With everyone else in society recommending resolutions to you, I’d like to offer one myself as your pastor and friend.  Consider it a 2013 Diet Recommendation.  It is for the good of your daily health.  Not just physical, but spiritual.  I encourage you this year to prioritize seeing that your soul is healthy and fed….. every single day.  Your size can be slimmer, your arms firmer, and your looks better….. but if your soul is not alive & healthy in God, what does it matter?  ”For the Lord sees not as man sees: Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7) Jesus says: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Matt. 16:26)  Our soul’s true home is in God. Our soul’s were created to dwell there, to find rest there, to find strength there, to find purpose there. God is our source of life.  Apart from Him, we can do nothing and have nothing (see John 15).  We all want to be happy. True happiness is found in Him.  In every season, circumstance, and decision, we should desire the best.  The best is Him.

So how do we spend time with Him?  Jesus told the woman at the well that true worship is found in spirit and in truth.

God’s Word is true nutrition for our souls. Can you imagine only eating food and drinking water one day a week?  Let’s say that every Sunday you went to eat at an all you can eat buffet and ate your fill. But then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday you ate nothing.  You could perhaps make it through Monday with energy to sustain you.  But, you probably would struggle to function the rest of the week.  Why?  Your body was made to eat food and drink water.  This is modus operandi.  Now, in the same way, our souls are made to find nutrition in God.  Jesus says that we were not meant to live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt 4:4). He says that He alone is our true food and true drink, that finding our daily nutrition and home in Him will lead us to eternal life (see John 6:41-58).  The psalmist says to God: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103).  [I encourage you to read Psalm 119 and make a list of the awesome benefits of the Word of God.]

If we understand why we would struggle physically to survive only eating or drinking once a week, we should understand why we would struggle spiritually if our only spiritual intake is on Sundays.  We were made for daily, constant relationship with God.  Our souls need daily nutrition from His Word and His Spirit.  When we do this, God promises we will be like a tree by a river who’s roots go deep into the life-giving stream of water and grows healthy, strong, happy, and fruitful (see Psalm 1).  I believe you want to be all of these in 2013.

Honestly, I know of no better goal for you than to say: “I will enjoy time with God being fed by His Spirit & the feast of His Word every day.  I will see to it that my soul finds daily nutrition, life and health in God.”

You can prayerfully make that your goal and commitment out of desire for more intimate relationship with God.  I hope you will today and every day of this new year.  Tell God you want Him, deeper relationship with Him, to hear from Him in His Word, to receive from Him through His Spirit.

Now, how can you do this practically?  I believe most of you will read this and desire to spend daily time in God’s Word.  But how do you do this? As with most resolutions, we must have both desire and discipline for initial commitment to find lasting change.  As Paul tells Timothy, we must train ourselves for godliness.  This involves hard work, sweat, and discipline (as with anything you want to pursue).  Personally, I have found great joy in the discipline of reading God’s Word, setting myself to meditate on it day and night.  It is not a burden or chore, but a joy.

If you’re like me, you may need some practical help. To help you out, I’ve compiled a list of practices and resources that you can use yourself in 2013.  As you work and commit yourself afresh to God’s Word, I encourage you to remember one thing:  hearing from the Lord in His Word is totally dependent on His Spirit (see Mt. 13:13-16, 1 Cor 2:1-10, John 14:15-31).  If you desire God, pursue the discipline of time in God’s Word, and live in dependence upon the Spirit, you will discover the joy of daily “soul food” this year.

1.  Bible Reading Plans.  I have found the use of daily Bible reading plans and devotionals a great aid in my personal spiritual journey.  Actually, I still use a daily reading plan for personal study and time with God.  Most of them are available online or through your smartphone. Set them as a bookmark. Sign-up for their daily emails. Tell the app you want a daily reminder.  A few I recommend:

• YouVersion smartphone app (available in most app stores for most phones).  Create a free account, then easily search and sign up for whole Bible plans, partial plans, New Testament plans, etc. Automatically tracks your progress and will update you daily.  Need some help picking?  I recommend and follow the M’Cheyne One Year Reading Plan (OT once, NT twice, Psalms twice).
• ESV Reading Plans (available in multiple formats: RSS, print, mobile, iCal, email).  Check out the ESV Study Bible Plan – allows you to read a portion of history, prophets, psalms/proverbs, and NT every day).  See also the Chronological Plan – takes you through the Bible in one year in the order of which it is written.
• Discipleship Journal Reading Plan (an easily printed format, plan allows for five make-up days each month to catch-up on readings that were missed).
• Important Note:  When reading, it is more important to focus on the quality of your time spent with God (receiving His spiritual food) than the quantity of verses or books you read.  While I think we should aim to receive the whole counsel of God, our first aim must be to grow in relationship with God.  

2.   Journaling.  I have found it very helpful to journal while reading and studying God’s Word.  There is something about the act of journaling that allows you to move from information to observation to application, then personalization.   A sample of my journaling process:

• Reading a line in Scripture like “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious” (Ex. 34) in daily reading gives me pause to stop and begin a journal process.  It may begin with listing the characteristics of God: the Lord, merciful, gracious.  Then, it moves to deeper meditation and writing: “God is Lord, which means He is sovereign, master, ruler over all things.  There is no one above Him.  God is merciful which means He does not give us what is deserved.  He is slow to anger for our good.  God is gracious, giving more than is merited.”  Finally, it moves to application and personalization: God, thank you for being Lord of all.  You are my rock.  Because you are Lord, I can trust you and find strength in you.  I will believe you are in control and give you control in my life today.  With the decisions I am facing, I know you are the one with the answers I need.  I submit myself to you.  Thank you for being our King.”  This process continues as you read through the Scriptures, helping you remember that your goal is not academic information but Spirit-filled hearing and personal application.
• (A note to men: It does not diminish your manhood to journal what you are learning and hearing from God.  In fact, I would suggest this is perhaps one of the most manly things you could do. Real men love Jesus and live in dependency on Him.  I got over our U.S. stereotype of journaling as a “girl’s hobby.”  You can too.  But please don’t use one with a “Hello Kitty” cover, OK?).

• Click here for list of Amazon’s Bible journaling resources.

3.  Devotional Books.  If you are looking for some encouragement and commentary on the Scriptures,  there is nothing wrong with picking up a good devotional book. Many of these books are written to help you process and personalize (think deeply on) God’s Word.  The key: You want a book that will SUPPLEMENT your Scripture reading (not replace it).  You still want to spend time hearing from God directly from His Word and Spirit.

• Two good devotional books:
•  “For the Love of God” by D.A. Carson (a preview is available here)
• “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers

4.  Study Bibles.  I have found study Bibles a great resource to my personal study of God’s Word.  Study Bibles are aimed to help you fully understand the Scriptures.  While I believe you can hear from God with simply His plain Word and His Spirit, I also believe these resources can and should be utilized for our greater understanding of God’s Word.  In a study Bible, you’ll get the author, historical setting, key themes, key people, etc of every book.  Complex words or phrases are explained.  Short commentary is offered.  Charts, graphs, maps, and illustrations help you visualize descriptions, significance, narrative, or setting.  Cross-references to other passages of similar Scripture abound.  If you are serious about digging into the awesome riches of God’s Word, I recommend investing in a Study Bible.  They are assembled by teams of pastors and scholars and can be trusted.   Some good ones are below:

• ESV Study BIble (my personal favorite)
• Global Study Bible (a cheaper, very accessible version)

5. Personal Bible Study Methods.  There are many helpful methods for personal Bible study that can be learned and applied in daily time in God’s Word.  These methods are meant to help you dig deep into the Scriptures in systematic, Spirit-filled, and life-changing ways.   Some good methods:

• S.O.A.P. Study – Scripture reading, Observation, Application, Personalization.  Very simple but very helpful.  I recommended this process above when journaling.
• Precept Inductive Bible Study Method.   If you are comfortable marking your Bible and invested in serious study of God’s Word, I recommend this method.  I have used it personally and am always blessed.  A PDF summary of the method can be downloaded here.
• Wade Akins’ “How to Hear from God” method (included in his book Pioneer Evangelism).  Wade is a personal mentor and friend, one of the missionaries we happily support at ICC.  His method for Bible Study is simple and wonderful.

6. Accountability / Small Groups.  I cannot over-emphasize the importance of living in community with other believers.  We were not meant to live life or grow in our relationship with God isolated in a vacuum.  God wants to encourage you, teach you, strengthen you, and speak through you others…..all through community.  I encourage you to tell someone else that you are committing to spend time in God’s Word this year.  Tell them of your commitment too and ask them for prayer, encouragement, and accountability.  Give them permission to ask you what God is showing you and teaching you, how He is feeding you.

• Important Note: You need to intentionally seek others to hold you accountable.  Don’t assume they will know they are your chosen accountability just because you mention to them you’re reading the Bible this year.  No – ask them what you want from them.  Give them permission to follow-up with you, to ask you questions, to keep you accountable.  Set a time and place to check-in with each other weekly or monthly, however you choose.
• Second Important Note:  The WRONG question is ask in accountability is: “Did you read….”?  Honestly, this is quite annoying and discouraging to hear when you haven’t read.  Save that kind of questioning for their parents.  The RIGHT question to ask in accountability is: “Tell me what God is teaching you this week in His Word….”  or “How is God growing you and stretching you as you’ve been spending time with Him?”  This is much more encouraging and invites deeper conversation and response.

7.  Bible Memorization. ” It’s hard to cook when you don’t have anything in the pantry!”  In the same way, it’s hard to meditate on the Word of God (call it to mind, chew on it) when you don’t have it stored away in your heart!  One of the greatest disciplines you could pursue this year would be to memorize the Word of God each day or week.  Your brain has more capacity and capability than you give it credit for.  In fact, God made it to handle His Word.  Put it to good use and “hide God’s word in your heart” (Ps. 119).  You’ll be so glad you did! Some practical helps:

• Fighter Verses – a printable set of verses (in bookmark form) for the year!
• Tips for Memorization
• Bible Memory iPhone App

I pray God will richly satisfy your soul through His Spirit as you give yourself to feast on the abundance of His Word this year!  Please feel free to post a comment if you have any other methods you’d like to recommend or share.

Psalm 119:18: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

I told the people of FBC Groves yesterday morning that I would post some bible reading plans today.  The one that was passed out yesterday morning is a solid plan, but it may not be the right fit for everyone.  If you are interested in checking out some alternatives, I am listing a handful of solid bible reading plans so that you can find one that fits.

*Side note: Matt Smethurst has written an excellent article on “How to not Read Your Bible this Year.” It will give you a good foundation to begin any of these bible reading plans.

Before I give you some plans that others have created, I want to tell you how I read through the Bible every year.  It’s quite simple, I begin in Genesis and I read 5 chapters a day through the book of Revelation.  This usually takes me about 3/4 of a year.  It allows me to help get a grasp of how the Canon (collection and order of books in the bible) flows.  It’s very straightforward with absolutely no papers to keep track and it keeps my focus on books of the bible.

Bible Reading Plans:

• Two -Year Bible Reading Plan: Stephen Witmer has created this bible reading plan which has you read through  one book of the Bible at a time (along with a daily reading from the Psalms or Proverbs). At the end of two years you will have read through the Psalms and Proverbs four times and the rest of the Bible once.
• Murray-McCheyne Plan: For the person who prefers to read on their smartphone, tablet, or computer…you can follow the Robert Murray-McCheyne plan from the Gospel Coalition.  This plan will not only take you through the bible in a year, but will also provide commentary on the passage courtesy of New Testament scholar DA Carson.
• Chronological Plan: Do you ever wonder, “when was all this stuff happening?” Well, I have used a Chronological bible plan before and it was immensely helpful to figuring out the timeline of the bible.
• The Bible-Eater Plan: This is a brand new bible reading plan.  I have not used it, but those who have started reading through the bible using this plan seemed to be encouraged and challenged by it.
• The Bible Plan for Slackers: Not only does this plan have an online component where you can keep track of your reading plan, but it it takes away the pressure (and guilt) of “keeping up” with the entire Bible in one year. You get variety within the week by alternating genres by day, but also continuity by sticking with one genre each day.

Regardless of what “plan” you choose, reading through the bible this year would not merely be a good idea or a good choice, but it will be an opportunity for the Lord to nourish, encourage, and deepen your faith. Do you desire to know Christ more? Root yourself in his word.

(I need to footnote Justin Taylor for compiling these resources.  If I would have just posted a link to his blog, many of my followers would not have clicked it, but he did the work of collecting and linking these resources. For that, we are grateful.)

We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. (2Pet 1:3) God has actually given us everything we need to be godly in His eyes, but that does not mean instant perfection.

This work of godliness is not a sudden transformation when we accept Christ. No one said it was. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. (1Cor 3:18). Transformed! That’s a work of progress. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept. Line upon line, line upon line. Here a little, there a little. (Isa 28:10)

When you allow God to change your life, you will not become a spiritual giant over night. It’s not His way. His way is to teach you a truth and let is settle into your spirit, then teach you another truth. Spirituality takes time. Don’t be frustrated that you don’t know it all. You’re getting there. After awhile, look back and see from where you came. God is doing more in you than you know.

“Therefore He says, ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’” (Ephesians 4:8)

This is a New Testament quote of Psalm 68:18. Of all Scripture, this is probably one of the more difficult passages to understand, yet even with it, as with other obscure passages, there are certain steps we can take to better understand its intended meaning.

As it should be any time we study the Bible, our first step is to ask for God’s help. Jesus said, “…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13) Because He is its author, God is the One who knows what His Word means and is the One who can help us also understand.

First Corinthians 2:14 tells us that, “the natural [unregenerate; not born again, not submitted to God’s authority in Christ] man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” While this verse primarily teaches that those who are not Christians resist God’s teachings, we can also conclude that it makes sense to ask for God’s assistance because we are seeking to understand things of the Spirit.

The next step to comprehending difficult Bible passages is to re-read them in their proper context. Read the verses (or chapters, if necessary) immediately before and after the verse in question; many times they will give us a better understanding of what is being taught.

Verses 4-6: “4 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

Verses 7-10: But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.8 Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”

9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

Verses 11-13: And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:1-13)

If you examine this entire stretch of verses, you see that there seem to be three natural divisions. Verses 1-6 speak about the unity of the Christian faith—that there is one faith, one baptism, one Lord, etc. Verses 7-10 tell us we have gotten grace, and follow up with a quote of Psalm 68:13 showing that this was foretold. Verses 11-13 then pick up with the different kinds of gifts God gave and why. So we see that today’s verse is the proof text the writer of Ephesians is giving to substantiate that what follows was foretold in the Old Testament.

The next step in understanding a difficult passage is to pull it apart, piece by piece. In this case, we have:

1) “Therefore He says” – Paul is saying, “God foretold what follows in the Old Testament.”

2) “When He ascended on high” – The two things that follow happened when Jesus ascended to heaven (Scholars believe it was either during the time His body was in the tomb or after He bodily rose to heaven forty days after His resurrection.).

3) “He led captivity captive” – This is the first consequence of Jesus’ finished work on earth. Luke 4:16-21 details an interesting insight into this: “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed [doesn’t this sound a lot like “He led captivity captive"?]; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’”

Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us, “Inasmuch then as the children [we; human beings] have partaken of flesh and blood [because we are human], He Himself [Jesus] likewise shared in the same [He also was born a human being], that through [His] death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”

We are the captives whom Jesus set free; we are no longer in bondage to sin—we have the Holy Spirit who gives us both the desire and the ability to do what is right.

4) “And gave gifts to men.” – Not only did Jesus set us free from slavery to sin, He also gave us spiritual gifts, which the next section, verses 11-13 and beyond, describe.

Another step to understanding difficult Bible passages is to look up individual words whose meanings might be less than clear in a Word Study Bible, such as the one by Spiros Zodhiates. Words such as “gifts” and “captivity” could be looked up to give a fuller understanding.

The last step to understanding difficult passages is to think on them over an extended period. Just as cows chew on their cud, then regurgitate and chew again, spending time mulling over difficult to understand passages sometimes helps the meaning really come together better for us. The most important thing to remember when we come across difficult to understand passages, however, is to not give up—it in the Bible for a reason. Follow the steps and give it time. God’s heart is for us to know what He says!

Dear Lord,

Thank You that Your heart is not to hide Your Word from us, but for everyone to come to a knowledge of You. Help us be faithful in our efforts! Amen.

In this blog, I will offer you, the Christian, simple ways to put together a game plan to begin exploring time with God as you discover the eternal truths found in the Bible. So whatever your excuses may be for not digging in the Bible, start afresh and ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate your life as you cultivate an intimate time in the Word of God!

Why should I study the Bible?

David answers this question directly, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word (Psalm 119:9).” The time you take to meditate on Scripture and let it feed your soul will dramatically reduce the amount of sin in your life and produce holy living.

There are three essentials to studying the Bible.

 1. What You Believe – Authority

• The Bible is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
• The Bible is infallible (trustworthy) (Psalm 19:7)
• The Bible is inerrant (without error) (Proverbs 30:5-6)
• The Bible is complete (Revelation 22:18-19)
• The Bible is authoritative (Psalm 119:89)

2. What You Receive – Blessings

• You will be sanctified in truth (John 17:17)
• You will be blessed (Luke 11:28)
• You will be victorious (Ephesians 6:17)
• You will grow in spiritual maturity (1 Peter 2:2)
• You will receive power (Rom. 1:16)
• You will attain guidance (Psalm 119:105)

 3. What you Achieve – Conviction

• A growing faith (John 6:68-69)
• An obedient faith (1 John 2:5)
• A strong faith (Jude 3)
• A prepared faith (2 Timothy 4:2)

How do I study the Bible?

This question has certainly been one of the most asked questions in my course of ministry. Though it is a very simple one, it nonetheless, carries with it a significant amount of weight and meaning. The truth is most Christians desire nothing more than to have a routine of studying the Bible and teaching others. However, the reality is most Christians only carry that longing, but do nothing with it. It is my prayer that you follow this outline and be able to put a game plan together that will begin to produce intimacy in your walk with God.

1. Game Plan – Isaiah 28:9-10

It doesn’t matter who you are or how smart you think you are, everybody needs a game plan when it comes to studying the Bible. So the real question becomes: What’s the best plan for me? Here are a few plans to look over and find out which one is right for you.

• Read the Bible in a year
• Read the Old Testament in 6 months
• Read the New Testament in 3 months
• Read 2 OT chapters; 2 NT chapters; 1 Psalm; 1 Proverb each day
• Inductive study of a particular book (verse by verse)
• Topical studies and memorization

I personally recommend that you start with something easy and gradually work yourself into a pattern that you can build upon. You will need to get a good study bible and software that act as solid tools to help you better study and understand the Bible. This is an investment, but one that is worth every penny!

Be sure to keep yourself on a plan that keeps you focused and progressing in your reading everyday. If you get behind, set sometime aside to get caught up. Whatever you do…don’t panic and quit! Stay on track and seek out additional accountability (if needed).

2. Pray – Psalm 139:23-24

Before you begin to study the Bible, prayer is key to opening your heart to what God wants you to learn in His Word. I encourage Christians to have a prayer journal so they know what they’re praying and whom they are praying for. I also encourage you to pray the Scriptures over your life and those people the Holy Spirit has pressed upon your heart to intercede for as well.

3. Read to Observe – “What’s going on?”

As you read the Bible, always be alert to what is happening in the passage. It’s so enriching when you know the Who? What? When? Where? How? and Why? of the particular book that you are currently studying. The more insight you have of the external of the book, the deeper your understanding will be of the internal matters within the book. So, learning about the author, dates, background, and the historical setting and significance will broaden your understanding of the content and context of the Bible.

4. Read to Interpret – “What does it mean?”

As you observe what’s happening in the Bible the next step is to interpret its meaning. However, one thing you want to make sure you don’t do is misinterpret the Scriptures. Again, seek the Holy Spirit to give you proper guidance in understanding the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:10-11; 1 John 2:26-27) as you began to dissect the text. Remember, the key to studying the Bible is CONTEXT! CONTEXT! CONTEXT!

Dr. John MacArthur states that there are four gaps that need to be bridged: (1) language gap, (2) culture gap, (3) geographical gap, and (4) historical gap:

• Language – Seek out the original meaning of the languages the Bible was written in (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek)
• Culture – Be sensitive to the culture and social structures of the time in the Bible.
• Geography – Allow geography be a road map to help you understand the landscape and environment of the people in those times.
• History – Gain a historical perspective that will give you more appreciation of persons and events.

5. Read to Apply – “What must I do?”

Finally, as you study the Bible, seek to apply and live what you learned. As Dr. Howard Hendricks wrote in his book, Living By The Book, read to concentrate – record to remember – reflect to apply. James makes this bold reminder, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does (1:22-25).”

Additional Resources

1. How to Study Your Bible by Kay Arthur
2. How to Study the Bible by John MacArthur
3. How to Study the Bible by Robert West
4. How to Study the Bible and Enjoy It by Skip Heitzig

I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Psalm 119:15-16

]]> http://rosepublishing.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/how-to-study-the-bible-echart/ Fri, 26 Oct 2012 20:31:16 +0000 Rose Publishing http://rosepublishing.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/how-to-study-the-bible-echart/ Are you on Facebook? So are we! “Like” us and receive EVEN MORE free items!

What stops us from really studying the Bible? Could it be the time commitment, or maybe the battle to find a quiet place to ourselves? Before you know it, reading the Bible will become more of a chore and less of an enriching experience. Reading and understanding scripture is not only helpful, it’s how you connect with God! Don’t let another day race by without taking action. Rose Publishing can help you with your dilemma!

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• Life Application. How do I apply what the author has said to my life today?

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God has chosen to use our little e-book in a big way to help end Bible Poverty. We set a crazy big goal last year to bring 104 verses to the Vidunda people, through OneVerse, a Wycliff Bible Translators affiliate.

Today, we stand with only 16 verses left.

Sixteen!

To celebrate all the Lord has done, and to reach our goal near our one-year mark, we are going to give ALL PROFITS to OneVerse for every sale of the e-version sold today, and we would love for Y-O-U to be a part of the work God is doing in the lives of the Vidunda people!

Every PDF, Nook, and Kindle version sold on Thursday, October 4th will bring $5 to the Vidunda people.

If you already have a copy, will you consider gifting a copy, or donating directly to the Savoring Living Water OneVerse project. Any gift amount is welcome!

Thank you for helping us bring God’s Word to the nations!

From Melissa’s Musings:  What an awesome opportunity for us to help end Bible poverty.  Will you join me?  For 24 hours all the sales of all e-versions of “Savoring Living Water” will go directly to the Vidunda OneVerse Project.  You can view the product review that Melissa’s Musings did on “Savoring Living Water” by clicking on this link “Savoring Living Water” Product Review by Melissa’s Musings.

I want to thank each of my readers personally for reading about Bible Poverty and for your support.

Until Next Time,

M

Don’t be a sea gull!

One of the coolest things about the beach is the sea life that you don’t get to know in the inland locales. While not really a bird enthusiast, I noticed right off the two most prominent birds on the Californian coast – sea gulls and pelicans. I mention them together because the different ways these particular birds feed themselves illustrates to me the two different ways Christians take in spiritual food. To read more…

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve been around the block.

When it comes to studying the Bible, I’ve made my way through this method and that format, using these tools and those materials. I’ve studied with the help of this translation and that paraphrase. I’ve considered his detailed commentary and her in-depth workbook…

After all, if you’re like me and you take God’s Word seriously, you’ll go around the block again and again for even a GLIMPSE of His truth in those sacred pages.

I’m beginning to wonder, though, if all of our methods for studying and approaching the scriptures can’t be summed up in two painfully simple (but potentially loaded) questions:

SO WHAT?

NOW WHAT?

SO WHAT? I’ve just read this story in the Bible – SO WHAT? What’s the big deal? What difference does it make? Why does it matter that Jesus said this (or that David did that)? Seriously – what’s the big whoop?

How many times have you read a biblical text and failed to think about the reason those words were written? How often do you open and close your Bible without pausing to consider why that passage on this day?

‘SO WHAT?’ is an invitation to dig down to the crux of the matter, to the root of the text, deep into the heart of a God whose words are important enough to have endured thousands of years in order to be spoken into your life today. It may not be the most scholarly approach to the study of God’s words, but ‘SO WHAT?’ cuts through the Christian-ese and pretense to usher you into an honest assessment of the impact of scripture on a very real YOU in a very real world. If we cannot figure out the ‘SO WHAT?’ there is simply no point in moving forward to the ‘NOW WHAT?’

Yet it is the ‘NOW WHAT?’ that separates the spiritual tweens from the wise and devoted gray-hairs in the Kingdom of God! It’s the discipline of asking God to move you from the classroom of Bible study into the internship of “doing the Word” (James 1:22) that determines whether your efforts at learning will ultimately bear fruit or die fruitless – its growth tragically stunted inside of your head.

NOW WHAT? Asks the question that the faint of heart will avoid at all costs.

NOW WHAT? Forces the hand to be played and the play to be made.

NOW WHAT? Puts skin on the bones of a passive faith, bringing Jesus to life again and again in our love-starved, faith-starved world.

‘NOW WHAT?’ is the question that burns Spirit-fire within the believer whose curiosity cannot be quenched. For if we faithfully ask the question, we have no choice but to join the Author in His work as it is being written on the pages of the lives all around us.

To ask ‘NOW WHAT?’ is to drink deeply of the living water offered by the Savior, and then to take buckets of that very same Water to dehydrated souls, wherever they live.

No study of the Bible is complete without the ‘NOW WHAT?’

Because the Word of God is not passive, but ALIVE with the power of the resurrected Christ! ACTIVE with the movement of the living Spirit of God!

The SO WHAT? NOW WHAT? Bible Study will cramp your style, make you look like a fool, get underneath your skin and make you squirm.

Doesn’t that sound GREAT?! I’m in!

Now what?

OSNOVA Study Bible

The OSNOVA Study Bible includes the Holy Bible and the following Bible study resources:

• The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (500,000 Scripture cross-references) by R.A. Torrey
• How to Study the Bible for Greatest Profit (a course on Bible study methods)  by R.A. Torrey
• Daily Bread (one-year Bible reading calendar) by R.M. M’Cheyne

This edition incorporates an active table of contents, a joystick navigation between chapters, and a cross-reference system between the Bible study resources and the included Bible (with Direct Verse Jump and Direct Verse Jump 2, see below), which makes it easy to locate any place within the Bible study resources or the Scriptures in seconds. The table of contents allows navigation to any chapter of the Scriptures, with the hyperlinked dot to the right of each chapter leading to the corresponding place in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Each title and each verse number in the included Bible is hyperlinked to the corresponding passage in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, and each reference in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge is hyperlinked to the corresponding passage in the Bible.

Direct Verse Jump: new navigation method using the search functionality.

In this version, all you need to do is type an abbreviated book name (see the table of contents for the complete list), then period, then chapter number, period again, and then verse number and finally press “find” twice (you need not wait for the Kindle to display the search results) and you will be looking at that particular verse in seconds. For detailed instructions, read
http://osnova.com/2010/12/09/279/
In short, for John 3:16, you type “jn.3.16″ and double click “enter”.

Direct Verse Jump 2: an alternative way to jump to any verse:

While reading your OSNOVA publication, press “Menu”, then select “Index” and type the same DVJ abbreviation as described above for the passage you want with the only difference that instead of periods use spaces (for example “jn 3 16″).

NOTE: Many features of this publication will not work on Kindle 1, software Kindles such as Kindles for PC, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry or Android. This edition is not TTS(text-to-speech)-friendly due to the way TTS works on the Kindle.

* * *
If you have any questions or concerns at all about this (or any other of OSNOVA publications), please email us at osnova@gmail.com

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Quotes from How to Study the Bible for Greatest Profit:

• The Bible is much read, but comparatively little studied.
• We cannot all be profound students of nature; we can all be profound students of Scripture.
• A person who understands the language of the Holy Spirit, but who does not understand a word of Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic, will get more out of the Bible, than one, who knows all about Greek and Hebrew and cognate languages, but is not born again, and, consequently, does not understand the language of the Holy Spirit.
• One of the greatest follies of the day, is to set unregenerate men to teaching the Bible, because of their rare knowledge of the human forms of speech in which the book was written. It would be as reasonable to set a man to teach art because he had an accurate technical knowledge of paints.
• It should be distinctly understood, that, while there are teachings in the Bible that the natural man can understand, and beauties which he can see, its most distinctive and characteristic teachings are beyond his grasp, and its highest beauties belong to a world in which he has no vision. The first fundamental condition of the most profitable Bible study, is, then, “Ye must be born again.” You cannot study the Bible to the greatest profit if you have not been born again. Its best treasures are sealed to you.
• Many come to the table God has spread in His word with no appetite for spiritual food, and go mincing here and there and grumbling about everything. Spiritual indigestion lies at the bottom of much modern criticism of the Bible.
• The reason why many get so little out of their Bible reading is simply because they are not willing to think. Intellectual laziness lies at the bottom of a large percent of fruitless Bible reading.
• One pound of beef well chewed and digested and assimilated, will give more strength than tons of beef merely glanced at; and one verse of scripture chewed and digested and assimilated, will give more strength than whole chapters simply skimmed. Weigh every word you read in the Bible. Look at it. Turn it over and over. The most familiar passages get a new meaning in this way.
• Do not come to the Bible full of your own ideas, and seeking from it a confirmation of them. Come rather to find out what are God’s ideas as He has revealed them there. Come not to find a confirmation of your own opinion, but to be taught what God may be pleased to teach.
• Few keys open so many caskets that contain hidden treasure as prayer. Few clues unravel so many difficulties. Few microscopes will disclose so many beauties hidden from the eye of the ordinary observer. What new light often shines from an old familiar text as you bend over it in prayer!

1. Go to www.blueletterbible.org 

2. Click on ESV version under “Search the Bible”

3. Run a search on a word using its different tenses such as: “test”, “tests”, “tested”, “testing” in the “Search the Bible” field. This will bring up all the instances “test” is found in Scripture and remember there may be multiple pages so you have to click on the next set of references at the bottom of the page.

4. Under the Words “Primary Results” click on “Copy Options”. This will bring up a drop down menu. You can play around with this, but I choose “Reference-Verse” under “Paragraph Order” and “No Delimiter” under “Number Delimiter”. Also click “select all verses” at the bottom.

5. Click on the “Copy” button beside “Copy Options”.

6. Go to your Word Processor like Word, and click “Paste”. This will give you all the verses in your document. Again, you will have to do this for each page at blueletter if it has multiple pages of verses.

7. Now save your document, read the passages along with the surrounding passages in your Bible and record your observations after each passage.

²⁰My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings.

²¹Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart.

²²For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.

2 Timothy 3:16 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁶Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action),

Penustos – Inspiration, breathe, PERFUME – The Word of God is The FRAGRANCE OF GOD.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OF GREEK AND HEBREW TO UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE. YOU JUST NEED A SINCERE HEART AND A PASSION FOR GOD TO KNOW HIS WILL FOR YOU LIFE AND MORE SO TO UNDERSTAND HIM, BE HIS BEST FRIEND…. AND HE WILL, HE WILL, HE WILL… TELL YOU WHAT IS IN HIS HEART….  HE WILL EXPRESS HIMSELF TO YOU. [Very evident from Pupu's life. With all my knowledge of God's word, I was still in prison with my own systems to change my life but all in vain, stress and nothing worked but pupu, she didn't read no books but had a great love for God and God revealed that part to her so soon]

Jeremiah 33:3 (Amplified Bible)

³Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand).

God never said, learn hebrew, read all the christian books and only then you’ll understand… HE JUST SAID….. CALL TO ME… THAT’S ALL. Jesus said, “come to me all you who are burned out and worn out on religion (worldly systems, figuring out your own ways and strategies to change or reach God etc.) and I will give you rest.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁸And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.

Ecclesiastes 8:4 (Amplified Bible)

⁴For the word of a king is authority and power, and who can say to him, What are you doing?

Psalm 138:2 (Amplified Bible)

²I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!

Tools To Study The Bible:

1. Bible Dictionary (Webster’s)
2. Concordance
3.  Theological Dictionary of the New Testament by Gerhard Kittel (Hardcover)
4. Word Meanings in the New Testament by Ralph Earle (Hardcover)
5. Sparkling Gems From The Greek – Rick Renner.

Ephesians 4:23 (Amplified Bible)

²³And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]

Jeremiah 1:5 (Amplified Bible)

⁵Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

Psalm 139:4 (Amplified Bible)

⁴For there is not a word in my tongue [still unuttered], but, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.

Is your study of God’s Word a little… um…shall we say…stale? You know there’s got to be something more but you can’t quite get past scratching the surface. Maybe you related to Gabrielle’s article on “Fill in the Blank” Theology and you need some different Bible study habits.  If you’re wanting to go deeper in your walk with God, pick up your shovel and get ready to dig!

Kay Arthur of Precept Ministries gave a crash course in how to study the Bible inductively, in a way that gets at the truth of the passage.  Now for Ms. Kay’s complete method, you’ll want to check out her book, Lord, Teach Me to Study the Bible in 28 Days.

When you’re looking at a book of the Bible, true inductive Bible Study consists of three elements:

The first is Observation, asking, “What does it say?” We start by asking the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of the text.  Start with who the author is and list what he says about himself in that book. Then look at who the book was first written to and purpose for the book.  Note repeated words and phrases and interpret them in light of each other within the whole book.

The second thing is Interpretation, asking, “What does it mean?”  The interpreting part flows out of the observation part.  “The more you observe the text, the less problem you will have with interpretation.”

Finally, there’s Application, asking, “What does it mean?”  Discovering what the text means is not at all the same thing as asking, “What does it mean to me?” What it means to us individually will flow out of discovering what it means in and of itself. “It really doesn’t matter what it means to you – it’s what is God saying?”

Observation + Interpretation + Application leads to Transformation.  When we study God’s Word in its context and learn what it truly means in and of itself, we will be women who, as Daniel 11:32 says, know their God, stand firm and take action. Grab your shovels, ladies! It’s time to dig deeper into God’s Word!

Application is broken into 2 categories: What you should do and what you should believe. Both of these are important. We need to do what God desires, because that will lead to better living and will glorify Him. But, we also need to have right beliefs. There are far too many lies in the world and we need to be saturated with the truth so that we are not deceived. Also, what we believe and think about shapes our values and morals and makes us who we are.

How to Live

The Bible is full of the wisdom of God. Our lives would be radically transformed if we simply did what the Bible said for us to do. We can see what God wants us to do in a few different ways. First, there are commands that are direct and specific for us. It is clear that we should love each other and not kill or steal, because these are explicitly stated in scripture. Some things though are not stated this explicitly. Sometimes we need to follow the example of one of the characters in Scripture. For instance, at the end of 2 Samuel 24, David wants to buy a field from Araunah, so that he may build an altar to sacrifice to the Lord. Araunah wants to give the land to the king, and in reality the king could have simply demanded it and he would have had to give it over. But David says, I will not sacrifice something to the Lord which does not cost me anything. This is not a command, but more of a principle which we can apply in different ways. God doesn’t want us to honor Him solely out of our excess, He wants us to obey even if it stretches us. As you are studying a passage, look for these principles to see if you can actually do something with what you are doing. In the example I just gave, God may want you to set aside some money from your budget and just bless others with it.

When we see people doing things in the Bible it does not automatically mean that we should do the same things. In fact a lot of things that the Biblical characters do are not for us today. The exception to this is Jesus. Jesus is the standard of how we should live and behave. We should not seek to live the same life as Jesus (collecting 12 disciples, doing miracles, and eventually dying on a cross). That was his mission, not ours. What we should focus on is his lifestyle. Jesus spent his life pouring into others, he spent a lot of time in prayer, he lived with integrity and did not compromise in the face of persecution and he gave glory to God. We can learn a lot simply by looking at the life of Jesus and seeing how we can live like him.

What to Believe

After you read/study a passage there are a few questions you can ask to get you thinking about what to believe. Obviously, not every question will apply to every passage, but every passage will have an answer to one of these questions if you think about it long enough. 1 Timothy 4:12 says that all scripture is useful for equipping and training in righteousness. Don’t give up on a passage if it seems difficult, just bring it to God and ask Him to reveal what you can learn from it?

1. How does this reveal Jesus?

2. What can I learn about God?

3. What does this tell me about humanity?

4. What can I learn about the interaction between God and man?

Write down whatever you learn and meditate on it until it sinks in.

Reflection

1 Cor 2:16 says that we have the mind of Christ. What does this mean for us? How would our lives be different if we actually believed this?