In the age of fad diets, I thought I might focus our attention this week on the Diet of Worms. No, I am not talking about ingesting some wiggling fish bait. Actually, I am referring to an official gathering of church officials that occurred in 1521 in the German town of Worms.

The Bishops were giving Martin Luther one last opportunity to recant his revolutionary ideas about our salvation being rooted in faith alone.

Luther’s response in part was: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the scriptures or by clear reason, I am bound by the scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience.”

“Captive to the Word of God…” what an incredible thought!  Similarly in Ps. 119:16, the psalmist declared, “I shall delight in your statues, I shall not forget your word.”

But as a culture, we have forgotten His word.

Recently I have been teaching on II John and made particular note of how John urges us to “remain in the teaching of Christ.” He was urging his first century readers to maintain a focus on knowing and applying the truths surrounding Jesus Christ.

That injunction is still incredibly relevant today. Unfortunately, many Christians have lost their passion for knowing and living out the truths found in the pages of scripture. One study noted that only 40% of Christian church going folks crack open their Bible more than once a month. And 20% of those same men and women NEVER open their Bible outside of church (if there).

The net effect is – we are biblically illiterate people.

We are a distracted people, preoccupied with social networking, entertainment of all kinds, and dedicated to busyness. We have misplaced priorities and ignore the importance of “hiding God’s word in our heart.”

This week is vacation time for many people. Maybe it’s a wonderful opportunity to change our “diet.” Let’s skip the light and fanciful stuff and lay out a plan for digging into God’s word on a regular basis. Let’s challenge ourselves (and our families) to study (really study) the scriptures.

Make sure the plan is realistic and practical. But let’s make it a priority!