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Don't just study - serve! 02 Jun 2006

'REMEMBER TODAY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT THE LORD THROUGH YOUR
EXPERIENCES WITH HIM...' DEUTERONOMY 11:2

Gene Getz says, 'Bible study by itself will not produce spirituality. In
fact, it will produce carnality if it isn't applied and practiced. The
truth is, study without service produces people with judgemental
attitudes and spiritual pride. And the more they think they know, the
prouder they become.' So, 'Remember today what you have learned about
the Lord through your experiences with Him...' There are some lessons
you can learn only by experience. Solomon writes, 'Sometimes it takes a
painful experience to make us change our ways' (Proverbs 20:30 TEV). If
Christianity was just a philosophy then our primary activity might be
studying. But since it's about walking in relationship with Christ, the
last thing many of us need is another Bible study. We already know far
more than we're putting into practice. We need experiences where we can
apply what we know. James says, 'Do not deceive yourselves by just
listening to His word; instead, put it into practice' (James 1:22 TEV).
The reason nothing lives in the Dead Sea is because it takes in water
but doesn't give any out. If you have biblical input but no outflow of
service, you stagnate spiritually. And churches actually do a disservice
by keeping people so busy going to the next Bible study, without showing
them practical ways to apply what they learned at the last one. They
file away and forget the truth before it can be internalised and put
into practice, thinking they're growing because their notebooks are
getting thicker. So the word for you today is, 'don't just study;
serve!'