Is anyone out there really interested in Bible study?

Frankly, I do not think so.

People are more interested in sports than they are in the Bible. I personally believe that sports (NFL, the stupidity about how much air pressure was used to inflate the football, and all the rest of the sports-related stupidity) is a waste of time. I believe that the real opiate of the people is sports, and has nothing to do with religion, and especially the Bible. Sports is a waste of time because too many people, even supposed Christians, spend more time following sports than they spend reading the Bible. And of those who do manage to read the Bible, most never study the Bible.

Now, when I attended Bob Jones University as an undergraduate student, my roommates in the dormitory tried very, very hard to help me with my “sports deficiency.” I will tell you, I absolutely hate sports of any kind. Why? Perhaps it is because as a child growing up during World War II there were no children who lived near me with whom to learn to play sports in the local neighborhood. My new home, built in 1940, was at that time on the outskirts of Detroit near Eight Mile Road and Dequindre. What young people there were I must say were not the kind of young people I had any interest in having any contact with. I had several close friends, but we were not into sports, especially group sports.

Upon returning home from World War II, my father tried his best to get me involved in sports. It was to no avail. At Bob Jones University my roommates Dale T. Hayes and Bob Bandy and others tried heroically to get me to budge. Dale kept after me, and I eventually qualified to get a “Letter” in Athletics. I was more interested in getting my Letter in Debate.

In elementary school and junior high school and high school I was always the last one chosen for any activity in gym class. I hated gym class. I stayed in the corner and did chin-ups and lifted weights, but never once played baseball or basket ball. For a little skinny kid, I could lift more weight than the class sports heroes. If gym teachers knew how to teach (and they don’t, in my experience), they would have coached me from elementary school on until I was successful. I remember elementary school. I got hit squarely in the stomach by the ball and I doubled over, and the class laughed. I did successfully complete the rope climb assignment.

The first time my father took me to a Baptist boys group like the Scouts to learn how to swim, I innocently ran and jumped straight in the pool, and sunk to the bottom. The leader, Mr. George Finch, saw me in time and rescued me from certain drowning. It was long after that before I ever learned to swim, and I have no interest in it whatsoever.

Gym class and the playground were the worst places for me, for there I encountered the school bullies who were always picking on me. I walked circuitous routes to and from elementary and junior high school to avoid these numbskulls. But even as a teacher, I was still subject to harassment by bullies. The bullies were students who belonged in class (but not my class) who spent their time wandering the halls causing trouble. Eventually enough students learned I was on their side, and the members of sports teams the coaches had me tutor told me they would have my back, and they literally served throughout the day as my unofficial but effective body guards.

Dale Hayes argued with me that if I had an interest in sports, that could be a means of ministry to reach others for Christ. He might be right. But I still hate sports with a passion. Nevertheless, at church, I had at least 22 young men who were virtual sports fanatics in my Sunday school class. They asked me that if I let them form a team, would I sponsor them and act as chaperone when they practiced in a gym in a nearby old church that had one. I said, I’ll be happy to, just so long as we have a brief, focused Bible study before you begin each practice. They agreed, and that is what we did.

In my high school English classes I always said I had sports all figured out. I could teach the football team and the basketball team how to win the championship hands down. Then I explained how I would do it. I would go to the school library and read all the books on sports to be found there. I would read about famous players. I would read books about each sport. I would read all about sports in the encyclopedias. At least, I told my class, I KNOW HOW TO READ, AND YOU DON’T! Then I’ll go out on the gym floor and show my stuff.

The kids all got a kick out of that. They told me, “Mr. Smith, you would not be able to do a thing. You’re not built for it. You haven’t had the practice or experience to do it. We can show you how its done and teach you what you cannot get from books.” Then I said to them, “You know, you might be right. But I still say, I KNOW HOW TO READ, AND YOU DON’T! So here is the deal, I KNOW HOW TO TEACH YOU HOW TO READ, and you will learn and be successful, IF you follow my directions.” You might know how to play sports, but if you plan to go to college, you better learn how to read. And though you may think you know how to read, I know better. Take a look out the window.

See those children on the way to school? What grade do you think they might be in?” They looked out, and said probably fourth or fifth grade. I said, “If they are reading at their proper grade level, then according to my testing results, they are reading better than you do. Think about it: you are all high school juniors and seniors walking around this high school with the ability level of normal elementary school students. You need my help in reading more than I need your help in sports!”

Some of them got the point. They used my reading program. They completed my assignments. I even tutored them after school. The coach came to me near the end of the school year and handed me a list of 21 students who had scored well enough on the ACT Test to secure full athletic scholarships to college.

Cortez Lett, a fullback for Denby’s football team, praises Smith’s methods. Cortez takes instruction from Smith in reading, English composition and writing. Twenty-one students now take the program at Denby.

No matter how good a player you are, you still need to get the right grades to succeed in college and in life,” said Cortez, 17. A senior, he is going to the Naval Academy on a full football scholarship to study sports medicine.

Cortez said the program works. “I’m a living witness,” he said. “I took the ACT and got a real good score the first time.

“All praises go to God first and to Mr. Smith. I’ve the chance to further my education with the scholarship.” The Detroit News, Section S, On Detroit, “Jerome Smith’s Reading Crusade,” page 6s, Wednesday, May 12, 1999

Now all that to say this. Eternity counts more than time. You will live someplace for ever, for all eternity. You MUST be sure you are ready for what is eternal. If you are wrong on this point, you will live to regret that fact forever and forever.

The Bible alone contains the truth you must know for eternity.

On this site, you can learn all you will ever need to know to live forever because you understood the Bible correctly enough to trust in our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life. Nothing is more important than that.

It ought to be obvious then that the Bible is where you need to be spending time reading to get better acquainted with God.

To get the most from this site, take time to read what is posted here.

I even do that myself. I am amazed at what I have written in explanation of the Bible, and how to study it. You will learn more accurate Bible interpretation here concerning the subject of Bible prophecy, for example, than you will likely ever find anywhere else–but you have to take time to read it.

I was looking at the “Google Analytics” report for this site this evening and discovered that four visits to the page I link below averaged 29 minutes and 22 seconds per visit. That shows me that whoever visited the page link below took the necessary time to read what was there. I trust the Lord will bless that reader or those readers with an increased understanding of His written Word in the Bible as a result.

Here is the page link:

The Rapture–When Will It Happen? Part 1

I have never figured out how to make a link “live” in a main article like this. The deservedly unwise individuals who design this website and software stuff have not made it clear anywhere how to do a simple thing like that. So I will post the link again immediately below in the comment section so all of you reading this can easily access the wonderful article and following discussion there. It is more important, and ought to be far more interesting, than anything having to do with sports!