Expectancy

As I prepared a worship set, I was really excited and expectant to see what God was getting ready to do.  Later in the day, I heated up a piece of Fried chicken and sat on the couch to eat it.  My son's puppy was sitting beside me as I ate it.  She was very alert, ears perked up and looking at me with an excited longing.  I don't generally share my chicken with her, but she still was expectant in that slight chance that she might get just a morsel.  I stand up and she jumps to the floor and starts bouncing around and follows me clear to the kitchen trash where I dispose of the bones and then to the dishwasher as I put my empty plate in there. 
I thought of this puppy and her excitement.  She does this ALL.THE.TIME!  She rarely gets rewarded for her persistence because of her sensitive stomach and my distaste for dog puke, but she still persists with expectancy!  WOW!  In this scenario, I had a God moment! 
How many times have I come before Him with an excited expectancy and things didn't turn out in my favor?  Do I come before Him the next time with the same hunger and excitement, or do I bring my doubt with me?  After a few times of not getting what I wanted, I lower my expectations.  Sometimes I recognize that what I wanted was not good for me, but there are times that I didn't have expectations and what I could have gotten would have been precisely what I need! 
This expectancy and doubt cycle can come when praying for a miracle, during worship service, when planning an event, when delivering a message, with personal goals and dreams, or in other situations that I can't think of at the moment.  That doesn't give us permission to give up.  I want to be like Sadie, the puppy.  When there is something that I'm asking/begging for.  I want to act as though it were going to be given.  If I am passed by, I will just wait until my next opportunity and ask again.  One of these times, the timing will be right and I will get that thing and wag my tail all the more!  And it really won't just happen once, it will happen over and over, because that is how God works!  If I can give good gifts to my children, how much more will God give to His?
Even in a service where I'm not a part of the ministry, I need to go with expectancy because this might just be the moment that God is going to pour out His Spirit upon me and amaze me again!  When I am a part of the ministry, I need to not look at the probability of low or high attendance and change my expectancy level accordingly.  IF I feel that what I expected wasn't what happened, I can walk away and know that what God poured out will not return to Him without accomplishing what He planned to accomplish.  I can say, "Next time!" with enthusiasm!
There are times as well that expectancy goes unanswered and not because it's not time, but because He wants us to push a little harder.  I love the story of what we endearingly call, "The persistent widow."

Matthew 15:21-28 NLT

21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”

23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”

24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”

25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”

26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”

27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”

28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.

Another scripture has spoken to me as well.  In Luke 11, Jesus says that if you go to a friend's house at midnight and ask for 3 loaves of bread, he really tries to brush you off because they are in bed already, but because of persistence, he gives it to you.

Luke 11:8 NIV

I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

Both of these people pushed harder to get what they wanted and were rewarded.  I want to know when to push and when to release and know that God is God and that is enough.  Wherever and whatever the situation, I want to start this year with EXPECTANCY!  I don't know what God has in mind.  I'm spending this next week praying about goals and "resolutions," but as I do this I don't want to be flippant.  I want to be expectant!

Drawing Near

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
That has been on my heart this week and I can't shake it.  I actually had it as though it said, "Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you."  Jesus didn't say that exact line.  While he could have said that, it is not recorded in the gospels.  This is a portion of scripture in James 4:8.  It is not even the whole verse nor even the whole context.  Yes, it can stand alone; however, it has more fullness when looking at the whole context.  I'm always amazed when what I thought I knew is only a portion of the fullness of what I can know.

James 4:1-10 NIV  What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

    “God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

I am not a deep theologian, but from this text it appears that James is speaking to a group of people who are not getting along.  James is writing to them and giving them truth and some pointers to overcome these issues.  There are battles within them.  They ask for things with wrong motives.  They are not humble.  He says in verse 7 to submit to God and resist the devil.  Come near to God and He WILL come near to you (verse 8).  Purify your hearts.  Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up (verse 10).  Don't talk about each other.  I believe that out of the overflow of the love you have for Christ, these things will come. 
Holiness isn't something to just sign up for and BOOM you got it.  It is something to work at.  Righteousness is something that comes through seeking the Lord and finding Him.  There are struggles.  There will be struggles.  Jesus was even tempted, and by the Word of God, He overcame.  He desires a relationship with us and in light of that relationship, our desires will be drawn toward Him and no other.
I'm doing studies on the Gospel of John and the epistle of I John in my church right now and it seems like there's a theme in the message Jesus gives to His disciples right before His crucifixion in John 13-16 as well as the message in I John.  I leave you with a few of these scriptures as well as portions of Isaiah 55.  May there be for you Shalom, His peace.

John 13:34-35 ³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 14:12-14  ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

John 15:5  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:9-12 ⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

I John 2:9-11 ⁹ Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. ¹¹ But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

I John 4:7-12 ⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Isaiah 55:1,6-9 

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.

⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
    declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 

Getting Started

There are so many things in life that we plan to do.  From Bible Studies, to diets, to higher education we are always planning the next thing.  I am personally planning how to sell some of my handmade goods and starting to work on a healthier lifestyle.  I can envision myself exercising and having a small business, but unless I execute these decisions, there is no fruit in planning.
My church began to study a book called, A Life that Wins, by Mike Holt on the first weekend in September.  We are reading the book and doing daily studies and small group studies and a sermon series from this book.  The first chapter was routine information for any time that we want to make a lasting change in our lives.  Though the wording was a little different than other books, the same principles are introduced in most "programs" that will help you get out of a rut.  The twist is that in the midst of doing something for yourself, you are encouraged to do a personal outreach as well.  This is reaching out to someone that is unchurched to just be a friend and introduce them to a relationship with Christ.  I'm so not good at that!
So during that first chapter we were challenged to make a hinge decision for our personal goals.  My hinge decision was in the area of fitness.  I followed the instructions and wrote out a plan.  I made it detailed with the goal, steps toward the goal, deadlines and rewards.  I am literally worse off now in week 4 than week 1.  I am 4 pounds heavier and much lazier than I was when I started.  It's as if a rebellion has risen up within me against getting out of bed in the morning to exercise.  When I eat an unhealthy thing, I eat 4 because I already slipped up.  The thoughts have welled up within me about not ever really starting in the first place and we're already 4 weeks in and so I might as well coast through the rest.  I can lose weight and become fit another day.  My unchurched friend is churched after all.  I'm teaching our small group and I'm probably the biggest failure in my class.
HAHA!  Mike apparently knew I'd feel this way because this week's first lesson, first paragraph says, "It is an important week because at the half-way point of any kind of spiritual commitment you make, fatigue can settle in, the enemy can come against you, and you can either choose to backpedal on your hinge decision  or allow it to become permanent in our life." ~Week 4 Day 22  I'm not just backpedalling, I haven't really pedaled anywhere to backpedal from!  I am really enjoying the readings in this book and would recommend it to anyone who is curious about it.  I feel that there is a richness to different parts of the Word that he brings out.  That is not the sole intent of this book, so I'm back in the same place that I land so often.  In the middle of a challenge and have missed the mark so far that I'm feeling done.

Farmers who wait for perfect weather...

Last Sunday as our Pastor's wife read a portion of the Bible before offering time, I was triggered by another phrase and looked it up.  Yes, I get sidetracked easily!  The passage was Ecclesiastes 11:4 "Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.  If they watch every cloud, they never harvest."  NLT  I've been reading each daily reading of this book with that scripture in mind.  I have been meditating on it for the whole week so far.
What is perfect weather?  Well for me and the goal of fitness, it usually means the beginning of a week.  Monday and not Sunday because we have a different schedule on Sundays than any other day of the week.  It means that I'm beginning a new book, devotional or diet kick starter.  It means I'm waiting for someone who truly wants to be my partner in accountability is ready at the same time as I am.  It means after I make out a better menu and go to the grocery store or get a perfect night's sleep.  I can wait and wait for perfect weather, but I will never begin my journey with fitness.
Spiritually speaking, what is perfect weather?  When I get my life straightened out first, then I will start on the thing God is calling me to.  After I quit smoking I will start going to church.  When my friend asks me about church, I will invite them to join me.  When I don't have any appointments for a week, I will do a 7 day fast.  When I make enough money, I will start to tithe.
Perfect weather is a VERY rare thing.  Sometimes it comes along, but I'm married to a farmer and he is a master at this.  Even if we get rain that we've been praying for, I will be excited and bring it up with him.  It either rained too much (extremely rare), too little, too much wind with it, too quick, not in the right field.  I tease my husband often about never being satisfied or being pessimistic, but farmers are more in tune with the weather than most.  I was hoping my husband would come home early from corn harvesting last night because of the rain we got the night before, but as soon as the ground was able to hold a combine, he was back in the field to harvest.  Bring it in!  If a cloudy day or a forecast of rain scared him out of the field, the grain would rot without ever being harvested.  If they waited for ideal planting conditions, they may not get the planting done.
Figuratively speaking, there are always situations that would scare us "out of the field."  I like to call them reasons, but really they are excuses.  There is an old hymn that say,  "Just as I am..."  God does take us just as we are.  Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." NIV  It doesn't say that when the weather of our lives is perfect, His death is for us.  Truly, if we were to try to be good or do good without His grace or Holy Spirit, we would be unsuccessful.  Sure, back in week 1 the weather for me was more perfect because as a linear thinker actually starting something in the middle of the process.  Regardless, I need to make today my starting point or else I will never start.

Searching for Significance: A journey in thought and prayer

Searching for significance
Is it approval?  Is it significance?  What do I seek when among friends?  Do my stories need to be greater, funnier, or even told to be counted a friend or active participant in a group?  How can one who laughs and carries on feel lonely in the laughter?
Knowing you've over-stepped the boundaries of comfortable you try to withdraw.  That not being an option, you try to cover it up, blending insecurity with not so funny tales.  Sympathetic laughter echoes in the hollowness of the soul closed off.  Heart discussion cut off as you listen half-heatedly to another baring their soul and receiving the same response from you as you perceived from them.
Talking, laughing, preparing what you will say next, not even in reply.  Listening, listening, who is listening.  We have not been listening.  ALONE with your thoughts in a crowded room.  Who will hear MY thoughts, MY desires.  Who will agree?  What if no one takes MY position?  Well, there is the problem. . . The overstepped boundaries were not with those in the room.  They were with The Uncreated One.
My righteousness turned into my rightness.  Justified by a sense of knowing Truth.  Most men know truth, but walking in Truth is altogether different.  Isolation that is self-made by the self-righteous one walking around without a thought of others and at the same time worrying about what others think of me.
“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude (Psalms 39:4, 5 NLT)
Let me again die to self.  Let me find peace in You!  That is where my significance lies.  Eternity awaits!
Walking in step with You and following You brought me to these beloved friends.  Reading your Word and letting it roll off the barrier of me that I've erected rather than allowing it to penetrate my heart is not working.  Walking within this place of self is lonely.  Hide me in You!
If I have that assurance that You have gone before me and I haven't drug You along as an afterthought, I will be at ease.  If at that time I am to walk in solitude from this world, I will be contented in knowing that the One who matters is my Guide.  I trust You!  I cling to You!  I am not alone!  And You have provided those who will walk alongside me in this life because You love me.  I'm forever indebted to You, my Breath, my Joy, my Savior.
Thank You for the breakthrough in this obstacle!  Take me to the next level!  Help me to obey on each step of the journey!    In Your beautiful Name, Jesus, I pray.  Amen.

Basic Bible Study - Conclusion

Previous Lessons
Part 1 - Parts of the Bible Part 2 - Bible Translations, Paraphrases and Reading Plans Part 3 - Bible Footnotes and Maps Part 4 - Digital Bible Study Part 5 -Journals Part 6 - Highlighting and Noticing Patterns Part 7 - Application using 5 W's Part 8 - Application of the Bible Part 9 - Topical Bible Study Part 10 - Basic Word Study

Part 11 - Wrapping it up

Hopefully all who have read these lessons or studied live with us have been able to glean at least something from our lessons.  We started by learning the very basics and went through to learning how to do a word study by going to the original language of the Bible.  This study only scratched the surface of the ways one can study the Bible.

Another method that we discussed briefly in class is the S.O.A.P. method of study.  Start with SCRIPTURE where you write down that scripture.  Then comes OBSERVATION where you take note of the observations you've made about the scripture.  Next is APPLICATION where you discover how to apply the scripture.  Last is PRAYER where you ask for God's help to apply the scripture to your daily life.
The main objective that I would have for you is that you begin to at least read the Word of God for yourself. Starting this is key.  I hope now you feel you have a place to start.

All of the lessons in this study go hand in hand with each other.  Maybe you'll use lesson 6 and 8 togehter.  Maybe you will use 3 and 6 and 9 in the same study.  There are many combinations and many methods.  There are also some resources that we talked about in our classroom that haven't been on the blog.  One of those is The Bare Bones Bible Handbook by Jim George.  There is also Halley's Bible Handbook.  There are so many Study Bibles available as well with great commentary.  Some of them are interest-based like the Worship, Spirit Filled Life, Life Application, Student, Archaeological, and version-based Study Bibles.  Those just name a few.

I end with a list of tools you can use to study the Word of God on your own.  Please do not forget that we need each other as well.  Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.  Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."

·         Table of Contents

·         Footnotes

·         Cross-References

·         Maps

·         YouVersion

·         E-sword

·         Other Digital Bibles

·         Journal

·         Bible Study Helps books/Handbooks

·         Highlighters

·         Noticing Patterns

·         Symbols with different personal meanings

·         5 W’s

·         Application Worksheets

·         Strong’s Concordance

·         1828 Webster’s Dictionary or other reliable dictionary

·         Thesaurus

·         Topical Bible

·         Study Bible

·         In-Bible Concordance

·         In-Bible Index or dictionary or other reference

·         Parallel Studies

·         Context – before and after the verse

·         Chapter introductions

·         S.O.A.P study

Basic Bible Study - Part 10

Previous Lessons
Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9

Lesson 10.0 Basic Word Study

This week we will learn a very basic form of word study.  A word study is when you find a word from the Bible and look it up in its original Hebrew or Greek.

 

Let’s first review a few points.  The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew/Aramaic and the New Testament was written in Greek.  There have been many translators who’ve translated the Bible into English as well as other languages and none of the translations are “purer” than others because the word “love,” for example, encompasses several different original Bible words so sometimes we need to know the Bible word that was originally written to mean love if we want a better understanding of the text.

We don’t have to rely on scholars or teachers to give us this information, the tools are available to us at the library and at church and at the bookstore.  We just need to know what to look for.  There is something called a Greek Lexicon or a Hebrew Lexicon and they are valuable tools; however, for the average Bible student they go very deep and you have to understand the Greek or Hebrew alphabets to be able to use them.  If you’d like more information on these, you’ll have to seek out that information and it is out there, but it will be a significant investment of your time.

One of the simplest ways to do a word study is with a King James Bible and Strong’s Concordance.  The Strong’s concordance was made specifically to give definition to every word used in the King James translation.  You will notice that the word, “cometh,” is not in the NIV.  There are concordances written for other translations as well, but the Strong’s has been proven and used for many years.  Another tool that is good to use with the Strong’s Concordance is a Webster’s Dictionary that was published in 1828.  Why that year?  That was the year that the King James Bible was first written, so in order to understand the definitions of the period, we need a dictionary of that period.  One of the words in the KJV is “thong.”  Today’s definition is not the same as the previous.  John was saying that he wasn’t worthy of untying Jesus’ sandals … it had nothing to do with undergarments.  While that example may be humorous, there are others that could make our understanding of His Word a little skewed.

The first step in doing a word study is finding the word you’d like to search out. 

Let’s start with just one verse.  Isaiah 55:6 KJV  “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.”

If we open the concordance to MAIN CONCORDANCE, there are headers on the left upper corner of the left page and right upper corner of the right page just like a dictionary. 

We will start with SEEK as it is the first word in the passage. 

Once we find the word SEEK in the Main Concordance section we will look for “Isa 55:6” to give us the Strong’s number for the word, SEEK.  Some English words have multiple Hebrew words that could mean the same thing.  In Isaiah 55:6, SEEK is given the Strong’s number “1875.”  Notice that this number is in standard type and some other numbers are in italics.  Standard type is Hebrew and italics are Greek words.

We are not at the end of this search.  Now we need to go to the next section of Strong’s that is the HEBREW AND CHALDEE DICTIONARY and find number 1875.  You will find a similar entry to this:

דּרשׁ

dârash, daw-rash'; A primitive root; properly to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search); by implication to seek or ask; specifically to worship: - ask, X at all, care for, X diligently, inquire, make inquisition, [necro-] mancer, question, require, search, seek [for, out], X surely.

This may be a bit confusing to look at, but we can gather from this entry that the possible meanings of this word are to follow; by implication to seek or ask; specifically to worship.  The words that follow that are not in italics are possible translations of the word in to English.

That is just the first word of the verse.  Follow the same steps for the rest of the words in the verse.  Words like "ye," "with," and "the" are actually found between the Main Concordance and the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary in a section they refer to as Appendix as they are quite frequently used.  Also remember that some phrases in English are only one word in other languages and vice versa.  The only way to find out the exact original text is to use the original text and go back to English.  This is an imperfect way of word study, but it is effective for the basic scholar.

These instructions do sound complicated, but once you’ve looked up a few words, you’ll begin to get the hang of it.  If you recall, we discussed e-Sword in a previous lesson.  If you look at the translation KJV+, the program has done the footwork for you.  Instead of using standard lettering and italics, they use numbers like H1875 and G111.  If you hover over the number, the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary or the Greek Dictionary of the New Testament entry will appear in a pop-up box.  This method saves a lot of time, but not every word of every verse has a number associated with it.

Then we can also look up the words in the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary.  Here is the entry for Seek as copied from e-Sword:

Seek

SEEK, v.t. pret and pp. sought, pronounced sawt. [L. sequor, to follow; for to seek is to go after, and the primary sense is to advance, to press, to drive forward, as in the L.  peto.]

1. To go in searh or quest of; to look for; to search for by going from place to place.

The man asked him, saying, what seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethen.

Gen 37.

2. To inquire for; to ask for; to solicit; to endeavor to find or gain by any means.

The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. Psa 104.

He found no place for repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. Heb 12

 Others tempting him, sought of him a sign. Luke 11.

3.Seek is followed sometimes by out or after. To seek out, properly implies to look for a specific thing among a number. But in general, the use of out and after with seek, is unnecessary and inelegant.

To seek God, his name, or his face, in Scripture, to ask for his favor, direction and assistance. Psa 83.

God seeks men, when he fixes his love on them, and by his word and Spirit, and the righteousness of Christ, reclaims and recovers them from their miserable condition as sinners.

Ezek 34. Psa 119. Luke 15.

To seek after the life, or soul, to attempt by arts or machinations; or to attempt to destroy or ruin. Psa 35.

To seek peace, or judgement, to endeavor to promote it; or to practice it.

Psa 34. Isa 1.

To seek an altar, temple, or habitation, to frequent it; to restore to it often.

2 Chr 1. Amos 5.

To seek out God's works, to endeavor to understand them. Psa 111.

Here is a worksheet to help you get started

LESSON 10.0 Worksheet

What translation of the Bible do you need to use with the Strong’s Concordance?

Are there other reliable concordances available?

Why should we use the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary when studying with the Strong’s Concordance and King James Version of the Bible?

HOMEWORK

If you have e-sword or a Strong’s Concordance and King James Version Bible, look up one of your favorite verses and see if your understanding of that verse changes or stays the same after searching the words in it.

Look up the word “loved” from John 3:16.  What is the Greek word used? 

Is that your understanding of how God loved the world?

Basic Bible Study - Part 9

Previous lessons

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8

Lesson 9.0 Topical Bible Study

Here is where I am going to veer off my original plan and switch lessons 9 and 10 around.  We will learn about topical Bible study today and next week about basic word studies.  Word study is one of the more complicated subjects, but topical studies can be a stepping stone into word studies.

Most Bibles have a concordance of their own.  We will use the larger Strong’s Concordance next week, but this week we will be using the concordance that we carry with us in our own Bibles.  If you look at the back of your Bible, you might find a concordance.  It often is limited in its content.  There are several advantages to this type of concordance.  First of all, it is attached to your Bible, so you don’t need a table full of books to use it.  I like to use mine in bed as I read at night.  Second, it has the same wording that your Bible has so you don’t have to find make sure your Bible and Concordance match translations.  Third, if it is the Bible you are use to using, you can become familiar with it quickly.  Finally, it is concise so you don’t have to wade through a bunch of entries to find what you’re looking for.

On the flip side while the back of your Bible’s concordance is concise, you may not find the verse you’re looking for.  The Hebrew or Greek word or definition is not often available in these concordances.

A concordance is not a dictionary, but more like the key is to a map.  Not every word in a Bible will be in a concordance.  For instance“articles” are not in there, so you won’t find every – and, the, a.  Looking at the verse, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  You would likely find the words, “God, loved, world, gave, begotten, son, whosoever, believeth, him, perish, everlasting, life.”  These would be key words to look for in the concordance.  

Why is do we need these?  One reason could be to find the verse.  If you remember the verse but not the reference, you can use one of those words to find where it is located in the Bible.  I would liken it to an internet search engine.  If I wanted to find out how to make chocolate milk, I could find it with the word “chocolate”or “milk.”  In the concordance, rather than giving me website options, I get scripture options.  If I look up “world,” in the back of one Bible, I get 14 different options including John 3:16, John 7:7 and Titus 2:12, but before each scripture reference, is a phrase from the verse it represents.  “God so loved the w…” is the phrase before John 3:16.  I can then turn to that scripture and see if it is what I was looking for.  Another entry says, “Don’t copy… this w…”Rom 12:2.  The “w” represents the word I looked up “world.”  That particular Bible gave a definition to the word as well.  Not every Bible Concordance will do that.

Here is an sample of the concordance entry from the NIV Study Bible for the word, "world."

Sometimes during a sermon, the pastor or teacher will share a thought or verse or something that triggers a verse in my head that may pertain.  I might flip to my concordance and look up a key word from that verse so I can find it while he/she’s preaching/teaching.  If I can find it, I add it to my notes.  When I go back over my notes from the sermon or teaching, I have the beginnings of a new personal Bible study.  I can go to footnotes or cross-references and get a bigger picture of what God is saying about that message.

The lesson today is about topical Bible study and it took me a bit to get there, but that you have a bigger understanding of the concordance use, we can discuss how it can be a valuable tool in topical study.  My kids and I did a month of lessons on “Trust.”  That is a big topic, so the curriculum writer has narrowed the areas down so at one point we learned about sheep.  Sheep trust their shepherd.  The Bible refers to sheep a lot and Jesus refers to us a sheep and God being the shepherd.  I want to know more about this.  While the people of Jesus' time and area of the world could relate to sheep, I cannot fully grasp the inferences.  I've worn wool and seen sheep in real life,but know nothing about their habits, so I did a topical study on them.   I went to my concordance for a good starting place.  I looked up, "sheep," and I looked up, "Shepherd."  Once I found a few verses about them, there was another word that was commonly used, "Flock."  It became another word I looked up.  Other words that were used in my search were: Sheepfold, wool, lamb and staff.  You can make a topical study quick or as lengthy as you want.  It's your study and either way you will learn.

I can also look up things like anger or sadness or joy or fishing.  If the Lord lays a word on your heart, check it out in The Word.  My language may not make sense to you, but if there is a word you hear in conversation or one just pops in your mind, especially in prayer, it may be something to look up.  I had the word “ubiquitous” randomly pop into my head.  I didn't even know what it meant.  The first place I went was not the concordance, it was a dictionary and since I like electronic devices, I actually used dictionary.com on my phone.  Instant gratification… it means the same as omnipresent.  Everywhere.  At that point, I found another search I could do in the Bible. It didn't take long… neither word is in the Bible according to the few translations I used.  Though I heard the word omnipresent as I was growing up in Sunday School, it was strange for me to find that it was not actually in the Bible.  The Bible does describe in several places, however, that God is everywhere.

There are a few other books that are useful for topical studies.  Some are devotional books and some are encouraging mini books.  There are topical Bibles as well.  There are many emails going around with multiple scriptures on a subject too.  A way to make these things into a study can be to look up the verse about a topic and then go back and look at the verses surrounding it as we've done before to get the context.  Then you can go to footnotes and cross-references and ... you get the idea.

One book that I have that is topical was given to me as I graduated from High School.  It is called, "God's Promises for the Graduate," published by Thomas Nelson Publishers.  There are headings in the table of contents that lead to pages of scriptures related to that topic.  One such topic in that book, for example, is "For in Times of Anger."  There are 21 scriptures that are quoted in that section.  One of them is Ephesians 4:31-32 NKJV "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you."  If I need to know more of what the Bible says about anger (likely I do) I can look up all of those scriptures in context and make a great study out of them.

LESSON 9.0 Worksheet

When would you use the concordance in your Bible?

Do concordances in the back of most Bibles give every scripture reference for each entry?

Does every back of Bible concordance also include definitions for the words?

Are dictionaries useful for topical studies?

Homework:

Is there a topic that is dear to you that you've been curious about?  Don’t wait for Joel Osteen or some great preacher/teacher to write a book about it.  Look up the key word(s) and search out the Word of God concerning that topic over the next few weeks.

Basic Bible Study - Part 8

Previous Lessons

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7

LESSON 8.0 Application of the Word.  

It is amazing to me to see how something recorded so many years ago can still apply to me today.  Some scriptures are plain: Acts 2:38 “Repent and be baptized…” while others  may be a little confusing.  Mark 10:21 “Go and sell everything you have ...”   There is more to each of these phrases and that is when we need to focus on learning to apply the word.  Often times, when you do a devotional or even look on Facebook, there is a scripture just pulled out.  One stand alone verse.  While this is appropriate in its intent, if you want to know the full meaning of each verse, you need to go deeper.

Let’s start with one verse and see how we can put application to it.

I John 1:9 NIV  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness.”

This verse can definitely stand alone or be used with other scriptures especially when beginning or leading someone into a relationship with Christ.  Let’s take a closer look and apply it.  Let’s read it in context.  That means read what comes before it and what comes after it.  Open your Bible to I John 1:9.  What is a good place to start?  What is a good place to end?  Letting the Bible interpret itself is a wonderful way to study it.  Some may look at our Bible's subheadings as my NIV Life Application Bible shows a subheading just before  I John 1:5 that says, "Walking in the Light."  Others may wish to go to the beginning of the chapter.  If you don't understand a verse by reading the verse or two before it, go back further.  This may mean to go to the beginning of a book or a chapter.  My life Application Bible continues a section from I John 1:5 to I John 2:14.  This may all be necessary to read to understand the true intent of that single verse.

Let’s look at a few other places in the Bible and use 2 different application worksheets.  The first one is called “Application Worksheet.”  This and the other worksheets in this lesson are adapted from “Inductive Bible Study Handbook from Leadership Resources International.  I have looked into trying to order more of this book, but it has no ISBN and I can’t find them online.  The front cover said to photocopy and put to use. While I do not understand if there would be a copyright infringement by using those sheets on a blog, I have recreated them and really they do look a lot different, the ideas are just the same.  This first one is not intended to be completely filled out because not every passage covers everything on this worksheet.

Look at Matthew 6: 19-34 and use it with this sheet.  This passage is loaded so we can fill out several sections of the worksheet.  You also may have more than one answer for each question.  Is there a lesson to learn? Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Is there a prayer to pray?  I don't see a specific prayer to pray her, but if I look at Matthew 6:9-13, I would find a whole prayer.  Is there a sin to confess?  This is personal.  If there is an instruction in this passage that I struggle with as sin, I would likely write it here.  Is there a promise to claim?  Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Is there a message to share?  There are several messages in this text.  This is a place where you need to have the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Some of these messages need to be shared, but if you do so in your own power, you could turn people away.  If I go to my wealthy Christian friend and say, "You can't serve both God and money!"  I don't think it would be well received.  That is likely me judging my friend saying that they worship their money.  Is there an instruction to obey?  This is similar to the first question.  Do not worry about your life.  (One of several answers that can go here)  Is there a conflict to avoid?  Again, this is a personal application so if you struggle with money, maybe that is a conflict you need to avoid.  Is there an example to follow?  One could say that we should follow the example of the sparrow and don't worry about what you will eat.   Is there a new understanding to embrace?  There could be if you've never really noticed any of these teachings before.  Is there an attribute of God to marvel?  My heavenly Father knows my needs.  Each person who fills out this sheet will fill it out differently from others.  You really don't even need this sheet, you can just keep these thoughts in mind as you read new scripture.  You can answer some of these questions in your journal as well.

The next worksheet we will look at is a character worksheet.  It is possibly a little more thought provoking .  Here is one reason that this type of worksheet would be good.  If you’ve ever been told something like, “You have the heart of David.” or, "You have an Esther anointing."  It is important to review the Word and find out exactly what David or Esther did.  David is spoken of over a long portion of the Bible and though Esther is a small book, we’ll use something that is fresh in our memory from a recent study.

Let’s look at the Character Jonah.  Last week we looked at the book about him, this week, let’s look at some character things.  We will find out about him in his book, Jonah.

Jonah is mentioned in the Bible in the Old Testament book of Jonah.  He is also mentioned in Matthew 12:37,39,40,41; Matthwe 16:4,17; Luke 11:28,30,32 and II Kings 14:25.  I found this by doing a search on my digital Bible e-Sword.  When I searched on YouVersion, it misinterpreted my search and looked for John as well.

Always remember that when we use a new method of study or a new worksheet that we still have all of the other things we’ve talked about to go back to as well: footnotes, commentaries, cross-references, 5 W’s and patterns.

Here are 2 other possible worksheets to use.  They will be used in the homework section.

Lesson 8.0

Each new lesson adds to the previous.  Now that we are learning to apply the Bible, we can use the previous lessons to help.  Name 2 of these things:

In your own words, describe why it would be valuable to you to study a certain character of the Bible.  This answer doesn’t have to be the one given in class.

Homework

Use “Personal Application Worksheet” to look at Matthew 6:19-34 again.  Use “Parable Study Worksheet” to look at the Parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:30-37.

Basic Bible Study - Part 7

Previous Lessons
Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6

Lesson 7.0

We’ve talked a lot about the Bible and how it is laid out.  We’ve gone through types and translations and digital Bibles.  We’ve talked about some observations and highlighting last week.  Now after 6 weeks, we finally get to start digging a little deeper into the Word of God.  Over the next 4 plus weeks, we are going to learn a few methods for studying the Bible.  Some of these will be with pre-made worksheets.  It obviously will not take a worksheet to do any of these methods, but as we learn them the worksheets will be a guide.  There is no need to become frustrated if you don’t do well with the method we discuss each week.  There are many more ways to study God’s Word and we will find one that works for you.

If you’ve discovered a method that looks neat, but you struggle with it, share it with me and I’ll try and figure it out and we can go through it as a class.  One thing about questions is that often times you are not the only one with that question, but maybe are just the first one with the courage to ask it.  You’re welcome to ask questions at any point or even say that you don’t agree or like something that we do.

Tonight we are going to discuss the 5 W’s.  Through school, we’ve been encouraged to look at them when reading for comprehension and when writing.  The 5 W’s are WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and WHY.  We can also add a HOW to that list if we want to.  If we apply it to the scripture, it is a great resource as well.  One of the things that may be a trip-up, though is that you may not be able to find the answer to a few of these questions.  For me a finished worksheet with blanks is daunting, but it is okay not to have all of the answers.

This is one way of doing the 5 W's worksheet.  This has been designed by me with no references.  Feel free to copy and paste it, adapt it to fit your needs, but please do not sell it.

This is another way of doing the 5 W's worksheet.  This has been designed by me with no references.  Feel free to copy and paste it, adapt it to fit your needs, but please do not sell it.

Often times the text itself will give us all of the information we need to understand the 5W’s.  Sometimes it is not there, but the introduction to a book will give us assistance.  Do note that not all Bible publishers agree on this information and so since we weren’t there at the time it was written, we just need to trust God for His direction.  A good thing to do before studying the Bible is to pray over it.  We need not bank our relationship with God and the study of His Word on humanity.  God sent us His Holy Spirit to help guide us in these things.

Why would we not be able to find out the information on this sheet?

First of all is the WHO.  Not every author of Bible books is known, so if a scholar with a life-long career in Bible research doesn’t know an author, we should not feel upset if we don’t find that answer.  The who can also be characters in a story or people groups.  Sometimes it is implied and sometimes it is a cultural implication.  We as Americans will not understand the intent.

Next is WHAT.  More often than not we will find a “what” in the scripture.  The what can be a situation or an object or structure or idea.  If it is not obvious right away, we don’t have to fret and we can come back to it.

WHEN.  When is very often difficult to determine.  Sometimes the best answer we can get is daytime or springtime.  Sometimes it is a specific time like the 12^th day of the month of Adar.  There are calendars and helps that can assist us in figuring out the season and comparable date on the Gregorian calendar. 

WHERE.  The where can be in bed or in a specific town or country.  In a boat can also be where.

WHY.  This section is often up to interpretation.  Sometimes the Word gives it plainly.  This is one that we can often get hung up on and many Christians actually debate them.

HOW.  Sometimes a scripture will say that the "how" is to believe … Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and You will be saved. (not in quotes because it may not be exact)  So the answer to, “How can I be saved?” is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

We will go through some worksheets together looking at the Book of Jonah.

Here is an example of how a 5W's worksheet could look when it is filled out.  Everyone in the class had their sheets filled out differently.  No one way is right or wrong.

Lesson 7.0 worksheet

T/F  You should keep studying a scripture until all sections of the 5W’s page is filled out.

T/F  There can be more than one answer to any of the 5W’s

What is one place to look outside of the chapters and verses to find answers to the 5 W’s?

If you’ve been successful at journaling, try writing the 5 W’s out in your journal as you study a passage and document it there.

HOMEWORK

Finish looking at the book of Jonah and answer the 5 W’s for each chapter.  If we finish it in class, try the book of Jude.  It is only one chapter long, but some of the answers may be a little more difficult to find.