Shredding

Jesus paints a wonderful picture in John 15, letting us know that as we remain in communion and communication with Him, we will see Him do amazing things in our lives. He says to us:
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

We can consider whether or not we have a veracity for God's Word.  If we regard Christ as our Savior and all-sufficient One, we will allow Him to have His way in our lives, and the Bible gives us the principles by which we can live a fruitful life for Christ.  By His Spirit, He wants to fill us and flow through us, so that His nature may be seen in us.  His life becomes our life, we are, as 2nd Peter says, 
"partakers of the divine nature."  We have access to eternal and abundant life through Christ. 

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At the conclusion of the forty years that the Israelites spent in the wilderness, Moses encouraged the people to recognize the spiritual food that they had been given. In Deuteronomy 8, we read these words from the Israelite leader:
2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 

3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

That last phrase is probably familiar to you - remember Jesus spoke those words to the devil in the wilderness, a reminder to us about how valuable and powerful the Word of God is to us in dealing with the challenges we face.

We are about to embark on the summer months, and while there are many who are looking forward to a vacation at some time during the next few weeks, especially coming out of the COVID pandemic, there is a youth minister in Texas that has definitely put a unique spin on the summer for his youth group.

It's at Paramount Baptist Church in Amarillo, and pastor Will Standridge has challenged his students to a 66-day journey, exploring the 66 books of the Bible. 

Baptist Press reports that Standridge had a group that had a hunger for God's Word, and had questions, especially about the Old Testament.  The article says:

He wanted to choose a plan that was more of an overview where students could see how the two testaments connect in the big picture.

Standridge said, "I want the students to see that the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is one grand story all preaching the name of Jesus..." The youth pastor had heard about this method of Bible reading from Clayton King at a training event, who "spoke about a plan to 'shred' through the Bible in 66 days with small groups of students."  The 66 days start tomorrow, and the participation has already exceeded expectations, with 20 students having signed up as of the time the article was written.  And, there's some grace: if students don't finish the prescribed book for the day, they start the next day on the next book.

But, this Bible reading activity is not just an end unto itself, not merely something to do, or some sort of gimmick; Standridge has a clear motivation; the article says:

A passion for God’s Word was something Standridge said he wanted to bring to his students. Seeing all of the stories of students leaving the church or “deconstructing” their faith after turning 18 really inspired him to examine the role church youth groups played in these trends.

Standridge said he believes a lack of open and honest conversations with students while studying Scripture could play a factor in students’ leaving the faith.

“I think a big reason a lot of students don’t seem hungry (for the Word) is because they’re not in environments where they feel like being hungry for those things is allowed,” he said. “I think for so long we’ve just made this very incorrect assumption that students don’t come to church to learn, they come to church to hang out, and that’s just not true.”

About his students, Will Standridge says, "As we go into the summer they aren’t as much interested with what fun things we’re going to do, but they’re interested in what can we do to grow in our faith."

So, as you make your summer plans, perhaps this story can be inspiring for you. Perhaps you can consider if and how spiritual growth is part of your agenda for the summer.  And, ideally, we should be growing, moving forward, each day - trusting God and allowing Him to do His work in our hearts. 

Jesus talked about abiding in the Word of God.  He is the vine and we are the branches, so through our connection to Him, we are promised that we can bear fruit for His glory.  Jesus talked about the Word of God being seed, producing fruit - in the right kind of soil, that is. So we can also consider if our hearts are right, prepared for the work of the Lord.  

The word "shred" is an interesting one; I think it connotes really digging in, making a concerted effort, to, as what you'll find online suggests, "tear in" to the Word of God - as we open the Word with veracity and open our hearts with diligence, we can know God's Word and grow in Him.