?The reason I'm done ignoring the depth of scripture isn't just that I learned the hard way that a shallow faith can't sustain a family in a deep battle, a hard lesson in my own journey of faith-based parenting. It is because I discovered a single critical error that kept me and my family trapped in the shallows, stalling our spiritual growth no matter how hard we tried to go deeper. Has your life ever felt like it is falling apart? Maybe your family isn't what you hoped it would be, or your own sense of stability has vanished. When you stop making this one mistake, you can finally find the strength and trust in God that have felt just out of reach. Stay with me and I'll tell you exactly what the error is, because understanding it is the reason I'm no longer settling for a surface level faith. The first reason I'm done ignoring the depth of scripture is that I had to face a hard truth. A shallow faith only props up a false self. Does your experience with Christianity ever feel like a performance? You might be trying so hard to project this image of a person who has it all together, but behind the mask, you are wrestling with disappointment or intense fear. Our Bible reading can even reflect this. We search for verses on peace to quiet our anxiety, strength to fight our exhaustion, and joy to paste over all of our discontent. A common approach for Bible study for beginners is like using the Word of God as spiritual makeup. But the Bible isn't makeup, it is a mirror. It doesn't just show you a smudge here or a wrinkle there, it reveals a fundamental problem. The face you've been perfecting isn't your true self, but a version of yourself - built to earn approval and feel in control. This is the heart of sin, and no amount of Bible knowledge can fix this. It's an identity crisis that requires a death and a resurrection. Even the devil believes every word of God, but shudders. He refuses to yield and continually sets himself as a rival that can take down the word of God. Jesus Christ was the word of God who died, was buried, and rose again by the power of the word of God. When we believe, that same power of that living and abiding word of God lives in us, and the Holy Spirit in us is the same way. This Hebrews 4 teaching from the New Testament says the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That sword isn't meant to just trim the edges of your false self. It's meant to expose it as an enemy of God. The deepest truth of scripture is that we cannot save ourselves. This is where the gospel comes in. The good news is that Jesus Christ died the death our false self deserved. He was buried, and on the third day, he was raised to life, conquering sin and death forever. Faith, His death and resurrection is the only entry point into a new life. Without it, a deeper life in the Bible is just a more sophisticated performance. God isn't interested in helping you be a better version of a false self. He wants to put that old self to death through the cross of Christ so He can resurrect you into someone entirely new. If that truth resonates with you, ? ?? do me a favor and hit the like button. ?This realization was a huge piece of the puzzle, but it still didn't fully explain the one critical mistake that holds us back, so keep watching. Another reason I'm done ignoring the depth of scripture is that I saw how my faith was completely Compartmentalized. Does your faith ever feel that way? There's spiritual life for 15 minutes in the morning, and then there's life with faith in the real world, navigating tense conversations with your spouse and managing your kids' meltdowns. The Book of Romans says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." But are we trying to renew our mind in one tiny sliver where the rest of our brain is still being shaped by fear and stress? The turning point is realizing that this new life you receive through faith, this Christian worldview, is meant to become your entire operating system. This process of renewing your mind isn't just about how to change your mindset, it's the Holy Spirit applying the reality of Christ's resurrection to every corner of your life. This is what's so revolutionary about going through the Book of Joshua. On the surface, it's a history book about battles, but when you get into it, you see it's a master class in integrated living. You're not just learning history. Through the Book of Joshua, you're watching real people integrate their faith into every single decision. Joshua seeks God's counsel for battle strategy. Rahab's one act of faith changes her entire family's destiny. Achan's secret sin has devastating public consequences. The Book of Joshua, what you learn is that practical Christianity means there is no separation between your new identity in Christ and your real-life problems. Renewing your mind means surrendering your whole mind to the one who bought it with His blood. If you've had a conversation with a friend recently about this very struggle, please share this video with them. You see, seeing my life become whole was a powerful outcome, but it was only possible I first corrected that fundamental error I told you about at the beginning, and we're getting close to what it is. Another reason I'm done with a surface level , faith, is that it told me the goal was to become impressive, to have a strong faith, to achieve perfect godly parenting We can collect Bible verses like badges to prove how competent we are, but true depth in the Bible rooted in the gospel has a opposite effect. The deeper you go into the ocean of scripture, the smaller you feel. The more you see the holiness of God, the more you are wrecked by your own foolishness and pride. It was my deepest desire for our kids to grasp this. And as the book of Romans says, "Oh, the depth of the riches and biblical wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways." A surface reading might make you think you can figure out God, but a deep reading, one that starts at the cross, makes you fall on your face in awe. And I wanted our kids to grasp that unsearchable wisdom and knowledge of God. You see, you realize your desire for an easier life is so small compared to the glory of God displayed in the sacrifice of His Son. The goal of Bible study isn't to become impressive, it's to become dependent. It's to realize you have nothing to offer God and depend completely on the righteousness He provides in Christ. This is a critical part of raising children, especially those who believe they can handle everything alone. But Joshua, in the Book of Joshua, teaches us that the greatest victories come from humility and dependence. You see, Joshua doesn't win by being the smartest general. He wins by obeying God's strange commands. This is one of my most important Christian parenting tips. Teach your children that true strength isn't in what they can do, but in their dependence on a Savior who has already won the ultimate victory. This posture of humility is the polar opposite of the critical error so many of us are making, the one I promised to reveal. And understanding that error is the real reason I'm no longer ignoring the depth of scripture. . And that leads to the final reason I'm done ignoring the depth of scripture. I realized a surface level faith was leaving my family unarmed in the very real spiritual battle. For a long time, I thought my main battle were my circumstances, a difficult marriage, or a child's challenge and diagnosis. A shallow reading gives you tools to manage those circumstances, but a deep reading of the Bible reveals you are in a spiritual war, and it gives you a sword. This brings a confidence you've been lacking. Ephesians 6 calls scripture the sword of the Spirit. Why is that? Because God's truth cuts through deception. Our enemy's primary strategy is deception. He wants you to believe your fight is with your spouse, not with the spirit of division. He wants you to believe your exhaustion is just from your circumstances, not carrying burdens you were never meant to carry. The central truth of our Christianity that shatters these lies is the gospel. The war has already been won at the cross. This is where depth in scripture became non-negotiable for my Christian parenting. Family discipleship is happening every day, whether we are intentional or not. Your children are being discipled by social media, by peer pressure, by a culture that flatly contradicts God's word. Giving them a piece of Christian motivation is like sending them into a war zone with a peashooter The book of Joshua is literally a manual for spiritual warfare. It shows your family how to read the Bible as a weapon and use God's truth for the real fight. When you study the book of Joshua together, you're not just teaching stories, you are arming your child with the truth of a victory that is already theirs in Jesus Christ. If you want to keep arming your family with this kind of truth, ? ?? make sure you subscribe to the channel. ?And when you grasp this, you are on the verge of understanding the real reason I made this video. You're ready to understand the critical mistake we've been making and the one shift that changes everything. If you've ever felt that ache for something more, if you've been in a crisis that has shaken you, then you know there's a depth to God's word you aren't accessing. You're ready for a feast. If that's you, I want to invite you to the Joshua Bible study. I actually wrote this study for my own family when our kids were in their middle school years. I wanted them to grasp the unsearchable biblical wisdom and knowledge of God, to see that the Bible and life are completely connected. This isn't just another devotional. It's a guided journey in family discipleship, specifically designed to help families like yours go deeper together. It's made for families with middle schoolers, providing parental advice to help you build a shared spiritual language around these deep truths. It's a form of Bible teaching that helps you understand what the Bible means for your life right now. To find out more, I invite you to click the link to the Joshua Bible study in the description. When you first embrace the gospel and then explore the depth of God's wisdom, this is when the operating system of your family, your confidence, and your stability begins to change. So what is the real reason I'm done ignoring the depth of scripture? What is the critical error that I promise to reveal? It's this: we treat the Bible as a tool for self-improvement when it is in fact a weapon for spiritual warfare, and the first casualty in that war must be our false self. The real reason I'm done with the shallows is the final shocking understanding that the goal isn't to build a better version of me. The goal is to die with Christ so I can be resurrected as a warrior for his kingdom. That is the shift that changes everything. If that's the shift you're ready to make, type, "I'm ready," in the comments below. The reward of this deeper path isn't an easier life. In many ways, it's harder. That sword has to cut through us first, but the reward is real because it is rooted in Christ's finished work. It's the stability that replaces chaos. It's the confidence that replaces fear. It's the building an eternal legacy instead of a temporary kingdom of comfort. It's what Joshua experienced after 40 years of wandering, not just a piece of land, but God's promised rest that comes from deep trust in God. That's the inheritance of strength, confidence, and stability available to all of us who come to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Let's pray together. God, forgive us for treating your holy word as a self-improvement book. Help us to grasp the depth of the riches of the wisdom of the knowledge of God in the presence of your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that we may have the inheritance of heaven. God, I pray for everyone listening to this video. I ask you, God, that you would use the word of God to expose the depth of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God to each person personally, that they would come to know your only begotten Son as their Savior, and that they would enjoy the presence of God forever, and that they would glorify you both now and forevermore. God, I pray that you would release them from shallow faith, and that you would dive them in to the faith that is deep and solid, grounded in the truth of the gospel, and that their lives would be confident, stable, and secure in a knowledge of you. I pray that you would build moms and families that would love you with all of their heart, with all of their soul, with all of their strength, with all of their mind, with all of their self. And I ask you, God, that you would do this by the power of your Holy Spirit according to the scripture that you have provided for us. In the name of Jesus, we pray, amen. May the grace of God and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Go in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and never again ignore the depth of scripture
