Category: reading tips

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Just because it happened doesn’t mean it’s good

Have you ever had some ask you, “Well wasn’t polygamy OK in the Old Testament?” You think about it and how there are many examples of men having multiple wives (or concubines, even) and wonder for yourself. But there is a really simple, useful tip for Bible reading that I think can be overlooked:

Just because it happened doesn’t mean it was good.

There is plenty to admire in a person like Moses or Abraham, but just because Moses or Abraham did something, doesn’t make it good. Should we have multiple spouses, act out of fear or anger, deceive? No. We don’t need to condone every action or emulate every attitude. King David was described as a man after God’s own heart, but he had an affair and had someone murdered. Yet the simple guide reminds us, just because it happens on the pages of the Bible doesn’t mean it is good. These people sin and thankfully we can learn from that, as well as learn from the good.

I think we can even apply this tip to our own lives. In a discussion we may be quick to say, “that’s not how we did it when I grew up.” We have a little nostalgia for whatever it was that we observed or experienced in our own lives. But just because it happened doesn’t mean it was good.

It doesn’t mean it was bad either, but we need to be able to recognize that mere existence isn’t enough. Something, whether in the Old Testament or our own lives, may be normal—status quo even—but God shines his light on us all, revealing what is good on the basis of his own goodness. We need to be able to discern by his Spirit, critique what is wrong, let go and move toward Christ in all we do.

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Meditating on a Familiar Psalm

Frequently with this reading guide we’re trying to help you understand unfamiliar or confusing passages of Scripture, but what do we do with the familiar ones? The ones we’ve heard hundreds of times, recited aloud, even memorized?

This week we read Psalm 23, perhaps one of the most familiar passages of the Bible, certainly one of the most familiar from the Old Testament. How can we read this psalm without our hearts and minds disengaging?

Here are a few ideas:

  • Try a different translation. No, I’m not saying your favorite translation is bad. But the change may help our brains hear things in a new way. If you usually use a more modern translation, try something older. You like King James, go way in the other direction with the Message, and hear these poetic psalms differently.
  • Try listening. Many smartphone apps or websites that are for Bible reading are also equipped to help you do Bible listening. See if hearing the Word does something differently.
  • Try slowing down. With this psalm, take it one line at a time and keep yourself from jumping ahead. Just read “The Lord is my shepherd” and sit with that. What good news is in that one line? What do you think David, a shepherd, meant when he wrote it? How does it impact you to think of our God as a shepherd? Keep going through Psalm 23 slowly, line by line, and see if a verse that never stood out has something to say.

There are all sorts of techniques to help us as we read—whether the passage is familiar or new. We absolutely should pray as we do this, for the Spirit is our guide. You can journal or highlight as you go. Maybe you are a doodler and drawing in the margins will help you reflect. Grab a study Bible that will provide a few helpful notes along the way when words are foreign or the text is tricky.

But take your time so you can take it all in. Read and reread; let a verse stay with you all day. The goal is to not to break it down and dissect the Bible like a frog on a lab table, but to sit slowly and enjoy each part. Like when you eat a delicious meal, knowing its ingredients helps you recognize each one and enjoy its depth even more. Studying and meditating on God’s Word will give a richness to our understanding and help us see the depth of God’s love.

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Understanding the Vitality of the Letters of the New Testament

Paul writing his letters
Often times we open up the New Testament and read one of the letters thinking that Paul (or Peter, etc) wanted to write a theological pamphlet and send it to whoever would read. Maybe that day Paul was interested in atonement or communion or some other doctrine. So he got to writing his essay, put it in an envelope, and headed to his nearest post office.

While the authors certainly want to be clear on these deeply theological issues, what prompted the letters was very different.

Jesus Christ came to live among a fallen people. He revealed himself to be the Son of God who was ushering in the Kingdom. Jesus performed miracles and taught about new ways of living. He came fulfilling the law and the prophets. Then he went to the cross. Jesus died and then was raised on the third day and continued to open up his disciples minds to understand the Scriptures and how they relate to him. After forty days Jesus ascended to Heaven and gifted his people with the Holy Spirit.

Those early believers, if they truly believed this, must have had questions. It was a mixed group of Jews and Gentiles who wondered what practices of the Old Testament should continue? In what ways should new believers be brought into the community? How did Jesus fulfill the law–did he end it or make it more demanding? What does God want me to do? What if we aren’t good enough and sin? How do I treat others who sin against me? What does the future hold? Is Jesus coming back and if so, when? If Jesus has defeated sin and death why are people still dying? If Jesus has authority over all powers why do we still suffer? How do we relate to those who are making us suffer? What is our purpose?

When you start to understand the context of the early church the letters that were written to them become more energized. The letters weren’t textbooks. They were compassionately written messages to churches needing help and guidance. They were life-giving.

As you read them I hope you see how vital they were and how vital they still can be for the church, a church always in need of being reformed according to our Scripture.

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Even before the cross, pay attention to the suffering of Jesus

Jesus tempted in the desert.
Jesus tempted in the desert.

This last Sunday I preached on the topic of suffering, seeking to bring our attention to this simple point: We have a God who truly knows suffering himself.

This week we read the first half of Matthew and I’d ask that you pay close attention to the experiences of Jesus. What does he go through? What troubles does he face? What luxuries does he have? How is he tempted? What is he going through in order to accomplish his great work?

Jesus is the one who walked in our footsteps. Truly he walked the path that we should have walked–the path we deserved, the path up to the cross. Jesus came to earth and experienced all that we do and he did so in order to take our place. We now can know that our God is compassionate and he is not unaffected by suffering. God knows suffering in ways we can never understand and he did it all so we would not be left alone. Into this dark world Jesus brought us light and gives us hope.

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Like Sheep Without a Shepherd

5-saul-attacking-david-guercino

We are now in week six and that means we’ve just crossed the halfway point in our reading plan.

We’ve read about the promises God has made to Abraham and how he has remained faithful to a people who are often faithless. God brought them out of slavery to a land that he had prepared for them. But they turn from him again and again. He still blesses them and while Israel has no problem enjoying the promised land, they fail to be a blessing to others.

We’ve also seen how God has has been their king leading through the judges that he has brought up in Israel in times of need, but Israel rejects God and wants an earthly king. They want to be like the other nations. But no leader can compare with God. In fact, the leaders that rise up often do more harm than good. Those who are entrusted to watch over Israel have oppressed the people.

This week we will look closely at those failure of leadership in Israel and see what God plans to do to about it.

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Take Time to Review the First Two Weeks

We are now in our third week of The Bible in 10 Weeks reading plan. We have had our “Introductions” and a week on “The Promise of God” and are now at the Exodus.

My goal is that in these ten weeks we begin to see more clearly the big picture of the Bible, and that can’t happen if we read each week and forget about what came before. So take some time, especially since this week is a bit shorter than last, and ask yourself some good questions and do some review:

  • How would you describe creation?
  • What did Adam and Eve do?
  • What was God’s response?
  • Did God abandon them?
  • What plans does God have now?
  • To whom did God make his promise?
  • What was the promise?
  • Where did the promise take the people?
  • How did God begin to move his people into a foreign land?
  • How has God been at work in his people and accomplishing his plan?

This week we’ll pick up in Egypt and read what I believe will be both familiar and unfamiliar passages about Moses, the Exodus, and God’s ongoing interactions with his people.

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Ways to Learn, Relearn, and Review 1 Corinthians

Review of 1 Corinthians Image

Since we finished reading 1 Corinthians just last week, what do we do now? The reading plan was pretty clear that we finished, but so you know, you are allowed to return to 1 Corinthians. You can reread it to your heart’s content.

If you want some methods of review, here are a few.

  • You could read it. Slowly. Again. Not a complicated method. Maybe you could try a different version this time around.
  • You could use the Bible studies to go in-depth. Besides that link to the website, you can also download them all as one PDF here.
  • Using the Bible visualizations you can review the memory verses. We did this in our final meetings of the Bible study and tried to remember what the context of those verses were. It’s great to know these verses, but it is even better to remember why Paul was talking about Christ as our Passover lamb or why he talks about eating to the glory of God. Again, if you want to download them, here is a big (20 mb) PDF you can use.
  • Something else we did to review at our study was like a puzzle. I stripped 1 Corinthians of all its verses and chapter headings and then mixed up all the chapters. The goal was to be able to put the letter back in order. You can use this to try it out for yourself. I’d recommend stapling the few chapters that are two pages together so that you have sixteen units to put in order.
  • If visuals aren’t your style for memorization or you want something more portable, print out these memory verse cards, cut them out, and flip through them.

Have another idea? I’d love to hear it.