The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me?

Let’s get into the habit of studying our Bibles shall we…

In my early teens (guys I’m only 19 so don’t think I’m old) I had an on and off again relationship with the Word of God. You see, like some of you, I thought it was boring. I thought it was overwhelming, irrelevant, and confusing. When I actually tried to be faithful in reading it, I would just get confused and give up.

I was wrong- so very, very wrong.

The bible is actually pretty dope.

 

Is bible reading difficult? Sure, it can be at times. In order to properly read it, it requires a certain amount of willingness to strip as much bias as you can and read it from a different lens. It requires an open heart. It requires the Holy Spirit to guide you. Theologians, still wrestle and debate on heavy topics such as predestination, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, etc. So yea, it can be a daunting task to study the Bible.

But I figured I could give you all some practical advice that has helped me to comprehend it much more in my later teen years.

 

• Get a teen study Bible: My suggestion- NIV Study Bible by Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford

• Pray before you read and ask God to reveal things to you

• Use highlighter, pens, pencils, etc.- Mark it up! What words stick out to you?

• Get a journal to write any impressions you have

• Ask questions! Not all questions have to be/ will be answered, but what do you want to know? Share your questions with your parents, pastors, youth group leaders, etc.

• Get a devotional or create your own reading plan: I’m currently using God Calling by A.J. Russell and I’ve used For My Utmost Highest by Oswald Chambers in the past. (the latter is pretty hardcore and requires critical thinking) But you could also use a Youversion Bible plan.

• Start a Bible study or get together with some friends– one day I’ll share with you all my Bible study adventures… for now all I say is the hour a week or so, is totally worth it. Community is key!

• Know that these are REAL stories- This happened. You are happening. They connect.

***watching Hollywood adaptations of the Bible is pretty cool too. Just make sure you can treat it as a movie and not the actual word of God. There are usually a ton of inaccuracies.

 

There are different/ fancy ways to study the word like inductive style or manuscript style, etc, etc. Here is what I do that I learned from the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship from my school (this is slightly different than what they taught me)

 

• Read and Observe what is going on in the text
• Read again, ask questions, and try to interpret what it meant then and what it means for us now.
• Apply what is going on to your own life.

 

What’s worked for you? What didn’t work?

 

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

Psalms 119:105

Did You Know?

Christmas is near!!!

Ok, so this is how my mind works, Thanksgiving to me is pretty much the tailgate event preparing for the Big Christmas Event! We get the Carols going, Food and lots of it, cooking. The family gathers together to get our Christmas planning started. What are we doing, where are we going? Are we doing Secret Santa or white elephant? Our Christmas attire, traditional, casual chic? Then there’s the decorating, theme or no theme and just put everything on the tree? Christmas movies galore, Christmas shopping! Toys, clothes, stockings and their stuffers…

This all goes through my mind and quite possibly everyone else’s in some shape or form.

However when this hustle and bustle is going on, I have to stop and check myself. I sit back and just look at the main reason as to why this stuff goes on, because compared to what really takes place everything else is just that, stuff. We all know that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season!” Do we really? This phrase is short, sweet and to the point. However, do we really look into it other than when we get to Christmas service on the Sunday leading to Christmas?

²¹ And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus,^[i] for he will save his people from their sins.”²² All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,^[j]
which means ‘God is with us.’”

Matthew 1:21-23 NLT

The Child, a son was placed in Mary’s womb, by the Holy Spirit! First of all, that is a miracle in itself. Being a miracle, He is also a Miracle worker. As a mother goes through pains to bring forth or deliver life, Jesus was born to also go through pain to give us life. He is our hope as He was born to be with us, given His name, “Immanuel.”

God’s timing is everything. He chose a young girl to create a connection between all mankind even for the young women in the world today! The Holy of Holies was brought to Earth as a humble being who chose a young woman to be His mother. He was born in a stable rather than a palace, with a mother of age and great riches. It would have been the last thing someone would have thought for a King to be born in such situations.

The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Luke 2:11-14 NLT

The birth of Jesus created hope. He has given us hope through the opportunity to become born again with a new life, leaving the past. A hope for those who may feel inadequate or wouldn’t think they would qualify to become of great importance or bring forth greatness of any level. Ordinary people were chosen to be responsible for the raising of Jesus. Yes, He was perfect and blameless; however, God did choose parents who were obedient to God which comes from having a relationship with Him. Another hope that the birth of Jesus is that He will come again.

This is why we celebrate Christmas: We should emphasize Christ a little more. Christ-mas (-mas indicating a Christian festival- Dictionary.com) A festival of Christ, to celebrate Him.

Let us be thankful for the Hope we have been given, the present we have been given of new life, and His presence. He is the Great I Am.

So, a very Merry Christmas

With this I would like to leave you with my favorite rendition of a great song:

 

– SR

Isaiah 43

In honor of our first post, the team decided to take a look at Isaiah 43 and write about what it meant to each of us personally and how it could relate to everyone else. It is our encouragement to you all that you spend some time in the word and see what God has to say.

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Isaiah 43:19NLT

 For I am about to do something new.
    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Before getting into this, I think it is only necessary that we rewind and give a little summary from a few verses up; God just lays out all the amazing things He has just done, like pretty much parting the sea and bringing Egypt’s army with all their horses and chariots through it and then closing up the sea and “snuffing” them out (Is.43:16-17).

Just reading that, I’m in awe of what God has control of: which is everything! But as we stay in amazement of who God is, He is still able to push that miraculous act aside and say “it is nothing compared to what I am going to do (Is.43:18).”

Wait there’s more?!

God promises to do something new! It’s easy for us as humans to lose focus on things that we take for granted. For instance, when we wake up in the morning and are able to take another breath, it’s a new day. Along with a new day comes God’s Mercy which is New every morning. “See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” So as we are able to awake and begin another day God’s promises are already being fulfilled. One of the many things I truly love about who God is, it’s that He is a Promise keeper. Just to know that about God is so reassuring. Despite what may be happening in our daily lives of school, work, home, family and friends, whatever God has promised us in regards to each and every situation will come to pass. Even when things seem impossible like a clear pathway in the wilderness or rivers in a desert, God still delivers and makes things possible. In the last lines, the main word that appeals to me is “will.” There wasn’t a maybe, or sometimes. “Will” is a word of definite action and so are the uses of “make” and “create.” This shows us that God is constantly in action through our lives in order to make a way that we never even saw happening.

-SR

Isaiah 43:19NIV

“See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
 and streams in the wasteland.”

I LOVE this verse!

I look at my life and sometimes it feels like a wasteland. Ever feel that way? Like there is so much junk and baggage that it gets in the way of the potential that we have in our lives.. Well if so- listen up!

Wilderness is usually equated to hopelessness or a dry period where nothing is happening. The children of Israel were in the wilderness for quite some time and I’m sure there were moments of hopelessness. But God promised something to them and he promises it to us, he says I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

I love this because God is saying that he cares enough about us that even when we are in the wilderness he is going to provide for us. In the literal sense he is going to provide water to nourish. But in the metaphorical sense he is going to provide for us in whatever way necessary during our times in our personal “wilderness”. There is such hope in this verse! I see this and I think about the times of my personal wilderness and I can’t help but see the hand of God providing for me,( giving me love, mercy, compassion, patience, and more) even when I didn’t see it then.

“I am doing a new thing!” I think about our walks with Christ and how every day we are redeemed and have a new opportunity to share how God takes the old and brings in the new.  So let’s do that- share with others how God is doing a new thing in our lives and let us know that our lives are not a wilderness but rather something new.

-KJ

I’m going through a time in my life where I know that God loves me, but I don’t FEEL his love. I think in life we experience trials and through that it’s often easy to feel resentful and question if God really does care.

The God who made you in the first place. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end, because I am God, your personal God.  (Isaiah 43:1-4)- MSG

This verse puts all my questions about God’s love for me to bed. How comforting is this, to know that the Lord is with you, fighting for you, on your side, is . Not only is he there to be a shoulder to lean on and to get you through the hard times, he is also right along side you. Going through the battle with you. He knows how you feel because he is in the trenches fighting it out with you. To have a friend like that is simply priceless. You will never find that in anyone else. People will always fail, but the Lord never fails. He isn’t just God, he is a personal God. He says you are mine; he wants to have a relationship with you. How lovely is that? God wants you to be his! He continues to chase and pursue us. It’s honestly just like a fairy tale. He is our knight in shining armor. He has already rescued us and longs to be in a relationship.  He literally says I love you in this passage. He is spelling it out for us! He shows his love through his actions, through his sacrifice on the cross, but I just love this passage because he literally says it in his word. God loves us. The one who created it all Loves you.

-ZJ