One thing that I like to do, is set apart some time during the day, and study the Bible. Not just read it, but study it. There is a big difference between studying the Bible, and reading out of it. When you read out of the Bible, you get tons of wonderful information. If you read the Bible like a book, every time you read it, you'll learn something new about it. But, if you study, you make connections, you study the words, their meanings, and typically, you get a lot more out of it. But, doing both is deffinately recommended. :)
Let's say you're on a deserted island, all alone, and only have a survival guide. Do you think that you're going to want to know that thing backwards and forwards? Of course you are! You're going to want to know everything you have to do to survive. Earth is that deserted island, and the Bible is our guide. We're not going to make it to Heaven, if we don't fully understand how to get there. You can go to church, every Sunday, and Wednesday, sit there in the pew, and still not have a full understanding of the Bible. In my family, we call those people "pew warmers". They don't make time for God, and they're just there They feel like, now that they're baptized, they've got their ticket punched, and now they just have to sit back, relax, and can do whatever they want because they followed God enough, and that's all they need. Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Titus 3:5, "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit," This is saying that, no, just because we were baptized does not mean that we did all we were supposed to do, and that we just have to wait to go to heaven now. This is saying that, because we do what God says, He is merciful, and has allowed us to go into heaven with him. It's not what you have done for God, it's what God has done for you.
Once, my dad was doing a sermon, and in it he said that, if we follow God's rules, that's it. I mean, you didn't really do anything special, you only didn't defy Him. You followed orders. That doesn't mean that we deserve anything, just because we did what we were told to do, because we should have done it whether we were reworded or not. It's like, if your parents asked you to set the table. If you disobeyed, obviously, you would be punished. But if you did what they asked you, you shouldn't expect anything, because all you did was what they asked you. You can't do more than what God asks of you, without doing something He doesn't want you to.
This is why, we need to make time for God. So we can do His will, and we can know what we are supposed to do. It's difficult to go to battle without orders. The Bible is our orders. Romans 15:14, "I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another." We can't know everything, but we should at least strive to know everything about the Bible as we can. So please, remember, you're in God's army, and you need a sword to fight. Ephesians 6:17, "and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"
