What does a fondue set, exercise equipment, and the Bible have in common? Welcome to Feeding My Faith. I'm Dave jackson from the schoolofpodcasting.com this is where we make God simple. And you want to hear a really weird statistic that when I heard it, I was like, what? Do you know how most whales die? And I'm thinking, you know, we just had the whole jaws celebrated 50 years. I'm like, I don't know, a bunch of sharks gang up on it. I'm like, no, they drown. And I'm like, wait, hold on. How does a fish drowned? That's ridiculous. But a whale is not a fish, it's a mammal. If you think about it, they always have to come up for air. And so it's not like sharks or other fish with gills. It needs to come up for air. And we as inhumans are like whales. We need to come up for air. And our air comes from God. In the Bible, in Genesis it says, when God wanted to create fish, he spoke to the sea. When God wanted to create trees, he spoke to the earth. But when God wanted to create man, he turned to himself. And then God said, let us make man in our image and in our likeness. And if you take a fish out of water, it will die. And when you remove a tree from soil, it's also going to die. Likewise, when man is disconnected from God, he dies. Because God is our natural environment. We are just passing through down here on earth. And we are created to live in his presence because it's only in him that life exists. And we want to stay connected to God. And so remember that water without fish, well, it's still water. But fish without water, yeah, nothing. The soil without a tree, well, that's still soil. But the tree without soil, yeah, nothing. And God without man is still God. But man without God, Yeah, nothing. Romans 12:2 says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. That by testing, you may discern what is the will of God and what is good and acceptable and perfect. And today I'm going to share some statistics that are mind blowing. But first I want to share a story, because we are not of this world. This is a story from John Mark Nielsen. I saw this on YouTube and he's talking about two twins in a womb, right? So in their mother. And one asked the other, do you believe in life after delivery? And the other one replied, why, of course, there has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will have later. Nonsense, said the first, there is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be? The second said, I don't know, but there might be more light than there is here. And maybe we'll walk with our legs and eat from our mouths, and maybe we'll have other senses that we can't even understand. The first one replied, that is absurd. Walking is impossible, and eating with our mouths is ridiculous. The umbilical cord that supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short, life after delivery it's to be just logically excluded. And the second insisted, well, I think there's something, and maybe it's different than in here. Maybe we don't need this physical cord anymore. And the first one replied, nonsense. And then they continued, look, if there is life, then why is it that no one ever came back here from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere. Well, I don't know, said the second, certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us. And the first replied, mother? You actually believe in Mother? That's laughable. If Mother exists, well then where is she now? And the second said, she is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of her. It is in her that we live. Without her, this world would not and could not exist. And the second one said, well, I don't see her, so it's only logical that she doesn't exist. To which the second one replied, sometimes when you're in the silence and you focus and you really listen, you can sense her presence and you can hear her loving voice calling down from above. I love that story. Now here's another story. A man has been going to the gym for months, but he's just not really getting the results he wants. So he hires a trainer and they both go to the gym and he starts doing his weightlifting. And the trainer immediately shouts, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, hold on. Whoa. You're doing it wrong. And so the person adjusted his technique and instantly felt the difference, and especially felt the difference the next day. He was doing it wrong. Well, Jesus told us how to pray in Matthew 6:6. He says, but when you pray, notice he doesn't say if you pray. He says, but when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father, who is in secret, and your father, who sees in secret will reward you. Is that what you're doing? You looking at your spouse maybe and going, hey, I'LL see you in a bit. I got to go pray. Or if you're alone, you might say, well, I'm alone. I don't need to go into a room. All right, well, you're shutting off everything, shutting down the tv, turning off your phone. Ooh, that sounds incredibly hard. So that you can focus on God, just like those little babies right when you really listen. But we need to come up for air. We are not of this world, and we need to come up for error. And right now, it's summer, and there are a lot of garage sales everywhere you look. It's just driveway after driveway filled with things that we don't need. And the things you always see there, lot of exercise bikes, a lot of fondue sets. Right. Why? Because these are things we're not using. We probably should. For those of you that weren't around, fondue was really big in the 70s. It's basically a big melted pot of chocolate that you dip stuff into, but that is somehow went out of style. How hot chocolate on fruit went out of style, I don't know. But anyway. But the one thing I was really surprised to find out. You know what else is getting really dusty in the house of Christians? The Bible. Yeah. And so I got turned on to this website. It'll be in the show, notes CenterForBibleEngagement.org if you've ever heard of the Daily Bread, the little books that are often at the back of churches, it's kind of the same organization. And they did a lot of research of Christians because they found out that there are a lot of Christians that are not reading the Bible. And kind of like, we all should probably not sell that exercise equipment. We probably should be reading the Bible a whole lot more. And One study had 3,000 people across 70 churches in New York City. And they said they participated, you know, and they said 20% never read their Bible. 20%, 64% said they didn't have a good Bible habit. Yeah. I'm thinking if 20% of you are not doing at all, and 19%, though, plan on starting one soon. Yes, yes. The ever loving soon excuse. Oh, yeah, I'm going to get to that. And so this one study, they studied a hundred thousand people. So let's just stop there a second. A hundred thousand people. And what they found was if you read the Bible once a week. All right, not bad, right? But does it make, like, huge? Okay, okay. But what if you read twice a week? Because, you know, if you go Sunday and you hear the Bible, does that count as Once a week. And then what if you read it twice a week? Well, you know, a trickle. What about three times a week again? You know, but how many days are in a week again? Oh, that's right. 7. And people that read the Bible four times a week, Right. The majority of the week. Well, there was a significant change. And check this out. And they compared this. Look, there's nothing wrong with consuming Christian content, whether that be the radio or a book or all these other things. Look, those have effects too. But hands down, it's the Bible that made the needle move. And so 57% of people that read the Bible four times a week are less. 57% less chance of getting drunk, 68% less likely to have an affair, 61% less to watch porn, 74% less likely to gamble. Also, they are 228% more likely to share their faith with others or two hundred and thirty one percent discipling others. And four hundred and seven percent more likely to memorize Scripture. And so again, nothing against listening to music and praying, obviously, but really sitting down and consuming the word of God is when things seem to change. In 2 Timothy 3, 16, 17, all Scripture. Again, not some, not that one, not this one. All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. All right, we're talking about the guy at the gym. Let's go back to the gym. Now, we got two different guys. They go to the gym, right? They're lifting weights, different sizes because the one guy is really fit and the other guy, like, not like out of shape, but not like that guy. Holy cow. And you know, they listen to the same music in the gym, which is always annoying. How am I supposed to work out to Madonna? What? Right. But you know, same weights, kind of same gym, same music. How come they don't look the same? And the person that's just not as buff as that dude, Holy cow. You know, he might say, well, it's the gym's fault or it's the weight's fault. Well, have you ever known someone with just amazing faith? I have seen the band casting crowns multiple times. And their lead singer, when I hear him talk from the stage, I'm like, man, I want that. I don't know how that guy has that kind of connection to God, but I want that. Well, we both read the same Bible. You know, how. How is it that he has the faith for miracles and I don't at Least it seems that way. Well, it's not God's fault. It's not the church's fault. It's not the Bible's fault. And the difference is, we go back to the guys at the gym, that really fit person, that, like, holy cow, he's got muscles on his muscles. That person leaves the gym, and they say, I went to the gym, so I can't eat that, right? The fit person let the gym change their life. And a spiritual person uses those spiritual things to change their life, where somebody who isn't. And I hate the word spiritual, but I'm trying to come up with another one. But let's say the carnal person, they see these spiritual things, and they want those spiritual things to bless their life. Well, physical fitness comes from the inside out, right? You lift the weights, you actually rip your muscles, and then they grow back stronger. And a relationship with God, it starts with your heart, and it works its way out into your life. And look, it's hard because the devil has us convinced 100% that we are too busy. And just to be honest, as I was working on this this week, I started going to the gym, and I have a thing, because, you know, I love to podcast. I now have a thing. I can't start podcasting until I spend 30 minutes at the gym. It's a little carrot there to get me to do the right thing. And so we are all busy. There may even be a crisis. There's a fun. I don't know if this is a bumper sticker, but I heard this, and I'm like, oh, I got to use that. And they say who you run to in a crisis will truly show who your Christ is. Sometimes that's booze, Sometimes it's, whatever, are we running to Christ? And so I was like, all right, so I need to read the Bible four times a week, because maybe you're part of that 20% that goes. I don't. First of all, go to Bible.com. there's a great app that just makes it so easy. And they have all sorts of, like, lessons. Like, if you're like, how do I even pick. Just logging in. There's, like, the verse of the day, and then they have all these kind of studies that you can listen to. And that's another thing. If you want to, you can have it read it to you. It's really cool. But there's a great book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. It's a practical guide to changing your habits and improving your life by focusing on small Incremental. Changes. And it introduces the four laws of behavioral change. And they say, make it obvious, make it attractive, make it easy, and make it satisfying. And so how can Christians apply those principles from atomic habits to develop a consistent Bible reading habit? Well, here's one way, and I call this the treadmill rule. I never really am like stoked to get on a treadmill, but I'm never unhappy when I get off. In fact, today I really pushed it and I was just dripping in sweat. I was ugly, and I looked like I was probably going to die. My face was all red. I did not regret that at all. And so instead of thinking I got to read so much, just make it two minutes. That's it. Begin by committing to read the Bible for just two minutes. And this removes the pressure of needing to do any kind of lengthy study. And it makes the. The habit of reading the Bible easy to start and easy to maintain. And then once that routine is established, then you kind of increase it over time. And if you're like me, like today, I got on the treadmill thinking I was going to do 20 minutes, and I ended up doing 45 because I was seeing the results. I was feeling the results. So again, number one, start small. Just, just two minutes. Number two, make it obvious. All right, so place your Bible in a visible location. Now, this could be your nightstand or your desk, or maybe you set a daily reminder on your phone for me. The Bible app is on the front page of my phone. I swipe up, there it is. In fact, I'm going to do it right now as we're recording this. So I swipe up, I click on Bible, it loads, and right there. Good evening, David. It says Psalm 77, 11, 12. I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. There you go, one down. And then you want to. We'll talk about this as well. It's not just reading it, but make it attractive. Again, pair your Bible reading with something you enjoy. So if you're drinking coffee in the morning, maybe you read your Bible on the phone, if you're a phone person. If not, you know, nothing wrong with good old paper and ink, but pair it with something. Or maybe you join a group that encourages regular Bible reading. Maybe you set up a zoom group every morning or every afternoon, or maybe you meet for lunch. I remember when I was a copier technician, there were a few of us that would get together and have a Bible study. Bible Reading and whatever it is to make that experience more rewarding and more engaging. So you want it to be attractive. And when you tie it to something you already do, then that's part of it. Like, I know this sounds so weird, but there were times when I will do like lunges while I'm brushing my teeth. Why? Because I'm always going to brush my teeth. So I just hide something to it that I probably should be doing. So again, number one, start small. Number two, make it obvious. Number three, make it attractive. And number four, make it easy. And so this is where if you're like, oh, I hate the King James version. The thou. Yeah, well, don't use that one. You know, find a translation you find accessible and then set a specific time and a place for your reading and start again with manageable goals. So maybe it's one chapter or maybe just a few verses a day. So when you link this habit with something else to an existing habit, like your breakfast or your commute, because again, remember, you can listen to this. So you might listen to it when you stack it with another habit you're already doing, that can really help and then make it satisfying. So you can track your progress with a journal or a checklist, celebrate those small wins and then another one. As I was looking into this about the book Atomic Habits, they said focus on identity, not just outcomes. And they said instead of aiming to something like, I'm going to read the Bible in a year, which is something you can do, instead, maybe focus on become someone who reads the Bible daily. Right? It's the identity based approach. It shifts your motivation from a goal because if you get behind, then you're like, I'm never gonna make it. But if you're just like, hey, I'm someone who reads the Bible daily, that might be a better way to go. And then they say, practice grace and consistency. So when you miss a day, it doesn't mean you're a failure. That's what Satan's gonna do. Satan's gonna go, see, I told you you couldn't do it. Told you couldn't do it. So that's something you may do, but it is a little more than just reading the Bible. They talk about the three Rs. So this whole thing is called the power of four, because reading the Bible four times a week. And then in this they have this other thing called the three R's and the first R is receiving Scripture. So this is where, you know, it draws us into the Bible where it's really plain meaning is Just obvious. You just have to read it. So the first one, receiving, reflecting, is, now that you read this, it's really where you're inviting God to speak more personally into our context. How does this scripture fit into our life and how does it resonate with whether it's situations or feelings or things like that? So receiving, reflecting. And the third one is response. And that's your call to action that is inevitably going to follow if we allow God to speak to us. Right? We're going to take the gym with us. We're going to take the Bible with us into our life. Because, man, it's crazy out there. And every time you turn around, something else crazy is happening and we're going to feel scared, we're going to feel frightened, etc. Etc. That's all right. You just need to come up for air. Have you ever jumped into a seriously deep situation? I remember once. I was in my 20s and I was on a pontoon boat and it didn't look that tall. I was standing on the roof of it. We're in the middle of a lake and we're all being crazy. And so you jump off and we don't know how deep this lake is. And, you know, you do your best to go in like a straight person so you don't make a big splash. You don't want to do a belly flop, right? I'm just jumping in feet first, as straight as I can. And, you know, I hold my nose because I can't do the thing, you know, so I'm holding my nose and I go down. And as I'm swimming up, you know, the one thing you have to do is you swim up and you're like, okay, well, the surface is here somewhere. And I got my eyes closed because it's a muddy lake. I don't want that. And you know, kick some more. Move your arms. Okay, the surface is coming here in a bit. And this is where you have to remember not to panic. Because if you panic, you're going to want to take a big old gulp of water or gulp of air, and there's no air yet. You are not of this world. You're in a dirty, muddy lake. And so you kick your legs, then you move your arms and you're like, I'm seriously not near the surface yet. Are you kidding me? And that's where you just tell yourself, it's cool, you're almost there, hang in there. And you keep kicking, you keep swimming, and then all of a sudden you get to the top and. And that's how God is. Don't panic. The news wants you to panic. The news wants you to be frightened so that you don't do anything. But when you go back and you focus and you realize, I am just passing through this life, I'm here to do the best I can to point others towards Christ. We just need to, according to this study, do it more than Sunday mornings, preferably at least four times a week. And then, as I said earlier, take the gym with you. We'll take the Bible with you. And you will see the results the same way that guy in the gym does. Your muscles grow well, your faith will grow. Your insights into knowing what's good, what are things you should avoid, that's all going to become clear and clear. And the other benefits that I mentioned and let me review those one time for you, because when I saw the list, I was like, man, that's impressive. Just by reading the Bible four times a week, you are 57% less chance of getting drunk. 68% less likely to have an affair, 61% less likely to watch porn, 74% less likely to gamble, 228% more likely to share your faith, 231% more likely to disciple someone, 407% more likely to memorize Scripture. Sounds like a good reward to me. And I'll put a link to this study and to Bible.com where you can download this app. If you found this little presentation interesting and know someone who might like it, can you do me a favor? Just go to your phone there, click on the share button while you're there. There's also a button there. Probably depending on what you're listening on, there might be a little dollar sign there. Or you just go to feedingmyfaith.com thanks. And there's a way that you can send over a little value for the value that I gave to you. Thanks so much for listening and keep feeding your faith. I came to testify every day. This podcast is part of the Power of Podcasting Network. Find it at powerofpodcasting.com changing the world one download at a time.