jews believed that salvation came from the Law, and the religious leaders at that time extended many clauses apart from Moses' Law for people to follow. Instead Jesus told them the two verses above.
Study the Bible Everyday
Comparing the Jews' thirsts and pursuit for the Bible at the time to the churches nowadays, there aren't many people who would read the Bible quietly. Usually there are two excuses for that, one being not having enough time, the other being an inability to understand. Most believers keep their Bibles for the sermons only and flip through wherever the pastor's reading, and the rest of the time the Bibles remain forgotten in some corner of their homes.
Christians need to read the Bible for three reasons. First, the whole Bible is a witness to Jesus, the purpose of reading the Bible is to know Jesus through the Bible. Second, the Bible itself is not salvation, just like the Bible says the Law was not salvation and breaking one equals many. The Bible is the Word of God and the commandments that God told Moses to give the people for the regulation of the believers' behavior. For example, we are citizens of the People's Republic of China, so we must abide by Chinese laws. Whoever breaks the law will be punished. Therefore, believers should keep the law of God and whoever stays out of God's law will be disciplined. Third, study the Bible everyday to know God's will. If we don't read the Bible, we wouldn't know the will of God; if we don't know the will of God, we wouldn't know how to do the will of God; if we don't do the will of God, we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Because Jesus once said " Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." (NRSV Matthew: 7: 21)
Pray Anytime for Every Matter
Nowadays with the fast paced world full of material desires, most believers would rather keep themselves busy working in church than calm down and be still before Jesus. There are three reasons to pray. First, prayer helps build the relationship between man and God. God talks to us through the Bible while we talk to God through prayer. Only with good relationships will God be our help in need. It's like two people making friends with each other. They need opportunities to talk to get to know each other, know each other's hearts, and have a good relationship.
Prayer is also the source of strength. I often hear the church workers told me that they feel too weak to serve. God knows our weaknesses and how we were formed, and he remembers that we are dust. Jesus told us to pray without ceasing. "In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (NRSV: Philippians 4: 6-7) Third, prayer is for following God's will. We pray to God when we don't know what lies ahead of us and want God to fulfill what is right and good for us.
There is a parable: two people each planted a tree. One person prayed for the tree everyday because he loved the tree very much. He asked for sunshine because the tree needed it to grow and God listened and had the sun shine over the tree. The man was very grateful, so he prayed for the rain, the wind and deep roots, all of which God heard and made so. But then he went to see the tree with a grateful heart only to find that the tree was dead. The other person also prayed for his tree everyday saying that since he did not know what the tree needed he would simply trust God to meet its needs. He went and saw the tree a few days later and discovered that the tree had grown taller.
Prayer doesn't mean God listens to us but that we listen and submit to the will of God. The life of a believer is also a life of prayer, and may we establish good relationships with God through prayer because Jesus said "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (NRSV: John: 14:6)
It is every Christian's hope to enter the kingdom of heaven, so we should read the Bible more and pray more every day, understand God's will and establish good relationships with God, and walk with God while we're alive so that we can be with God when the day comes.
(The author is a believer from Shandong Weifang.)
