God and Me: Devotions from Time of GraceSample

God and My Ignorance

On the "Tonight Show," one of Jay Leno's most reliable gags is called "Jaywalking." He hikes around the streets of Los Angeles with a microphone, asking passersby basic questions about America, things middle-school students ought to know. The horrible ignorance of American history and government that he finds is hysterically funny at first, but sad and depressing later.

You don't want to know how bad the average American Christian's basic Bible knowledge is. Surveys show that we struggle to name half of the Ten Commandments; get only some of the books of the Bible; and struggle to identify and distinguish the main characters of the most important Bible stories like Noah, Abraham, and Moses.

What's even worse than deficient Bible knowledge is deficient spiritual commitment. Learning about God's mighty acts in human history and about what he did through people is important not just for head knowledge of facts, but to grow in faith and zeal to use your life to be useful to God's global rescue plan.

Here is a prayer for all who know that they need to grow both in Bible knowledge and in spiritual commitment: "Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart" (Psalm 119:33,34).