Learning to study the Bible effectively is critical!

How do Scriptures lead us into a deeper experience with God?
How does Spirit-guided study reveal what God has for us in our personal circumstances?


- - >  the deeper experience comes from BETTER UNDERSTANDING 

by using basic reading, comprehension and analysis effectively

by becoming familiar with expert methods that work for you


- - > spirit-guided study is DIRECT and UNFILTERED 

because we are able to penetrate into layers of meaning below the surface ones

because we are resonating to meanings the Spirit is guiding us to based on where we are in our present circumstances

Here are four points about effective study:

ONE:  Effective study happens with the right attitude:  as we recognize that it is a personal interaction with God's Truth

-- as we allow His Spirit to lead us into the Truth


TWO:  effective study gets us to a key point , principle, or "reality about God"

THREE:   we know the point is significant, meaningful, life-changing, by studying/ analyzing the Scripture itself
-- we learn to see the surrounding texts, passages, chapters -- structure and context explains itself
-- we learn to see related reference texts in other areas of the Bible --  the entire message is unified

-- we learn to accept Scripture as a collection of historical events, that yet provide universal meaning across time -- meanings are stable and unchanging.

FOUR:  effective study results in insight 

- -> we can then see the personal relevance of what we study for our specific circumstances 

- -> we become diligent and careful and fulfill its design to build our experience with God and strengthen a life of faithful service to Him.

I saw from this new quarter's first study of how God covers us, how Paul and David's experience with God - and their personal styles - each contributed uniquely to the truth that God covers our sin with his righteousness:

Paul in his Romans discourse borrows from David's language to highlight THE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE of the forgiven believer.

Paul's immediate concern in his chapter 4 discussion, however, is the BROAD AVAILABILITY TO ALL PEOPLE of a relationship with God - if the person will live a life of faith, belief in Jesus.

I saw how powerful was their testimony for God in their lives - the heart-rending vulnerability and depth of David's relationship with God and Paul's unwavering commitment and passion to share the gospel of a Lord who saved Him.

The lesson's point that we are covered by Jesus' righteousness comes alive in these testimonies from two friends of God.  My study so far applies the exciting principles of effective study that are being shared here 

--> looks at the key passages in their context to gain full understanding of what David and Paul are saying 

--> links Paul's discourse to David's to reinforce the unity of the message about the impact of Jesus' righteousness in our lives, and 

--> seals understanding of the eternal message about the role of Jesus's righteousness to save sinners.

*May God's Spirit Be With You As You Study – And Experience His Guiding You Into His Will*

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Beyond partnership: the abiding believer

When will we fully accept the meaning of our “dependence on God”? 

When will we learn what it means:

        I am the true vine…

Abide in me (and I in you)

        As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me…

       I am the vine, ye are the branches…without me ye can do nothing 

       (Jn 15: 1-5).

Just As he held out to his disciples this offer of a dynamic, constant connection, Christ still holds it out to us, a bond that promises incredible things for our work, skills, talents, and vocation for God’s cause.

 This abiding fruitfulness is more than and different from the typical “partnership” relationship our study guide raises.

• The abiding believer is in a completely dependent position
• The abiding believer brings to the table no assets but capacity for obedience and service 
• The abiding believer’s risk is total

My prayer is for us to deeply accept this word, and begin to abide...

*May God's Spirit Be With You As You Study – And 

Experience His Guiding You Into His Will*

 RSVP to participate with Small Group Study Fellowship in our new "Study Sessions" Starting 16APR 9:45AM and 2:30PM.

Nature and our emotions: staying focused

Join Us For the upcoming: "God's will for me: How to Study the Bible"

While I appreciate this study's key point ("Nature as a source of health") – the role of nature’s beauty as a comfort and aid to knowing God – my study pushed me to a deeper realization.  I saw that nature’s value was and still can be to draw us deeper into relationship with God.  The Genesis account, along with other instances in Jesus’ earthly life show nature as a beautiful stage or frame to display God’s character, to delight and woo us, and draw us into harmony with his will.

NATURE AND OUR EMOTIONS.  I’ve always been deeply spiritually responsive and open to the natural world and even now, I’m seeing in my mind’s eye the wild vastness of snowcapped peaks, swallowing that solitary, far-off skiier or climber and cliff descents lost in mist, thundering waterfalls… and at the same time the beaded water droplets reflecting the sun’s early light, clinging to a spider’s web, or the languid stillness of the stream beside my canoe…

STAYING FOCUSED.  God is calling to us through it – through the wildness, the vastness - and also the tiny, fragile scenes of beauty; they are saying to us, “how great thou art,” and “what is man that thou art mindful of him?”   I wanted to share my conviction with you, that in our present sinful state, the key is to go beyond nature's stunning scenes as backdrops for our vacations – and find His wooing, drawing message to you.

In one significant interaction Jesus characterized the vastness of far-flung nature as a setting of insecurity, in contrast even to a cozy animal's den – but at the same time, pointing out its value for drawing God’s children into a relationship of dependence and trust.

a certain scribe having come, said to him, 'Teacher, I will follow thee wherever thou mayest go;' and Jesus saith unto him, 'The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven places of rest, but the Son of Man hath not where he may lay the head.' (Mt 8:20, YLT)

Jesus’ connection to God sustained a lifestyle some might see as homelessness in its rugged, outdoor habits.  Yet, if Christ lived this way, how much more important for us to look beyond this world’s beauties to God’s sustaining power! 

The gospel record of Jesus’ prayer life in Nature also shows its key role in creating spiritual space (Mk 1:35; 6:46-8).  It drew Christ into its solitudes free of distraction and the needs of the multitude...yet again, we see it’s placement as primarily a backdrop for seeking for the truer, more awesome Beauty, the face of God.

May God's Spirit be with you as you study * RSVP to participate with Small Group Study Fellowship in our new "Study Sessions" format:
 

Join Us For the upcoming: "God's will for me: How to Study the Bible"

can faith really cure?

Do believers recognize that "addiction" reflects the experience of sinning? of repeatedly turning away from what God asks?

this week's key study passage in John 8, verses 34-6, points us to Jesus' teaching about sin in a thought-provoking illustration of a house with sin inside it (see the Bible Study Guide).

• Human beings are in the house with Sin, and so is God. Humans are having an experience in the house either being enslaved to sin, or in communion with God.  We see that God is eventually going to clean the house - put sin out. So those that will not take God's freedom, & get free from their relationship with sin, will be put out of the house along with Sin.  

So this key passage shows a couple things, first, that God is capable of coming into our experience with sin and doing something about it - he's in the middle of it and he's interested in intervening.  Second, if we don't do anything to get out of that sin experience - if we won't reach out for help, we will be put out of the house...

So how do we climb out of our experiences of disobedience? of helpless dependence? of enslavement? what is the reality of your salvation experience?  some striking insights from this week:

no more deception - Prov 23:29-35

the reality of obedience at all costs – Mt 5:29-30 & 18:8

the power of influence and temptation – Mt 17:27 & 18:6-7

where humility fits in Jn 8:7 & context

May God's Spirit be with you as you study * Join our this Small Group Study Fellowship this weekend

the Bible and human emotions

This quarter's studies in the Bible have been deceptively straightforward...emotions are being explored against a backdrop of Jesus's own experiences and responses.

Yet -- on reflection, I'm seeing that the discussions many times gloss over the powerful, deeply-held lessons in its key passages.  I began to question: are Jesus' emotional experiences and responses to be interpreted as mirroring our own? and how should we relate Jesus' emotional experiences and responses with those of others in Scripture?


"Jealousy," lesson 10 of the SDA Bible study guide provides profound perspectives on these questions, especially drawing from selected passages Proverbs 27:1-4 and Isaiah 14:12-14.

• Jealousy is not only problematic for our health and relationships, it is identified with the oldest of sins and its evil result for an entire world - the Fall of Man.  There is no way to approach Jesus with this emotion - his Spirit and character didn't come anywhere near this - but what amazing things can we see in his responses to others' jealousy toward Him?
• The impact of Lucifer's jealous betrayal and rebellion echoes throughout Bible prophecy in the timeline of our Earth; it's origin a mystery and its end a certain and terrible destiny.  Have we come before the Lord with any negative seeds that may lie in our hearts? 

May God's Spirit be with you as you study *  Join our Small Group Study Fellowship this weekend