{"id":948,"date":"2019-10-28T01:46:44","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T01:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/?p=948"},"modified":"2020-04-17T00:03:14","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T00:03:14","slug":"culinary-guide-getting-gods-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2019\/10\/culinary-guide-getting-gods-word.html","title":{"rendered":"The Culinary Guide to Getting Into God’s Word"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"unsplash-logoCaroline
Caroline Attwood<\/span><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cIt is written: \u2018Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.\u2019 Matthew 4:4<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Let’s say you had a plate of food you wanted to dive into. How would you do it?\u00a0Let’s say this food represents Scripture, how do I get into it? It\u2019s not rocket science.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/b>You value it.<\/i><\/b><\/span> <\/i>You value food when you take time out of your busy day to stop and eat. If you go too long without food, your body begins to break down. If you go too long without Scripture, your soul begins to break down. That\u2019s why so many people live broken lives, they just don\u2019t know it\u2019s their soul that is starving. The first step in eating this meal is valuing it enough to put it in front of me. In the same way, you need to value Scripture enough to carve out time to get into it everyday.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/b>You prepare it.<\/i><\/b><\/span> Just like you don\u2019t eat raw meat, you need to prepare it, you need to prepare your meal, you need to prepare your heart before opening Scripture. Just glancing at a quick verse on your way out the door because your rushed versus taking time to slowly read and ponder Scripture is like the difference between eating a well-prepared steak and cheese omelet and swallowing a raw egg yolk on the way out the door because you\u2019re late for work. Sure, both are food, but one is much more enjoyable.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/b>And like you prepare your own food most of the time and then you like to splurge and let someone else prepare it for you at a restaurant, it\u2019s nice to go to places like church or\u00a0a Bible study group and allow someone like\u00a0a preacher or teacher to prepare a meal of Scripture for you. It\u2019s a nice flourish to complement what you\u2019re doing throughout the week.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/b>You consume it.<\/i><\/b><\/span> This is generally understood, but if I want to eat something, I\u2019ve actually got to put it in my mouth. Same with Scripture. You need to consume it. Read it. Listen to it on your way to work. Memorize Scripture. Listen to others teach on it. However you can consume it, consume it.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/b>You chew it.<\/i><\/b><\/span> This is important because if you take a huge bite of steak and swallow it whole, you\u2019re likely to choke yourself. You have to chew it, you have to break it down. That\u2019s more than just reading Scripture, it\u2019s studying it, it\u2019s breaking it down, it\u2019s trying to understand it, it\u2019s asking questions, it\u2019s figuring things out. Scripture isn\u2019t meant to be swallowed whole. We need to chew it, study it, until we understand it.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/b>You swallow it. <\/i><\/b><\/span>Again, this is understood but it needs to be said. If I take a bite of this, and chew on it and chew on it until it\u2019s broken down, but then I spit it all back up, have I really eaten it? Many times people hear God\u2019s word, they consume it, but they don\u2019t obey it, and it\u2019s like they\u2019re spitting it back up rather than swallowing it.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/b>You enjoy it with others.<\/i><\/b><\/span> The best meals are ones enjoyed with others. God created eating as a communal opportunity to build relationships. Scripture is the same way. You\u2019ll enjoy it more when you study it with others, which is why we put such an emphasis on community life, where people break up in smaller groups and study Scripture together. If you\u2019re not involved in community life, you\u2019re missing out!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/b>You repeat the process. <\/i><\/b><\/span>A meal, as exquisite as it might be, is good for a few hours, then you get hungry again. In the same way, Scripture needs to be consumed on a regular basis, not just once or twice a month at church.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/b>So, think of getting into God\u2019s Word like eating a meal. Value it enough to get into it, consume it, chew it up until you understand it, swallow it, enjoy it with others, and repeat.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you’d like to connect and see more of the content I’m working on, be sure to like my church Facebook page<\/a>. You can also find me on social media: Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jesus answered,\u00a0\u201cIt is written: \u2018Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.\u2019 Matthew 4:4 Let’s say you had a plate of food you wanted to dive into. How would you do it?\u00a0Let’s say this food represents Scripture, how do I get into it? It\u2019s not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[31,415,65,416,88],"class_list":["post-948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-next-steps","tag-bible","tag-food","tag-jesus","tag-meal","tag-scripture"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Culinary Guide to Getting Into God's Word - Next Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What's the best way to get into Scripture? 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