My all-time favorite movie is RAD. If you haven’t seen, I am not surprised. I have been looking for years for the movie on DVD but to no avail. In every used movie store, I look for it, and even have them look to see if another store would have a copy available. Of course, the answer is no, and most of the time I get a funny look as though I just made the movie up in my mind. But trust me, I haven’t.

    

The movie is about a paper delivery boy named Cru Jones who lives in a small town and has the big dream of going pro as a BMX racer. How could someone from a small town ever go pro? Well, the professional BMX circuit is coming to town and amateurs are allowed to qualify and enter the race. Of course, Cru qualifies but difficulties emerge. I am not going to ruin the movie for you, but heroes always come through at the end!

 

I watched that movie so many times when I had the VHS copy. I not only memorized all the lines to the movie, but I also believed I could do some of the tricks and stunts I saw in the movie. I mean, I had a BMX style bike and I had seen the movie numerous times, so it was fairly close to an instructional video.

 

Every day, when I went out riding my bike by myself or with friends, I would attempt a few of the tricks. I also would pretend in my head I was in a race while I was on my way home. I would cut through yards, grab the bumper of cars going by, and well, anything that would pop in my mind to go faster. As for tricks, I would do my best. I am not going to lie, I was not good. I was proud that I could stand on my seat and go down hills or hop a bit on one tire or sit backwards and ride.

 

I was thinking about this movie while I was preparing for a class I was teaching this past week on studying the Bible. It became very apparent that most of the things I was about to teach were things I had heard people talk (teach) about or things I have read, but in all honesty, a lot of it was new and out of my comfort zone.

 

You know what I learned?

 

Studying the Bible is difficult. Not because it is confusing or because it is boring, but because it is a practiced discipline. You have to first make time for it, but also you need to have a plan or technique. Finding a time in our busy lives is tough. However, I think if we have a plan of how we are going to study, it makes finding time a bit easier. There are other factors that make it easier as well, such as having a to-do-list, setting an alarm, taking your Bible and journal with you, having an accountability buddy, and many other ideas.

 

But knowing how to study the Bible moves us from a place of a reactive walk to a proactive walk with Christ. Reading the Bible is like riding a bike. Once you learn, you don’t forget, and it can be done leisurely, just for fun. But studying your Bible takes the reading to a different level. You move from a solo conquest to a tandem pursuit.

 

This past week, we spent some time learning how to study our Bible by using the S.O.A.P. method. This method simply means Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer.

 

Here is a quick example by Pastor Wayne Cordeiro:

 

 

 

 

If you don’t have a way to study your Bible, or you struggle studying your Bible, I encourage you try this way for a few weeks. There are many different ways to do a S.O.A.P study. Type it into Google and you will be amazed at the different tricks and helps out there. The key is not what study you use, but that you are in a study.