When you read the Bible you are encountering God and God’s story.  You’re not simply learning facts or trivia or reading just another great piece of literature.  An effective way to get to know God is to read what God has said about Godself. 

Be careful as you read the Bible, many people have made the mistake of thinking they are reading a bunch of rules describing how a person is supposed to live, that is a secondary goal at best.  

The Bible is God’s story.  It is the grand narrative of the Almighty God in an all out pursuit a “Bride” (a Biblical metaphor those seeking relationship with God).  The Bible is a love story.  God wooing people back to Godself.   

Where should I start reading?  

There is no “w
rong place” to begin reading – its all good.  However, if you’ve never read the Bible before I’d suggest you open your bible to the “Table of Contents”.  You’ll notice there two main sections; most often referred to as the Old Testament, and the New Testament.

All the books in the Old Testament where written before Christ, and talk about creation and how God begins to build people for relationship.  The books of the New Testament were all written after Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, and chronicles the continuing saga of God pursuit of a people who would choose to relationship, and has a very personal feel often leaving one with a clear sense of God’s love.

If you’ve never read the Bible before, I’d encourage you to turn in your Bible to the New Testament, reading the book of Mark, followed by the book of First John.    

After reading Mark and First John, try to get a feel for God’s activity throughout Biblical history.  I suggest the following order as a good overview to understanding his story.

a) Genesis  b) Exodus  c) Deuteronomy  d) John  e) Acts  f) Romans

What do I do when I read?  

If at all possible read with other people.  There is something meaningful about interacting with the Bible within the context of a community.  As you read ask the following questions:

·                     What does this reveal about God?

·                     What can this teach about life?

·                     What is this saying and what does it mean?

·                     What is one thought I can carry with me today?

·                     So what?  

How much should I read?  

No right answer here.  Read what is comfortable for you.  Often when a person first reads the Bible they find it helpful to do a quick “overview” and cover lots of ground.  Jotting questions as one reads or highlighting paragraphs to reread can be beneficial.

For those who want to read more slowly its often helpful to read until there seems to be a natural stopping point.  Then ask yourself those questions again.  I highly recommend that you keep a journal of your thoughts and questions.

peace, dwight

Your search for truth and meaning has brought you to the place where you consider yourself to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  You’re on a journey; you are a pilgrim.  Well, look out because you’re in for the adventure of a lifetime.
 

Full devotion to God is normal for every follower of Jesus.

There is no hierarchy of people or jobs – we are all equal before God.  And God expects the same thing from each of us.  So . . . what does God expect?  

God expects one thing.  For us to live with him, Christianity is a holistic lifestyle.  The Bible uses the phrase – “To abide with Him” (John 15).  Jesus used a gardening metaphor to illustrate this point.   

He said, picture a grapevine.  For a branch to produce grapes, it’s got to stay connected to the vine.  If a branch gets cut off, it’s not going to produce any fruit.  However, if the branch “abides” in the vine, then the fruit is inevitable.   

Jesus was saying that if you will just stay connected to God, then God will do the work of producing “fruit” in your life.  He will do the transforming work.  All you need to do is choose to abide with Him.  

The goal of the follower is that he or she becomes like the leader – Jesus.  For that to happen the follower must know Jesus first – doing life together is a must.  As you abide with Jesus, he promises to make you like him.  He promises to produce “fruit.”  The fruit, which is the very life and character of Jesus; fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  He promises to guide us to live lives marked by faith, hope and love.   Ultimately, the “trademark” of Christ-followers is love. Not fitting some kind of label, not a certain political stance, not having a fish on their cars’ bumper, nor a cross around their neck, simply love.  

Jesus said that the whole world would recognize His followers by seeing their love.  When Jesus summed up the entire Bible and its teaching He said, “Love the Lord your God… and love your neighbor as yourself.”  That’s what following Jesus is all about – loving God and loving people.  

So.  How goes your transformation?  How is your experience of community?  Are you looking more like Jesus?  Are you connecting deeply with others?  

Ask your self:  

·         Am I growing in my ability to give and receive love from God and from other people?

·         Am I sensing God communicating to me that I am His child?

·         Am I learning to love what God loves and hate what he hates?

·         Am I ordering my life to stay close to God?

·         Am I becoming more like Jesus?

peace, dwight