Help me please:

[FranklinNoble]

Well, a couple of other things I'd like to ask as I bring this to people's attention. Should Bible-reading be used as a habit to replace another, less-desirable one, or should the old one be defeated before trying to get into the Bible. This is less exposition and such, I realize this, but overall, I suppose it's a question as to what kind of heart, what kind of attitude should one have before studying the Bible?

There's never a wrong time to read the Bible.

In fact, I think substituting Bible reading for a bad habit is probably the best way to defeat a bad habit. When I'm faced with temptation from something sinful, embracing scripture really helps me get through it.

Ideally, I like to "warm up" to Bible study with prayer and/or worship, but that's not always possible (well, prayer is generally always possible), just to get in the right frame of mind. I ask the Lord to bless my time with his holy Word, so that it may be fruitful and fulfilling.

 

[plmarquette]

go into your prayer closet , ask for a word , wait , listen ....
then take your concordance and chase the word : love . lonliness , lust , forgiveness , intercede , " koinea - commune , communion , fellowship , communicate ... "

pick up a vines expository dictionary or a copy of quickverse 4.0 or 7.0 with hebrew and greek modules , and compare orginal word and transliterated meaning [ see example above : koinea ... the Lords supper , also commune , communicate ; print out passages , go to vines expository dictionary , see how the original word in Greek , differs in english use ...

Peter do you agapo me , Peter do you agape me , Peter do you Phileo me
do you love me as I love God ; do you love me as the father loves me ; do you consider me a brother both in the flesh and in the spirit ...

 

[StevenL]

Lee, I'd suggest that before you take off on your Bible reading spree, you should spend a while fasting and praying and being filled with the Spirit. When God first filled me with His Spirit I COULD NOT PUT THE BIBLE DOWN. It was like the book was on Fire. The Spirit began to teach me Himself and many times specifically told me to get rid of the teachings of men, even church men (or women) and listen to Him alone for a while. 1 John 2:27. If you want Inspiration to study the Word, if you want real God-taught Wisdom.....BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. This is something that you practice yourself. BE FILLED (meaning also CONTROLLED.) Get alone with your Father and ask Him, in faith, for the Spirit. Luke 11:5-13. Also ask Him for Wisdom in faith. James 1:5-8. He'll give you all you can handle! He will make you insatiably HUNGRY for the Word.

And one of the first things God taught me: He said, "when you see that you're told to DO something in the Scriptures ( like James 1:5 for instance ) stop right then and DO what it says...", without asking someone else what they think about it or getting another opinion. The Scriptures are God's opinion and He'll lead you to form your thoughts and opinions based on HIS thoughts and opinions.

And you won't need any study guides on apologetics or homiletics or hermeneutics.... The Spirit is quite sufficient to reveal the Word to you.

Jus' some thoughts.

 

[FranklinNoble]

Lee, I'd suggest that before you take off on your Bible reading spree, you should spend a while fasting and praying and being filled with the Spirit. When God first filled me with His Spirit I COULD NOT PUT THE BIBLE DOWN. It was like the book was on Fire. The Spirit began to teach me Himself and many times specifically told me to get rid of the teachings of men, even church men (or women) and listen to Him alone for a while. 1 John 2:27. If you want Inspiration to study the Word, if you want real God-taught Wisdom.....BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT. This is something that you practice yourself. BE FILLED (meaning also CONTROLLED.) Get alone with your Father and ask Him, in faith, for the Spirit. Luke 11:5-13. Also ask Him for Wisdom in faith. James 1:5-8. He'll give you all you can handle! He will make you insatiably HUNGRY for the Word.

And one of the first things God taught me: He said, "when you see that you're told to DO something in the Scriptures ( like James 1:5 for instance ) stop right then and DO what it says...", without asking someone else what they think about it or getting another opinion. The Scriptures are God's opinion and He'll lead you to form your thoughts and opinions based on HIS thoughts and opinions.

And you won't need any study guides on apologetics or homiletics or hermeneutics.... The Spirit is quite sufficient to reveal the Word to you.

Jus' some thoughts.

Excellent post.

 

[plmarquette]

Okay, well, I've been struggling to find a particularly inspiring topic to study in the Bible, or a particularly inspiring method of studying the Bible. If anyone's been studying for a while and has something that works really well for them, could you please share? I'm trying to learn how to feed myself the spiritual food that the Bible has to offer, instead of depending on others to feed me.

ie ; all things = punch line " what part of all , is giving you the most difficulty "
proverbs 30.5 ; 2 corinthians 9.6-8 ; philippians 4.13 ; matthew 19.26b ; romans 8.37 ; romans 8.28 ; mark 16.16-20 ....

all things , all in each of the passages from a search , context we have authority , grace , power ...

look up / look at scriptures above ...

ask for a word from God for you . go to www.blueletterbible.org type in your word in search blank , klick ... chase ... off and running

 

[mythbuster]

Bible ideas.

0) Always come the word with the intention of coming to the Lord, exercise your spirit, call on His name, enjoy Him above everything else.

1) God. Look up all verses relating to the God and God in His Trinity.
Look for types, figures, illustrations of the Triune God (e.g., Moses strikes the rock out of which gushed water, Moses = Father, Rock = Son, Spirit = water)

2) Compare first two chapters of the Genesis with the last two chapters of Revelation. (e.g., there is a river, tree of life, precious stones, a man and a woman) This is strong evidence showing divine inspiration.

3) Review the Bible based on the geneology in Matthew, then do the same for Luke.

4) Study the people of Bible.

5) Study types.

6) Study all the offerings, realizing that Christ was the reality of the offerings.

7) Compare the images in Daniel with John's in Revelation.

8) Look for difficult verses, that are hard to understand and ask questions. (e.g., Rev 3:12, what does it mean to be pillar in the temple of God? )

9) Study the New Jerusalem.


10) Paul was "metaphor king." How can the New Jerusalem be our mother? Who are the two husbands in Romans 7?

ASK QUESTIONS


Here is a link to the first chapter of the book by Watchman Nee, How To Study The Bible:

http://www.livingstream.com/watchman-nee/073630407X_B.html

 

[everhope]

Lee Fey, I am new here and was reading with interest the comments already given. If I may, I had a comment spurred on by what you said...

"I'm trying to learn how to feed myself the spiritual food that the Bible has to offer, instead of depending on others to feed me."
[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]
As I read this, it came to my mind some dieting strategies that I used when raising my four children.

One that my children still talk about as really funny was this. I would cook my normal homemade meals for my family, including dessert, and when it came time to serve say, the chocolate cake, I would serve everyone then say...

"Pam, can I smell of your cake?" I would take it and breathe in deeply the fragrance of the cake, the chocolate aroma of the silky sweet icing. After several deep breaths of the chocolate, I would feel as though I had actually consumed cake. After all, the aroma is what further differentiates the 4 basic tastes of sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. It would suffice. I didn't need to eat it after smelling of it.

When that no longer worked.....I would be especially tempted to eat that sweet when my children were down for a nap, where no one could see me. At the worst of times, I would take a small bite of whatever, being especially careful not to allow any of the saliva to be swallowed that mixed with the thoroughly chewed and moved about in my mouth bite of cake. I would slowly "savor the flavor." Then I would go to the bathroom and spit it out, still being careful not to do the natural impulse of swallowing. Rinsing out my mouth and brushing my teeth would follow. This satisfied without eating, digesting the calorie rich morsel.

Yea... I know, it's disgusting!

When I read Spurgeon's devotion, the scripture came to mind..
Jer. 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them: and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart...

The word of God; that's where the nourishment is! It has the capacity of changing us, of filling us with that "joy and rejoicing." But only if we EAT and thus DIGEST it into our lives...following it, yeilding to it when tested, obeying it!

Food, when digested becomes the substance of our very cells, making strong the cell membrane, building muscle tissue, boosting our immune system, etc., and is utilized in the oxidation process in making ATP, the very chemical substance of energy for cellular life to even exist.

The message was for me I am sure......"Marie, Marie...don't just READ the Word, smelling it rich aroma...enjoying its beauty and truth...savoring its rich taste..then spit it out! Don't you know, child, it will profit you NOTHING apart from eating and digesting it? No strength, no necessry energy to sustain you in living the Christian life, no joy, no rejoicing of heart."

Whatever method one uses, every day set aside prime alone time and humbly cook up something delicious and rich from the word. Then truly eat it. In the following day and in days ahead.....digest it. Assimilation is the true end goal.

As we study, may we all be inspired above all to close the gap between our Bible head knowledge and heart knowledge. God bless.
[/font]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]everhope[/font]

 

[everhope]

WOW. This is a great place...so glad I discovered it.

Well, a couple of other things I'd like to ask as I bring this to people's attention. Should Bible-reading be used as a habit to replace another, less-desirable one, or should the old one be defeated before trying to get into the Bible. This is less exposition and such, I realize this, but overall, I suppose it's a question as to what kind of heart, what kind of attitude should one have before studying the Bible?

If only persons read/studied the Bible who experienced total victory in all areas of their lives, NO one would read it except deluded hypocrites. We are accepted positionally, reconciled to God "in the Beloved." You are wise, however, in recognizing the importance of attitude and heart. The Word is the best place on earth to go for an effective attitude adjustment. When we feed on it, faith increases and we are enabled to experience power over things that once held us in bondage.

A wise and Godly man once told me "If you stay in the Word sin in your life will eventually go out, or you will get out of the Word."

No person "desires" the things which are spiritual by their own human nature. If you are drawn to the Word, indeed the loving Holy Spirit, God himself, is inviting you to come "buy food without price." It is due to his love for you, his very personal love for you. Again, the natural man does NOT desire the things of God. If that desire is in your heart, recognize that God is working that in you. Respond to him as you are. Every person in scripture that Jesus called to himself came as they were.

It is a huge fallacy (straight from Satan) that we must make ourselves acceptable to seek to know God through his Word. We can't.

everhope

 

[mark kennedy]

It has been my experience that two topics are the best motivators for a Bible study. The gifts of the Holy Spirit and prophecy. I would suggest looking at the list of gifts in ICorinthians 12 and trying to identify you're own ministry potential. If you are so inclined I would recommend reading Danial and putting together you own end-time scenerio and maybe cross referencing it with Revelations. Both are enormous tasks but they are as deep as the ocean and it could keep you busy for years if you really enjoyed it.

If you are actually more interested in devotional type studies then the Psalms and Proverbs are great for that. The important thing to let the Scriptures speak to you're heart and follow the led of the Spirit.

Grace and peace,
Mark

 

[Lee Fey]

everhope, you are absolutely inspiring. You have a way with words, you have great knowledge and wisdom, and I find your posts very encouraging. Thank you so much. I see how right you are, pertaining to what kind of attitude one has when dealing with God. We naturally don't want to be in God's Word. I know I usually don't. But when God invites me, and I answer positively, it's so rewarding.

The problem with me is that I lack discipline. I've never really been able to stick to anything, no matter how important it really is. I'm more of a gas lantern than a laser. I can't focus, and I have conflicting desires of flesh and spirit. Spirit delights in the Lord, flesh wishes to just give up.

I realize reading the Word is very important, and can help me really become closer to God. Part of me wants that, and part of me doesn't. I was hoping, when I came here, and asked for help, to find something that would just be too irresistable to not stay with the Lord.

 

[mythbuster]

...
The problem with me is that I lack discipline.... I was hoping, when I came here, and asked for help, to find something that would just be too irresistable to not stay with the Lord.

You have the irresistible Christ within you, and although we may lack discipline, He, as the reality of all the offerings, lacks nothing. And He is our portion, He is the gospel. He is the wonderful all inclusive, eternal Word, He who holds the keys of death and Hades, has been sown into the center of our being as eternal life.

 

[Lee Fey]

I am fasting this week, and praying. I am taking advice I saw on this thread specifically, that to prepare my heart so that I am in the right state of mind when it comes to reading the Bible, and have my heart open and ready for God's instruction and Words.

 

[StevenL]

I am fasting this week, and praying. I am taking advice I saw on this thread specifically, that to prepare my heart so that I am in the right state of mind when it comes to reading the Bible, and have my heart open and ready for God's instruction and Words.

I am in agreement with you today for revelation knowledge from on high to be poured on you in great abundance! May the Lord bless your time with Him. Please Father.

 

[Lee Fey]

I noticed that temptation is strongest when you are closest to God. It seems that whenever you're leaning towards one drive or the other, flesh or Spirit, things become very intense. It's when you are in the middle that things tend to be quiet and weak.

Of course, I should hope the motivation for every Christian is to hear God's voice clearly. Unfortunately, everyone should know temptation to put him on the backburner is strongest the closer you get to him.

 

[StevenL]

Ah, revelation already.

 

[FranklinNoble]

I noticed that temptation is strongest when you are closest to God. It seems that whenever you're leaning towards one drive or the other, flesh or Spirit, things become very intense. It's when you are in the middle that things tend to be quiet and weak.

Of course, I should hope the motivation for every Christian is to hear God's voice clearly. Unfortunately, everyone should know temptation to put him on the backburner is strongest the closer you get to him.

This is so very true. Excellent point.

 

[mcauliffeandy]

Oh dear brother go to seedsowers.com and order Experiencing the depths of Jesus Christ by Jeanne Guyon. The first chapter deals with 'praying the scriptures', you pray in the Spirit while reading the Bible. I have found much revelation in doing so. Oh! it would be hard for me to explain how but I am sure the Holy Ghost can explain it just perfectly, ask him.
Andy