(Don’t mind us…one of many outtakes in which Gideon was more interested in eating fruit snacks than taking photos.)
Today we’re talking Christmas cards. Specifically unique Bible verses for Christmas cards. If you’re stumped, or tired of sharing something classic, you’ve come to the right place.
I love Christmas cards. Every year we have fun coming up with a card idea. Most years I go overboard and create a Christmas card set, because nothing says the holidays like a perfectly staged photo. Am I right? I write a note along with every card we send–I think it’s fun to personalize the cards instead of just sending off a pretty picture of ourselves. But my favorite part is picking out a unique Bible verse for our Christmas card design.
A Christmas card is a special opportunity to place the Word of God into the hands and homes of family, friends and acquaintances. Quoting Scripture face to face with someone you barely know may be weird. However, sending a Christmas card to someone you barely know isn’t weird at all.
Christmas Cards That Point to Jesus
When sending a card out, I want to make it clear that we are celebrating more than just warm-cozy vibes. To our house, Christmas means God has come! It’s a monumental piece of the puzzle God is assembling to reconcile humanity to Himself.
Not everyone on our mailing list believes this. For those that don’t, I want our card to have a verse that reveals the truth of Christmas in a way that is easy to understand. I pray God will plant a seed there.
For other believers that receive our card, I pray that they will be encouraged and reminded of God’s greatness.
I believe Christmas cards sent out each year by believers can have a deeper meaning than sharing a cute photo. By choosing a unique Bible verse for Christmas cards, you shed some light on why Christmas is so important, what Christmas’s impact was. Why Christ came at all.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the classic “Christmas verses.” “For unto us a child is born…” “He will be called wonderful counselor, the prince of peace…” “Unto you a Savior is born…” These are music to my ears. But if you want to think outside the box I’ve got you covered. Here are seven unique Bible verses for Christmas cards. They are arranged in the order you can find them in Scripture.
(Another outtake. The timer ticked away and Gideon refused to take part.)
A Giver of Good Gifts
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 1For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
The Son [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. 10 This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins.
We have seen and testify to the fact that the Father sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 1God lives in those who declare that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God.
I hope these seven unique Bible verses for Christmas cards get your wheels spinning. The whole Bible points to Jesus, so there are lots and lots of unique outside-the-box verses to choose from. Have you shared an untraditional verse on your card before? I’d love to hear from you!
Today I’m sharing some of the most impactful things I have learned while studying Ephesians 1. I’d love it if you told me what most affected you from this chapter!
Season One
I really like TV. I know I probably shouldn’t say that. Because “good” Christians don’t watch TV. But here I am, admitting that I like TV. I watch a lot less TV than I did before I became a mom. (For obvious reasons.) And my TV consumption has gotten more picky as I’ve matured in my faith. I’ve come to understand the importance of what I put into my mind, even passively. (Which is a different topic altogether.)
Have you ever been watching TV and been several seasons in and thought: How’d we even get here? Then you wrack your brain for what happened in those early episodes. Or you go back and rewatch the first season. (I’m specifically remembering watching Lost all those years ago.)
Maybe you have a favorite show that you watch all the way through to the series finale and then cycle right back to season 1, episode 1. (The Office, anyone??) Suddenly you see how the whole series fit together. Then, you revel in the nostalgic beauty that is that very first episode. It perfectly lays the stage for the whole plot.
Sometimes it pays off to go back to the beginning and remember how the whole plot started.
Ephesians 1: God’s Redemptive Plan
Paul does this same thing in the opening chapter of Ephesians.
If you read my Ephesians primer, you know he is addressing believers in the ancient city of Ephesus. Paul kicks off his letter by going all the way back to the beginning. Or in this case, the prequel to the beginning. Before he begins giving instructions for Christian living, he answers the question: How did we get here? He takes readers all the way back to Season One to give them a fuller appreciation of the greater plot that has and is still taking shape.
Paul starts by reminding his readers (including you and me) where the path of redemption and rightness with God started.
You might be tempted to say that God’s redemptive plan started immediately after the first sin took place in the Garden of Eden. Paul, however paints a different picture.
You see, Paul tells us God’s plan for us started before sin. Ephesians 1 tells us this plan started before the Garden, even before Genesis 1.
…just as He chose us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.
Ephesians 1:4, emphasis mine
Do you see the timeline?! God chose us in Christ to be holy and blameless before the foundation of the world. Before sin ever entered the picture God had already chosen to make a way for us to be right with Him. There has never, even for one second, been a time that God didn’t have a plan for us to be with Him.
He knew sin was a possibility. But that doesn’t matter. Before the earth was created. Before Adam lost a rib, God had already decided that we could stand blameless before Him, if we stand before Him in Christ.
Decided Beforehand
In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will…
Ephesians 1:5 emphasis mine
Yikes. Predestined. That’s a scary, hot-button word. If we aren’t careful we can get into fruitless debates about the P-word. Don’t go there. The word predestined here is the Greek word proorizō, meaning “decided beforehand.” Let’s stick with that definition.
Not only did God choose us to be right before Him through Jesus, he also decided beforehand that we would be adopted as His children (and all the good things that come with being someone’s child.) We aren’t just nameless people able to stand blameless before a judge. We are God’s own children.
In love God decided beforehand that we would be:
fully adopted (1:5)
given grace (1:6)
redeemed and forgiven (1:7)
given an inheritance (1:11, 14)
sealed by the Holy Spirit (1:13)
And all of this was decided according to God’s kind intentions.
God’s Kind Intentions
Here’s another thing I hate to admit. I’ve believed a lot of lies in my lifetime. One of the most damaging lies I have believed is that God’s intentions are not always kind.
I don’t know if I would have come out and said that I thought God was unkind. My thoughts on God’s character were tangled and confused and incorrect. What I believed about God’s character is too confusing to put into words right here in a way that you might understand. What I can tell you is that my behavior and thoughts did not reflect a heart that believed God is kind.
As with lots of deeply ingrained lies, I must remain diligent to dispel it any time it creeps back into my mind and my heart.
There are many places in Scripture we can turn to, to gain an understanding of God’s character, but Ephesians 1 has become my favorite. This chapter concisely tells us who God is and what His will looks like.
When I am tempted to believe that God is not kind, or that He should not be kind to me, I turn here.
I look at the verb trail and the timeline.
We see evidence of God’s kind intentions in how He made a way for us to be fully right and fully reconciled to Him before the earth was ever formed. Before we could ever do anything to earn or lose His kindness.
The Mystery of God’s Will
He did more than just make a way for us. He also let us in on the mystery of His will. Look at verse 9.
He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him [Christ}…
Ephesians 1:9 emphasis mine
I can tend to have a selfish view of “God’s will.” (Maybe I’m not the only one?) When I talk about God’s will, I’m often referring to God’s specific will for me. I have been known to search high and low for His will–thinking that it is a grand mystery He is hiding from me…and if I could figure it out my life would be easier and more streamlined. (I told you I had confusing ideas about God’s character.) But Paul is telling us that God’s will is bigger than where we go to college or what job we plan to pursue.
Don’t get me wrong, those things matter to God….but don’t make my mistake. Don’t become too blinded by selfishness to see the grander, greater mystery at work.
God’s ultimate will is that we know Him. The mystery of God’s will is not whether I will write a book, have more children, get a “real” job or die of a moose attack in North Dakota. The most mysterious thing about God’s will is how a perfect, pure, wonderful God could ever reconcile sinful mortals to Himself.
The mystery has already been made known: that we can be right with God through the work Jesus did on our behalf. A work that was carried out because ultimately, God’s intentions toward us are kind.
God is kind.
Our Part
God decided before the foundation of the world that anyone who came to Him through Jesus would be holy, blameless and adopted. Our job is simply to go to Him in Christ, to accept the plan and put our faith in Jesus.
I hope you’ve already made that decision and this is just a nostalgic reminder of Season 1. But if not, now is a great time to accept God’s kind intention toward you. Step into His plan. He made a way for you to get to God through Jesus. It’s a mystery, but boy is it sweet.
Recently, I began leading a Bible Study group through the and inductive study of Ephesians. Now…I say recently, but really we started back in January. And in my mind that was just a week or so ago. Anyone else?
I’ve been loving the study and the ladies that attend so much that I’d really like to write a short series on what I’m learning. Because, in my opinion, learning is better together. And writing things out has a way of cementing them in my mind. Ephesians is packed full of gems. I definitely want them cemented in my brain.
Before I get into the sweet pearls that I’ve been stringing up through our study, I think it’s important to get a little background. So today I’ve put together a primer on Ephesians. I’ve compiled my favorite background, cultural insight and reading tips right here for you. These are things that I have found helpful as I began to study Ephesians with the class.
Some of this can be gleaned from simply reading the book. Some of this takes stealth research skills you only acquire after years of indulging in Bible Geekery. Lucky for you, I really like nerding out over the Bible and I’ve already done a lot of Googling, concordancing, and cultural research.
Table of Contents
Here’s the order of what you’ll find below:
Link to video overview
Format
Reading tips
Author
Readers and tension between Jews and Gentiles
Timeline and Paul’s life timeline
Ephesian culture, temple of Artemis, worship, economy
Metaphors and themes
Outline
A free Ephesians study guide
Now, without further ado let’s get geeky about Ephesians.
Having cultural background will help us better understand the themes and ideas communicated by Paul in this letter. Believe it or not–when Ephesians was written, Paul did not have a 21st century American audience in mind. So there may be things we don’t quite understand without understanding a bit about the lives of the intended readers. For a quick overview, check out The Bible Project’s video on Ephesians. If you haven’t watched one of these you should. They are really well done.
The Format
Ephesians is a letter. This means it was written by a specific person, to a specific audience. In this case, it was written by Paul to the church in Ephesus. Because Ephesus was along highly traveled routes, it is thought that this letter circulated to other churches in the region as well.
Reading Tips
Since this is a letter, it was originally intended to be read aloud in one sitting. Its message builds upon itself and conveys several big overarching themes. Because of this, my biggest tip for reading and understanding Ephesians is to read it all the way through several times before diving in chapter by chapter.
Try using an inductive study method. Answering the questions who, what, when, where, why and how for each chapter (and recording my answers in a notebook) has helped me really understand and remember the information Paul is communicating.
The Author
Ephesians was written by Paul (formerly known as Saul.) Paul was a well-educated man of Jewish heritage. You are probably familiar with his radical transformation along the road to Damascus. There, his life took a drastic turn. He went from being the Church’s Enemy No. 1 to a man who committed to preaching the good news of Christ.
You can read about Paul’s conversion here.
The Readers
The original audience of this letter was believers living in Ephesus.
It’s important to note that the intended audience is believers. As Paul writes, he includes truths that apply to all mankind, but he also includes many things that are specific to a life changed and transformed by putting faith in Jesus.
Specifically these believers are mostly Gentiles. You can read more about Gentiles here. Basically, this just means anyone who wasn’t an Israelite by birth/ethnicity.
At the time of writing, there was an ongoing struggle for unity between Gentiles and Jews. Stereotypes, misunderstandings and suspicions were thrown around on both sides. Tension between Jews and Gentiles had been inbred over centuries. Things were reaching a boiling point as the early church was learning to become unified in Christ. Believers on both sides were having a hard time believing that God had made a way for these two groups to be fully unified. It was a mystery–and Paul nearly dries up his pen addressing this issue.
I found this article from Faith Church in Dyer, IN helpful in understanding the tension between Jew and Gentile.
The Timeline
People much smarter than me peg Ephesians to have been written around 60 AD. That means roughly 30 years after Jesus conquered death on the cross and the stoning of Stephen.
During his life, Paul went on three major missionary journeys. He visited Ephesus on his second journey then again on his third. You can read about his ministry there in Act 19.
Paul was imprisoned in Rome after his third missionary journey. It’s during this first imprisonment (house arrest) that he wrote Ephesians. One of my very favorite resources for studying the Epistles is this full timeline of Paul’s life from Blue Letter Bible. It is by far the best one I’ve found!
The Culture: Artemis
This is a model–the real temple no longer exists. Image via.
First of all, I don’t claim to be an expert. I’m just a girl who likes to learn. I find ancient Ephesus so interesting. However, I’m doing my best to give you relevant information…without going overboard.
When I say the temple was huge, I mean enormous. Archeologists estimate it to be 50% longer and wider and 25% taller than the Parthenon in Greece. The cult dedicated to the goddess Artemis dominated Ephesian culture and was very widespread. Evidence of Artemis worship has been found in 30 ancient cities. Unlike other gods and goddesses that only represented one virtue–like war, beauty, fertility, etc–Artemis was a supreme goddess. She was a political protector, as well as a goddess that represented fertility/prosperity. “She” was a really big deal.
Artemis is a goddess in Roman and Greek mythology. There she is goddess of the hunt. Roman and Greek depictions of Artemis (or Diana) are super pretty. However, historians believe Artemis of the Ephesians to be a different looking goddess altogether. She looks only vaguely human and has orbs all over her body. (Two primary theories exist about this. One theory is that these orbs represent bull testicles, as bulls were used in ritual sacrifices to Artmis. The second theory is that they are breasts, a sign of fertility.) She is distant and hard to relate to. It’s important to understand that many readers would have formerly worshipped this alien looking idol. This is in stark contrast to the relational, warm, kind-intentioned God Paul described and praises in his letter.
The Culture: Economy
Ephesus was a major city, ideally positioned for trade. The economy thrived on trade, but also on the sale of idols. Now, until I really looked into it, I didn’t realize that the sale of idols was such a big portion of ancient economy. But it was.
Since the city was a mecca for Artemis worship, gold and silversmiths would sell small idols for individuals to take home to worship outside of the temple or between visits to the temple. Paul was preaching the message that there is only one True God. And that god is not Artemis. This message endangered the jobs of lots of tradesmen whose livelihoods depended on idol trade. In addition, the temple acted as a bank and owned many acres of farmland. If the temple became defunct, it meant a major blow to the Ephesian lifestyle as they knew it. Here are some commentaries on Acts 19:24 that explain more about idol trade.
Another major landmark in Ephesus was the Library of Celsus. This was the third largest library in the ancient world. It’s relevant to our study of Ephesians because it demonstrates that this population valued knowledge.
Ephesus was a city under Roman rule. As with most Roman cities, the majority of citizens were not full Roman citizens. However, the audience would have fully understood the great value of being a citizen. Some perks of Roman citizenship include: being exempt from death penalty and torture, the right to own property, right to serve in public office, right to an appeal, right to vote. You can see a full list Roman rights here.
The Metaphors
While believers in Ephesus probably came from all walks of life, it can be assumed that many were lowly men and women from humble backgrounds. These would likely be tradesmen: carpenters, masons, fishermen, craftsmen, etc.
For this reason, Paul’s two major metaphors are buildings and bodies.
Those reading would probably have had a solid understanding of construction terms. They could look around a physically see a giant temple in front of them. Many probably worked on construction projects every day. Paul refers to Christ as the cornerstone. He also refers to believers as a temple with the prophets and apostles as the foundation.
When he isn’t alluding to buildings, Paul is alluding to bodies. He calls Christ the Head, talks about believers being part of one body, and growing to maturity.
He returns to these metaphors throughout his letter.
The Themes
Major themes covered in Ephesians are
God’s Character
Citizenship
Being “in Christ”
Unity
Maturity as believers
God’s plan/will
Practical instructions for Christian living
The Outline
This is the outline that I’ve put together after deeply studying Ephesians. I highly encourage you to put your own together. It’s a super great exercise.
Chpater 1
Greetings
Praise for God’s character
Start of a prayer for readers
Chapter 2
The Gospel defined
The Gospel’s implications
Chapter 3
Good news! The Gentiles are now grafted in!
Paul finishes the prayer he started in Chapter One.
Chapter 4
A transition to practical instruction
A call for spiritual maturity
Chapter 5
Instruction for Christian living
Chapter 6
Instruction for Christian living
Prayer requests
Final greetings
After all of that, if you are just chomping at the bit to dive into Ephesians, I found this great, free inductive study! It’s from Grace Bible Church in Texas and it’s an awesome resource.
I hope all of this helps you in some small way. If nothing else, let me thank you for letting me write all this down to help plant it more firmly in my brain. Now that we’ve got introductions out of the way, I’ll be back with my take aways from chapter one.
Let’s talk about being wise. A couple weeks ago I told you about a study in Proverbs I’ve been leading locally. I shared the intro to Inductive Bible Study at that time too. And lemme tell you. I’m loving every minute of it. Seriously, I’m finding it so fun! To me there’s nothing better than learning something new that will kick start my passion for Bible study all over again.
It’s been a while since I led a study and it is so fun, and such a privilege to go through Proverbs with a group of smart, interesting, women who aren’t put off my by geeky nature. Even though every week I’m always a little nervous people are leaving more confused than when they came! (But that’s something I just have to give over to God, right?)
Anyway, I’ll get to the point. I promise, there is a point. Week after week I keep coming back to a truth that stood out to me in the first lesson. I can’t shake it and I can’t hold it in any longer. So…Here’s the nugget that I’ve been holding onto for weeks now: (more…)
This is a long one. Want the audio version instead? Click Here.
I’ve recently started leading a Bible study. Which you all know I love. We are using the curriculum Savvy from Precepts. It’s written by Pam Gillaspie with Jan Silvious. It’s a fabulous study all about Proverbs and wisdom and applying God’s wisdom to our lives.
Who doesn’t need that, right?
And what’s even more exciting to geeks like me is that this is an Inductive Bible Study. For those of you who haven’t heard of Inductive Bible Study (I hadn’t either until I was asked to lead), it’s a method of studying Scripture. This method will help you:
Remember what you read–not just move your eyes over the page.
Know the main point of a passage and be able to consicly communicate that point.
Understand the message intended by the author.
Better apply Scripture to every day living.
Our first lesson was basically just going over the method of Inductive Bible Study. I had a fancy Power Point that featured a Boy Meets World reference and used smart graphics–so I felt pretty awesome. But after our meeting, a few ladies asked if I could email out my slides. Yes. Yes, I can. And I can also write up a primer on IBS–wait…that could stand for something non-Bible-study related…
So let’s go.
THIS IS A METHOD FOR READING/STUDYING SCRIPTURE
If you’ve heard of Inductive Study and are a little nervous….or have never heard of it and think it might be complicated, relax. This is a method of studying the Bible. And to be honest, there are parts of the method you’re probably already doing.
THERE ARE THREE STEPS TO INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY
Observation
Interpretation
Application
THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TRANSFORMATION. By thouroughly reading and understanding the Word of God, we aim to apply it to our lives and be transformed. (Sounds good so far!) Now we’ll look at each step….but for those that want a quick fix, I made this infographic.
OBSERVATION: WHAT DOES THE TEXT SAY?
The first step is OBSERVATION. During this step of the process we are only trying to answer the question: WHAT DOES THE TEXT SAY? Nothing else. Don’t try to figure out the deepest secret of Scripture right now. Don’t try to fit this verse in with what your pastor said last Sunday. Just this. Right here in front of you. What does this say?
We accomplish observation through slow, careful reading of the text.
OBSERVATION BASICS
During the observation step, read the text. This can be a passage or chapter(s) or a whole book. Remember, at this point, we are trying to answer the question: what does the text say?
First, things first. Start with prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you study God’s Word.
If you like to write in your Bible, now is the time to get out your favorite pencil, pen, colored pencils and highlighters. You can have a ton of fun creating a system of colors and symbols to identify what you observe. Making such a system (I’ll give you examples in a sec) will help you quickly look back and identify the main point and subject of a passage later on.
Read the text and answer the 5 W’s and H. Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. Just collect information. Make note the answers and anything you learn about the subjects of the answers (the “whos”).
Next, reread and look for KEY WORDS. A key word is vital to the text and is often repeated (synonyms and pronouns referring to the same subject count as the same key word.) If you like marking in your Bible–now is the time. Highlight key words in a way that will help them stand out to you. Precepts encourages marking common key words in a way that is consistent throughout the Bible. For example, the common key word “love” would be marked in the same way, every time you come across it. (Maybe by highlighting it in pink, or drawing a heart around it. Just a couple ideas.)
Finally, make a list of what you know about each person or key word.
OBSERVATION BONUS TOOLS
Here are a few other tools that are handy for observing what Scripture says.
Look for lists. Sometimes a passage will contain a list. Make note of this. Maybe even write a small 1,2,3…next to each item in the list. Here’s an example, 2 Tim 16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for (1) teaching, (2) rebuking, (3) correcting and (4) training in righteousness,
Identify comparisons and contrasts. 1 Peter 5:8 shows a comparison.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devilprowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Watch for expressions of time that will help you put events in order. There are tons of examples, but here is Luke 1:39:
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,
Other examples are in those days…, before, after, when, immediately, during, in the year of…, etc
Look for terms of conclusion. Words like therefore, so then, etc often indicate a summary or conclusion on the horizon. An example is Colossians 3:12:
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Lastly, try to develop a “Chapter Theme.“ This is a one sentence or Twitter length summary of the chapter. Keep a running list of these in a journal or in your Bible for quick reference. And don’t cheat by copying the chapter title from your Bible.
OBSERVATION PRACTICE (A)
Now let’s practice. Here is Proverbs 1:1-7. Read it and observe who, what, when, where, why and how; keywords; and make lists of what you know. For extra credit, you can use the bonus tools above.
OBSERVATION PRACTICE (B)
Here’s what I observed. (You can see now how making a marking system could be fun…or maybe it gives you anxiety to write in books–so at this point you are thinking you need a pretty new notebook for this exercise.)
I highlighted whos in green. I marked keywords in yellow. I drew a purple square around the why/what.I listed what I found out about each person in the margin. I put an orange circle around a comparison I spotted. And I added red numbers next to each item in a list I found. Your system may be different. You may have even observed a few things I didn’t. But overall, our observations should be similar.
INTERPRETATION: WHAT DOES THE TEXT MEAN?
The next step is INTERPRETATION. In this step, we will answer the question: WHAT DOES THE TEXT MEAN? Now that we have carefully observed the text, we are looking for the single meaning within those verses. Don’t try to interpret what the text means to you. Don’t try to fit the text in with anything else you know or any presumptions you have. Look for the one meaning God intended to communicate in this text.
We accomplish interpretation by asking the Holy Spirit for guidance and carefully considering the Scripture in light of our observations.Remember, God’s Word is for everyone. You can understand it. I can understand it. We don’t need anyone else to tell us what it means when we carefully observe and interpret responsibly.
INTERPRETATION BASICS
To properly interpret Scripture you’ll need to consider it in context. Instead of isolating a single verse, read a passage or an entire chapter. Observe, then interpret the verse or verses you’re focusing on. Considering context also means thinking about the context in which the verse was written. Is the author’s message affected by the culture? The audience? The time? (You’ll have discovered these things through observation.) I love this quote from the Precept website about context
As you study, ask yourself: Is my interpretation of this passage of Scripture consistent with the theme, purpose, and structure of the book in which it is found? Is it consistent with other Scripture about the same subject? Am I considering the historic and cultural context? Never take a Scripture out of its context to make it say what you want it to say. Discover what the author is saying; don’t add to his meaning.
Here is an example of a verse taken out of context, Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ who give me strength.”
If we only look at this verse it can be said that we can do anything we want, if we are in Christ. By looking at context, we see that Paul is talking about contentment. He can handle any circumstance because of his relationship with Christ.
Philippians 4:12-13 “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
To further interpret and understand context you may need to cross reference. Cross referencing simply means seeing what else the Bible has to say on a given subject, keyword, person, etc. I love using Blue Letter Bible to cross reference. Here’s a handy tutorial on how to use their site/app for cross referencing. But you can also use a tangible concordance if that’s more your jam.
In everything that has to do with interpretation, we will be using Scripture to interpret Scripture.All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16) and God is always the same (Heb 13:8). Therefore, Scripture will never contradict itself. The best way to accurately understand the Bible is to understand the full scope of the Bible. When interpreting remember to ask yourself if what you have interpreted about this subject in these verses fits with what is said on the subject elsewhere in the Scripture.
Finally, look for the single meaningin the text. There is a reason a main point is called a main point–there cannot be too many. Finding the single meaning means discovering what the author meant–not what you think the text should mean, not fitting it to support your view, not expressing how it makes you feel. Give yourself freedom to accurately interpret Scripture and be humble enough to accept that a true interpretation may reveal that you’ve been misunderstanding a well known passage for a long time.
INTERPRETATION PRACTICE
Let’s look back at the passage I marked up for Observation Practice.
From this passage, I can interpret that:
The proverbs were written by Solomon to give wisdom to all who would have it.
I come to this interpretation because the text lists many reasons for providing wisdom and states that everyone from the young and simple to wise and discerning can gain wisdom. I know it’s available to all who would have it because the final verse states that there are some people (fools) who despise wisdom.
APPLICATION: HOW SHOULD THIS AFFECT ME?
The next step is APPLICATION. In this step, we will answer the question: HOW SHOULD THIS AFFECT ME? Now that you have observed and interpreted the single meaning of the text, its time to take action. This is the time for customization. A text will cut and dry facts and a singular meaning, but the way we apply the text will be varied.
Proper application will take place by anchoring your application in the meaning. Proper application will ultimately lead to transformation.
APPLICATION BASICS
James 1:22-25 Tells us to not only hear the Word, but also to be doers.Knowledge is having facts about a subject. Wisdom is applying knowledge to our lives in a meaningful way. Doing something with the insight we gain from Scripture is a vital component to our walk of faith.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 gives us a good checklist for application. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,17 so that the servant of Goda] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Teaching: God’s Word will teach us by giving us knowledge on a subject or guidelines on behavior. When considering what a passage teaches, remember to ask: Who does this apply to? Is this teaching cultural to the day? Is there an overarching teaching that usurps this one? (ie, the Old Testament law is later fulfilled by Christ’s sacrifice…meaning we no longer need to live by all the nitty gritty details outlined in Leviticus.)
Rebuking (also translated Reproof): Reproof will show us areas of our lives or thinking that do not align with God’s best for us. Application of reproof is admitting that there is something out of alignment and change our point of view to agree with God. Ask yourself, does what I’ve read expose any wrong in my current actions or thought patterns?
Correcting: We correct wrong behavior, thoughts, notions by taking active steps to change them. Ask yourself, What instruction does God give me in light of the truth I’ve discovered?
Training means that through God’s Word we will be ready for anything. But like training for a 5K, or new job, or anything else–it may take time and practice. As you are trained by Scripture, transformation will take place.
APPLICATION PRACTICE
So here’s MY application. As I’ve read and looked at Proverbs 1:1-7, I will probably apply it differently than you. I’ve got a 6 month old, an anxiety pattern and a chronic flesh pattern of fear. So I will consider the questions for application, and do this:
Pray for a teachable mind and spirit–since the text is clear that wisdom can be learned.
Align my thinking about wisdom with God. Wisdom can be had by anyone at any station in life. Not only the mature, elderly, experienced.
Research more about what a proper “fear of the Lord” looks like–since that is the beginning of wisdom.
A FINAL NOTE
Let’s circle back here. Remember. This is a method of study. Don’t get bogged down by all the steps you “have to” take. I’m not your boss. These are ideas and guidelines for an effective and accurate understanding of the Bible. Practice. After a few go’s at it, you’ll have an effective reading workflow that is unique to you.
Give it a try. And let me know what you think! Have you done inductive study before? What do you find helpful? Do you like it?
It’s been years since I started Bible reading and really began enjoying it. I’d say my zeal for reading Scripture is evidence that Christ is at work in me. That I’m growing to be more like Him. That my faith is maturing.
Don’t read this wrong. In no way am I trying to brag about being a great and diligent Bible reader. There are seasons that are harder than others. But usually reading is something I find pleasure in doing. Believe me, there are plenty of areas in my faith walk that are in need of improvement.
And here’s something weird about me liking Bible reading so much. I am really not much of a reader. I’m a listener. I like audiobooks, podcasts, and talk radio. Those kinds of things. When I was a kid my parents had a grand collection of those read-along-books that came with cassette tapes. I remember sitting in front of our large stereo system, looking at the pictures while the narrator did the hard work of actually reading. Oh, and joy of joys when I got my very own Teddy Ruxpin for Christmas! A talking teddy bear that read aloud. Yes please!! Really when I graduated from books with pictures to books with chapters the appeal was pretty much lost on me.
I really consider my date of Salvation to be sometime around age 13. (Shame on me for not knowing the exact day.) After that I had more interest in reading the Bible. But I still preferred to use the children’s NIV my church had given me at age 7. Basically because it had a few pictures in it that I could look at.
Eventually, I did graduate to a Bible (and other books) without pictures. First a teen Bible. Then a more adult version. My love for reading grew and grew. And years later when I discovered commentaries and interlinear resources I was a full-fledged Bible geek. I’m a curious kitten by nature. Those resources, while not adding to the Word, definitely helped answer questions that would pop in my mind. They gave me a better understanding of culture at the time the Bible was written. I have grown to understand the overall timeline of Scripture and see its bigger picture.
Maybe my most favorite part of Bible reading is that it never gets old, tired or boring. I can read and reread the same passage and the Holy Spirit still has new things to teach me. I’m giddy just writing this. I kind of want to stop and go pick up my Bible instead of sitting at the computer. I’ll finish what I started here though.
Gushing aside. I really didn’t mean to sit down to tell you how great I am at Bible reading. Or how much I love it.
I sat down because I know you may not be as big of a geek as me. Which is totally fine, and even preferable in many circumstances. If you struggle with reading, or getting excited about reading, here are some plans that I know and love. I hope they’ll help you out. The Word is so sweet and I just know if you stick with it, if your interest can be piqued, you’ll soon have cravings for it. Cravings even stronger than my cravings for Culver’s butter burgers and custard. (Anybody with me there??)
Let’s go.
Chronological
The first time I read the Bible in chronological order my whole understanding of Scripture was rocked. In a good way. The Bible is a very unique book. It’s put together in an order that makes sense. But that order is not what we modern Westerners are used to. Instead of being laid out in order, the books are grouped by genre. This means books of the law are together. Books of poetry are together. Books of history are together and books containing letters are together. You get the idea.
Also you might have noticed the Bible is looooong! Like longer than Gone With The Wind. (Which is the longest book I think I’ve ever read.) There’s a lot of information. And hundreds and hundreds of years are covered.
Reading through in chronological order helped me understand the “big picture” of the Bible. It also helped me make sense of the Old Testament. Which, by the way, is now one of my favorite things to study.
One of the really cool things about reading this way is that many of the Psalms are fit into to the “story line” where scholars believe they would have been written. This gave me a new understanding of David and how to pour my heart out to God.
Links to Chronological Bible Read Plans
I like this plan so much I created my own chronological Bible Reading Strategy through it a few years ago. (With Derek’s help.) Now you can have it too! Just click here or go to the tools page. FREE! ***Now, I need you to know this guide is NOT, daily reading. It’s just a list of chapters to read, in order. I’m never good at staying on those daily reading plans. So I just work through it at my own pace, reading some each day.****
If you prefer a daily chronological schedule I’ve got that too. This is a one year plan from Blue Letter Bible. (Which by the way is my go-to study site/app!)
The other explanations won’t be this long! Promise.
3 Month Challenge
For those of you who are ambitious Bible reading challenge. Two summers ago a friend said she was reading the entire Bible in the course of three months. YES. THREE MONTHS. I decided to try it too. Annnd, I fell just a bit behind, but finished in about 3 months, 3 weeks.
The great thing about this was that I got a great overview of the Bible as a whole. I tend to forget some things if I read over a year (or two). But since this plan was so quick, and had large chunks of reading each day I was able to retain the story. This really gave me good insight into the “main points” of the Bible.
Now, before you write this off as too much or too scary, just listen. We’ve already discussed that I’m not the best “text” reader. So, I actually listened to most days reading. I was doing this challenge while working on the Kautzmann’s house. Every day I’d listen to the daily reading. It took about 20 minutes. Most days I’d listen to it 2-3 times. And it really didn’t cramp my style or interfere with work. If you’ve got a commute, you could be doing this on your drive in and your drive home. If you go to the gym you could listen on the treadmill. The possibilities are endless.
If you like reading the actual book it’s still doable. Most days the actual reading would take just about the same amount of time for me to work through. Maybe slightly longer because I’m a slow reader. The point is, you can do it.
Links to 3-Month/90 Day Bible Reading Plans
Here is a printable, chronological plan complete with check boxes.
Bible Study Tools has a “straight through” plan. You can get that here.
Bible Gateway offers a “straight through” version that brings up the daily reading in the app or site. From there you can choose to read, or hear the audio. And you can opt to have reminders sent to you. Make sure the calendar is set to January first to get your first day’s reading.
The Proverbs
If you are trying to make Bible reading a habit, the Proverbs can be a great place to start. There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. There are usually 31 days in the month. Just read one chapter per day. Because the Proverbs are not narrative, you can start anywhere. Whatever the date, start with that chapter. If you miss a day, don’t worry. Just start again with the chapter that matches the date. Proverbs is a collection of practical wisdom. It’s useful Scripture and this simple practice can get you in the habit of getting in the Word. It’s also simple enough that you can easily add this practice to another reading plan you are working on.
Acts and The Epistles
First of all, “epistle” is a fancy word for “letter.” This refers to letters in the New Testament written to new churches. Books like Galatians, Romans, and 1, 2, and 3 John are epistles.
This Bible reading plan takes you through the years after Christ ascended to heaven. It puts the events in Acts in order with letters to churches. It’s also got cool bonuses for geeks like me, including a timeline of the year with each reading, links to maps, and illustrations. Although it’s not broken down into “daily” readings, many are short enough to read in one sitting. You can see the plan from Blue Letter Bible right here.
Thematic Reading
I’ve gone through seasons when I just wanted to know what the Bible said about a specific topic. Anxiety/fear was one. What God is like as a Father was another. What the Bible had to say about using foul language was another. Maybe this is where you are. If that’s the case, I highly recommend popping over to Bible.com. They’ve got a HUGE selection of thematic reading plans. They vary in length, so I’m sure you’ll find you like.
3-Day Kick Start
Oh, and if you are wanting a boot in the booty to get you hyped, I HIGHLY recommend getting my 3-day Bible Reading Kick Start. It’ll come straight to your inbox. (I won’t spam you, pinky swear and your email address will be safe with me.) You can go through it solo, or with a friend. Up to you. It’s designed to get you excited about the Word and I really hope you like it!
GET YOUR FREE 3-DAY KICK-START
Renew your zeal for the Bible with three days of exclusive devotionals! Interesting and relevant writings and reflection questions will remind you why the Word of God is so awesome. You'll learn a lot and you'll leave excited to know God more and grow deeper in your faith.
Your kick-start is on the way!
Tomorrow I’ll be sharing my favorite ways to plant Scripture in your heart. Ways to make sure I’m not only being a hearer of the Word, but a doer also. (See James 1:22.)
Thanks to everyone who gave positive feedback about our latest adventure: Memorizing the entire book of Colossians. I’ve had several inquiries about how we actually did it…what it looked like day-to-day. So instead of emailing each of you individually I thought I’d tell you about my experience and pull together a few resources for you as well. {Call me lazy if you must…}
If you look around online, you’ll find that most “big chunk” memorization techniques are pretty much the same. Memorize one verse on the first day. The next day review the first verse and add one more. This is basically what we did, but realistically there were a few changes. As much as I wanted to stick with a rigid plan, this is actually a more accurate picture of how we memorized the whole book.
Day One–Memorize Colossians 1:1. Read the verse aloud 10 times. Say it 10 times from memory. {Easy peasy. Took about 5 minutes.}
Day Two–Memorize Colossians 1:2, review 1:1. Review 1:1 by reciting it several times {this changed from time to time but usually about 5-10 times.} Read 1:2 aloud 10 times. Recite 1:2 from memory 10 times. Say both verses once.
Day Three–Memorize Colossians 1:3, review previous verses. Review 1:2 by saying it several times, read 1:3 ten times aloud, recite it 10 times from memory, say the whole thing once.
Okay. You get the picture. Keep doing this day after day–adding only one verse at a time.
Now–When that passage of Scripture started to get lengthy the plan changed a bit. A lot of times, we only reviewed the previous verse by reciting it once or twice, just to save time since reciting the whole thing started to take up more and more time. Once we crossed over the half way mark, there were some days we didn’t even review everything we knew up to that point every day. By the time you are to Chapter 3, verse 1, 1:1 will be almost second nature to you. In fact, the whole first chapter will seem so easy to recite you could do it in your sleep. So…sometimes we would only recite the chapter we were working on, or a chunk of verses surrounding our new verse.
We saw memorizing as a team sport. I highly recommend working with your spouse–if you have one. It’s fun. For real. We did a lot of memorizing while we road tripped. In this case, it wasn’t safe for Derek to take his eyes off the road to read the verse 10 times, so I did it for us. I’d read the verse 10 times aloud. He’d repeat it back. Then I’d recite it from memory. When we recited all that we knew we would alternate verses. When we weren’t together–we just did our memorization individually and checked in with each other…making sure neither of us fell behind.
Verse numbers? Most resources you find online will tell you to memorize the verse numbers. Lots of resources suggest that when you recite a verse you say it like this:
Colossians 1:1 I, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God and our brother Timothy. Colossians 1:2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God the father. Colossians 1:3 We always thank God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you, Colossians 1:4…..
Maybe that will work for you, but it didn’t work for me. Breaking up the text with the verse numbers ever time I recited it just broke up the meaning and caused me to lose my train of thought. Instead, I found that I could keep track of each verse in my head. About every five verses I made a point to remember which verse number I was on so I couldn’t get too far off track. And since we did recitation together {alternating verses} usually Derek would catch my mistakes and I’d catch his.
With the method outlined above it’s plausible to memorize Colossians in 95 days, as there are 95 verse in the book. It took me much longer than that. I started in July. I finished at the beginning of February. That’s about six months–nearly twice as long as the estimate. But that’s okay. Life happens. We get sick and unmotivated and family comes to town and Christmas festivities take over our brains. That’s fine. At first when my deadline came and went I was a little disappointed, but in the end I realized that it’s not how fast we were doing it, but that we were doing it at all. That we’d stayed committed and were willing to see it through to the very last verse.
So that’s my story. Here are some resources for you as you set out on your very own Scripture memorizing journey. Find a technique that works for you and go for it!
Here’s a post from someone who grew up participating in Bible Quiz. He explains how he memorized more than 500 verses in a single year.
This is an amazing PDF that explains the technique I described above as well as information about retaining memorized Scripture, how to choose the book you want to work on, and why it’s such an enriching experience.
And this is a blog post with 10 good reasons to memorize a big chunk. You can totally do this!
To me, there really isn’t anything sweeter than an accomplished goal. Dreaming big is fun. But imaginings are much sweeter when they come to fruition. I’ve got some far out goals that are a loooong way from being reached, so in the mean time, I’ll savor every mini-goal that comes up along the way.
Last month Derek and I officially reached a goal. We finished memorizing Colossians. A whole book of the Bible now lives in my head. I know it’s a short book, but now I know the whole thing by heart. Yes, there were hard days. There were days when I didn’t memorize anything at all. There were days when the spiritual warfare that comes along with an undertaking like this was hard–so hard I wanted to throw in the towel. But by the grace of God, we did it.
I’ve done a lot of really cool stuff in my life. Like, really cool. But I’ll admit this is one of the coolest, and best ways I’ve ever spent my time. So tonight I thought I’d lay out some of the things I’ve learned any why I enjoyed this process so much.
Dwelling on the right stuff. Philippians 4:8 tells us to let our minds dwell on the right stuff. I’m constantly surrounded by people, TV, books, and talk radio. I try my hardest to be intentional about what I let my mind consume. I’m incredibly prone to dwell on worries and woes–but while we memorized Colossians I spent a lot of time dwelling on the right stuff. In an attempt to keep it all in my brain, I’d go over the verses–sometimes multiple times a day. This calmed me, refocused my thoughts and allowed me to meditate on His word all day long.
Filling up dead space. In my day there are chunks of time where I’m alone with my thoughts. Whether that’s while I’m out on a walk, going on my weekly ice skating excursion, or while I’m driving–there are times when it’s just me and whatever is in my head. Instead of using this time to stress or worry, I go over all four chapters of Colossians. It takes about 30 minutes and I always feel refreshed.
A better understanding. Because we were going over the same verses day after day, only adding one new verse every day {sometimes every few days toward the end}, it gave me a chance to really think about every word in every verse. The big picture context came into focus as more verses were added–but this process allowed me to zero in on the importance of every verse.
Quotable quotations. Since I was dwelling on the words and thinking deeply about their meaning, verses were on the tip of my brain–just begging to be quoted in everyday conversation. I can’t even begin to count the number of times a Colossians verse has come in handy in the past few months. The verses come to mind easily and I’ve found that the context {as well and individual verses} have been very useful as I’ve prayed for people, prayed aloud, encouraged, and fielded questions about my faith.
In the past, sometimes when addressing a tough question or situation my mind would go blank for Scripture–even though I knew it was in there somewhere. With four chapters fresh in my mind, I am finding these moments less intimidating and my mind drawing fewer blanks.
BFF. This process stretched Derek and me both mentally and spiritually in a new way that moved us closer to God and closer to each other. It was a great time of holding each other accountable and encouraging each other on days when we didn’t “feel” like memorizing. {It’s really cool that there was never a day when we both felt that way. When one was slacking off, the other was quick to insist that we at least go over everything we had learned so far.} It’s really cool to have shared this process and victory with someone.
Being vulnerable. Memorizing Colossians wasn’t all rainbows and ponies and fun times. It was hard. Not just mentally hard. It was also spiritually taxing. God loves it when we study His word, spend time with Him and hide His wisdom in our hearts…but Satan hates it. The spiritual attack I encountered while memorizing Colossians was one of the biggest I’ve ever faced. BUT–I wouldn’t change it for the world. As cruel as the attack felt–God’s grace is greater, He is mightier. We made it through and God has blessed us for persevering. Better Praying. Paul is an expert on prayer. Within the book of Colossians {and the other books he wrote too} there are great examples of how to pray, what to pray for, how to word your prayers, and how to pray with expectation. Ever since I started memorizing, my prayers have changed. Paul leads by example and he is a great example to follow.It’s left me wanting more. Until we set this goal, I didn’t see myself as much of a Scripture memorizer. I have verses committed to memory. I like memorizing, but it wasn’t my favorite Bible-related activity…and I didn’t prioritize it like I should have. Now, I see that I can memorize big chunks of Scripture as long as I attack it with a plan. We haven’t started in on another book and I’m not sure we’ll do another one in the near future…but I’m wanting more. I’m anxious to select another passage or chapter to begin memorizing.I know I can do it. As we move forward I’m confident in my ability to memorize Scripture, but I’m also confident in your ability. Really, if we can do it–so can you. I started memorizing when a friend told me her 12 year old cousin memorized a whole book of the Bible. I thought, “If a 12 year old can do it, so can I.” I want you to have that same mentality. Memorizing a big chunk of Scripture {or even a small bit} is so worth your time! Most days it didn’t even take more than 15 minutes {the longest it ever took was 30}. It’s doable and I challenge you to give it a try.Amy
Renew your zeal for the Bible with three days of exclusive devotionals! Interesting and relevant writings and reflection questions will remind you why the Word of God is so awesome. You'll learn a lot and you'll leave excited to know God more and grow deeper in your faith.
Your kick-start is on the way!
You've always dreamed of reading the Bible in chronological order. Now you can!
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