Holy Habits of Jesus: Session 1 – The Scripture Habit: Read Like Jesus

Have you ever felt like your spiritual life is running on fumes? Like you're gasping for air, trying to make it from Sunday to Sunday? What if I told you there's a way to breathe deeply of God's presence every single day? Today, we're going to explore Jesus' holy habit of Scripture engagement and how we can adopt it in our own lives. As we dive into Luke chapter 4, we see Jesus demonstrating three powerful action pairs that form the foundation of His Scripture engagement: 1. Retreat and Refocus Jesus often withdrew from the noise and frenzy of His society to focus on being alone with the Father. Luke 4:1 tells us, "Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness." This wasn't just a time to unwind or have some "me time." As I explained in the sermon: "The point of Jesus retreating and refocusing was to dedicate himself to hearing from the Father, to prepare to hear and to communicate with the Father, specifically seeking the Father's will." In our constantly connected world, this might be the most challenging habit to build. It requires us to "unplug, sign off, shut down, and come apart." But it's essential if we want to hear God's voice through His Word. 2. Memorize and Recite When faced with temptation in the wilderness, Jesus didn't pull out a pocket Old Testament. Instead, He quoted Scripture from memory. Three times, we see Him respond to Satan's temptations with "It is written" (Luke 4:4, 8, 12). I shared this illustration in the sermon: "If we have a cup of life, right? There's always going to be moments where someone knocks into us, something gets us upset, something moves our life, and what's in our cup comes out. ... For Jesus, he had so much of God's word in his cup that when he is tempted, when that moment of anxiety, in that moment of pressure-filled temptation comes, what came out of his life? Scripture, Scripture, Scripture." Jesus' strategy wasn't to "shove it in, shove it in, shove it in so I can dump it out and get the passing grade." Instead, it was "one of meditation and recitation, reciting scripture over and over again, not for a test, but for his life." 3. Read and Share In Luke 4:16-21, we see Jesus reading from Isaiah in the synagogue and then sharing its fulfillment. This pattern of intake and output should characterize our Scripture engagement as well. As I mentioned in the sermon: "Our scripture engagement needs to be a rhythm of a life-giving habit of intake and expulsion. Scripture in and scripture out. Like breathing. It should be breathed in by reading, then breathed out to others by sharing." Think of Scripture as "God's breath captured in written form" (2 Timothy 3:16). Just as we need physical breath to sustain our bodies, we need the breath of God's Word to sustain our spirits. Life Application: Putting It Into Practice So how can we adopt these holy habits of Jesus in our own lives? Here are some practical steps: 1. Retreat and Refocus: - Schedule a specific time each day for your time with God. - Prepare a consistent space where you can meet with Him without distractions. 2. Memorize and Recite: - Create a list of Scriptures that speak to your current struggles or temptations. - Use tools like index cards or memory apps to aid your memorization. 3. Read and Share: - Plot a course through a specific book or section of the Bible. - Follow the Holy Spirit's prompting to share what you're learning with others. Remember, this isn't about perfection, but progress. As you begin to breathe in God's Word and breathe it out to others, you'll find your spiritual lungs expanding, your faith growing stronger, and your life increasingly reflecting the character of Christ. Let's commit together to be good stewards of God's Word, adopting the holy habit of Scripture engagement just as Jesus did. As we do, we'll find ourselves not just surviving spiritually, but thriving in the rich atmosphere of God's presence.