Tag: word

Do You Struggle to Read the Bible? (Part 1)

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I get it – the book itself is massive and it’s sometimes difficult to know where to start, but start you must. This book is no ordinary book. I often joke and say it should have a label saying “WARNING: This book will seriously wreck your life”. Of course I mean in a good way.

Before I read it, life was pretty comfortable and sweet and then this book opened up a whole other world of possibilities. Who knew that walking on water was a thing, that sickness being healed could happened and that the dead being raised was even an option?

In can often create an uncomfortable gap between what we read and what we experience – but the point of this post is that I want to inspire you to read it.

What’s below is conglomeration of notes and thoughts from a few books that would be worth reading at some point: How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, The Celebration of Discipline and Lead Like Jesus

Why even bother?

I have heard it said that the bible is like a manual, and I agree to a point. The problem with that – who actually reads a manual right? We prefer to try first and if all else fails then we go check the instructions. So thinking of it as a manual doesn’t appeal to me personally, but even if you only ever view it as manual for life, it will prove itself useful. God, the author of life has the beta on what it’s all about so His words about life will definitely help point you in the right direction.

I get more excited when I think of the bible as an invitation. The bible is an invitation into a conversation with God. Conversation is how all relationships are built and scripture is God’s side of conversation with you.

The Bible is an invitation into a conversation with God

This book is profitable (but only if you read it).

Ways That You Can Build the Habit of Studying the Bible..

(These headings are taken from Lead Like Jesus: Ken Blanchard & Phil Hodges and I found it super helpful.)

1. Listening

In early tradition, scripture was heard as opposed to read. Jesus talked a lot about hearing the word, and in the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15) He presents four different scenarios as to what happens when the word (the seed) is heard (sown). Hearing the word was how the early church engaged.

There is something different and unique about listening to scripture and often I hear it differently to when I simply read it. Listening to the Gospels and listening to the words of Jesus bring a new dynamic to his words.

So if you’ve never thought about listening to the bible, here’s some ideas to get you going.

  1. Sermons, Podcasts
    • (listen to good bible teachers who actually open and teach from the bible – who knew that preaching without it was a thing!)
  2. Audiobible
    • I love YouVersion for this. Pick a translation with an audio option, hit play and off you go. Reading as you listen helps maintain focus.
    • Tip – you can change the reading speed by selecting the sound icon (x1.5 is my preferred), their set normal speed seems a little slow.
  3. Visual listening
    • There are some fab dramas and movies out there that bring the bible to life.
    • A current TV series, that I just have to get in this post is The Chosen. Highly recommend that you watch this, it will make the bible come alive and genuinely get you excited about reading the New Testament.

With everything Bible related though, like the parable of the sower, it’s all about what you do having heard. This is a book that is supposed to be lived and that’s what makes it truly special.

Read Part 2 Here: Reading and Memory Work

Read Part 3 Here: Studying and Meditating

Word made flesh..

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Christmas is just simply wonderful.

The message of Christmas is even more wonderful.  From the breaking of a silence, the end of a long wait, to the arrival of a promise.  There are so many elements in the Christmas story that get me so excited. The first announcement from heaven is brilliant and ignites the birth of not only a new person but a new way.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Heaven is speaking loud and clear – there is fresh hope with this announcement especially after 400 years of silence.

Change is in the air. God is promising peace with Him – and we find out later in the script that peace isn’t a state but a person called Jesus. His very name is to save us, Immanuel declaring that God is with us.

Mary has always been the person and storyline I find the most fascinating in the Christmas story.  “Let it be onto me according to your word” has to be the most incredible faith filled words uttered in this scenario.  To simply believe God at His word. I don’t know about you, but I have lots to learn from her childlike faith.

John 1 is that great message that talks about Jesus being the word of God, there at the beginning. His arrival on earth is the simplicity of word being made flesh, a concept becoming a reality, something heavenly becoming something earthly.

Even in that I see the beauty of heaven coming to earth – but where does that start – a word.

My church have been running a series called Hope Awakens this month. I got the privilege of sharing some thoughts with our older teens last week on the whole idea of hope being revelaed.

The basis of what I shared was simply that hope was revealed firstly in a word. A promise was given,  and when there is a promise then there is hope.

I read Kris Vallotton’s blog a few weeks back and was struck by what he said:

Without hope, you can’t have faith……

I’ve really been thinking a lot about the apparent link between a word, a promise, the hope that brings and the faith to see it. This is how heaven comes to earth.

The good old carol Oh Come All Ye Faithful that I have sang for years sealed the message for Christmas again this year “Word of the father, now in flesh appearing”. What a line – that I had not really noticed until Sunday.

That’s the message of Christmas. The word becoming flesh.

I guess it’s the cry and hopeful longing of all of our hearts surely? That we would see in the flesh the word of God come.

I don’t know what you are longing for this Christmas.  Is there a promise that you are waiting on? Is there a hope that your situation could be different? Sometimes I feel like an expert in waiting. I’ve had every emotion imaginable in the waiting. I’m not even going to pretend to know or answer why some of us don’t see the things we feel we’ve been promised. The one thing I’m absolutely certain of is, that He is good, He is faithful, and His promises are always true, even if it doesn’t look like what we thought it would we have to trust his working is only for our good.

All of our hope begins with simply a word. What does HE say about what you’re walking through? That’s the word that matters the most, that’s the word that can change everything.

This is the beginning of hope this is where hope awakens. That we get to know a word, and that word can become reality.

WORD OF THE FATHER, NOW IN FLESH APPEARING

Let’s dare to believe and be confident that we will see His goodness in the land of the living.