Are You Heading “Back to School?”

Studies show that children lose the equivalent of 2 months education over summer break when they put aside the cheap textbooks. Educators use this to make the argument for year-round school or summer homework assignments.

Now that the boys have been back in school for a week or three, I’m seeing that they aren’t the only ones who’ve suffered from the “summer slide.”

I had great intentions of doing a Bible study of my own during the summer. I chose a topic, got a chain reference Bible to help me out, I even blogged about my plan. But with the boys home all day and various summertime activities going on, it didn’t happen.

And just like children lose a couple of months of reading ability, I can see a kind of spiritual atrophy in myself from lack of time in God’s word. I’ve had to listen a little harder to hear His voice. I’m not as quick to notice His daily presence or see answered prayers–maybe because the prayers don’t flow as naturally in the first place.

It’s easy to get lulled into spiritual complacency. We’re sure we’re being ‘fed’ if we attend church, listen to Christian radio, or read Christian books and blogs. But soon, rather than quoting scripture, we’re quoting writers who talk about scripture.

The reailty is, there is no substitute for actually reading God’s word for ourselves and letting Him speak to us directly. It’s not just a Christian tradition to spend consistent time studying the Bible. Scripture tells us that daily study is an indication of “noble character.”

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Acts 17:11

How often do we really do that? Take what we’ve heard in church, on the radio or in a book and compare it to Scripture for ourselves?

So, while I’ve been glad to see the boys off to school recently, I think I’m just as excited that I’m going “back to school” myself. My regular Bible study starts again tomorrow.

I confess, I’ve struggled in the past to actually complete my study a little each day as it’s suggested. I’ve been a ‘crammer’ my entire life and Bible study preparation is often no different.

I’m looking forward to a new routine this year. One son gets out of school half an hour earlier than his brother. I’d already planned to use that waiting time for my son to work on his homework, but I’ll use it to work on mine too.

And while my son will take tests at school to show that he’s mastered his material, I’m hoping that I’ll pass this test:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

What about you? Are you good at consistent Bible study? What is your routine? Like me, are you looking forward to going “back to school” so you can be more consistent in this area? What will you be studying this fall?