If there is anything that irritates me more, it is Instagram Christianity. When Christians are struggling, they rarely open their Bibles to find comfort from God. No, they look for a meme, or a reel, or a “Word from the Lord” from their favorite Bible influencer.
Men literally burned at the stake so we can hold a Bible in our hands, our very own Bible written in our language. Why do we avoid it? Sometimes it is because we don’t know where to start, or we are afraid we will not understand it. Sometimes it is because life is busy and we are on the run. Mostly, it is because we have no familiarity or relationship with God’s Word. Instagram is easier, more comfortable, and more familiar. Oof. How sad is that?
The problem with building our theology from Instagram is the lack of context found in a meme or a reel. Even though those captions can go on for miles, the writers rarely understand the background of the Bible writer, and there is never enough room to explain it. Just like Eve standing at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil talking to a serpent, we can be very easily misled by a few twisted Scriptures.
If you have a good church and a good Pastor who preaches through the Bible verse by verse, you are very blessed. That also does not happen very often. Isaiah 28 speaks of drunken prophets and priests who have stopped teaching God’s Word line by line and precept by precept. Isaiah laments that the people must start again by teaching the young children God’s Word because the adults were too far gone. By leaving God’s Word, they now had nowhere to rest or find refreshment.
Whom shall he teach knowledge?
and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?
them that are weaned from the milk,
and drawn from the breasts.
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept;
line upon line, line upon line;
here a little, and there a little:
For with stammering lips and another tongue
will he speak to this people.
To whom he said,
This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest;
and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. Isaiah 28:9-12
If you do not have a daily time in God’s Word, what would help you get started? Currently, in the teen class that I help teach, we reward the teens if they read at least one verse each week. We remind them that the treasure is not really the reward we give them, but the blessing of knowing and reading God’s Word for themselves. Line by line and precept by precept, they are growing a stable foundation that will stand when the storms of life come. And they will come to all of us. There is no avoiding the storms. Death visits every home eventually. We will one day give an account to the One who gave us His Word. He will ask us why we didn’t read and apply it when He made sure that we had it.
Though I strongly recommend that you start in the New Testament and just start reading a few verses every day, there are many other ways to make Bible reading a daily habit. I will list a few of my favorite apps, online devotionals, and websites below. Pick one thing and start today!
Through the Bible. Listen to the Word and find Biblical explanation as you go.
Blue Letter Bible has daily devotions from Spurgeon. https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/
Paul Chappell offers daily devotions with a video link. https://devo.paulchappell.com/
My friend Crystal is passionate about getting women into the Word. She offers many Bible studies on her website. https://www.authorcrystalratcliff.com/shop/
If you have anything to add to this list, please add it to the comments! Also, if there is anything that you are looking for, please ask in the comments. Perhaps we can help each other connect more with the Word. Have a blessed day, my friends!
His Song in the Night 