Kaleidoscope

A few months ago my niece spent some time at my home. When she was here, she brought with her a kit to make a kaleidoscope. The outside had a few templates and colored pencils would complete the design that would be most evident at first glance of the toy. She colored it quickly and beautifully as was no surprise to me. It was ready to be assembled with the mirror to give the view of the pretty design. The chamber of shapes was neat. There was confetti and different shapes that float in a circular chamber.
When the completed kaleidoscope is in use, only a small wedge is truly seen and a reflection is repeated to make a new design. The shapes within the circular chamber aren't always recognized, but a fantastic pattern emerges in its place. As the chamber is rotated, the view changes and dazzles eyes, but the whole of reality is never seen again.
I had a dream where there was some type of calamity where the inside of a shopping center was in shambles. There were people and merchandise scattered awry and I was a news reporter. My associate and I were given a few moments to discuss and witness the scene and then we were to report on it. I'm ashamed to say that I saw the clothes first scattered and thought about the mess. Upon closer observation, I saw the people. Their lives shaken. They were being photographed in their various states of crisis. Some girls with their legs exposed as they had fallen in skirts. My dream didn't have blood, but there was obvious injury by the position of people. When it was time to report, I could only think of a kaleidoscope. Even I, with a first hand view could never see the full picture.
In life, I often miss reality because I am dazzled by the piece of the world I can see and it's distortions. Satisfied with the picture I get, I don't look for more. The world is in chaos! People are dying! I saw a picture of a world leader who recently died with a joke beside it as he was known as a Tyrant and his enemies are gloating. It disturbs me that this was a lost soul. I chose not to look at that image again. I will shuffle the images that are in my view until it is pleasing again and forget what is hidden. This is the way I carry on day after day. I shuffle the bad until its out of view.
I was going to say that this is an epidemic in Christianity, but I will dare to expand it to say this is an epidemic in America. Some people choose a pleasant view and some choose to keep an offended view, others have a mixture and feel they have perspective. Really only a very slim few are truly not looking through kaleidoscope view.
I Corinthians 13 says that we see through a glass dimly. Some translations say that we see a dim reflection in a mirror... So true! Like the kaleidoscope view, the picture that we see this side of heaven will never be complete. That doesn't mean that we should ignore what we choose not to see. In fact, everything that will come into our view in the future is affected by the portion that we cannot see at the present. In a kaleidoscope, the unseen portion is likely 80% or more of the possible whole. And every time the toy is shaken, the view changes. It will never look exactly the same again because the part we could not see shifts into view and things are rearranged. We never know when something that has left our view will reemerge either.
I don't yet have a conclusion to this analogy. There are so many directions that it could go ... I guess it's like a kaleidoscope in itself. Each of us can take the chamber of shapes and twist or shake it to see our new view of it.
I guess I will end with this: I can do a lot of things myself or let the environment change my view randomly or I can ask God to align my vision with His. May the eyes of my heart be enlightened.

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.

Basic Bible Study - Part 6

Previous Posts
Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5

Lesson 6.0  Highlighting and noticing patterns.

We will cover 2 topics this week.  We will first discuss highlighting in our Bibles and then patterns.  The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of highlights in the Bible is a line from The Incredibles movie.  “… once we’re all super, no one will be.”  This was said by Syndrome the villain when he wanted to destroy all the super heroes in the world and then sell people gadgets to give them pseudo-super powers.  This, for me, is true of highlighting in the Bible as well.  If every word of every page is highlighted, then nothing stands out anymore. 

I can’t say that there is no wrong way to highlight after that last little example, but different people will feel that a different portion of scripture is in need of a second look and that is what they will highlight.  I’ve been in services where the minister tells the congregation to underline something or highlight something.  It isn’t wrong for him to say that, but not everyone likes to write in their Bible.  Often I’ve already got that part highlighted.

There have been times where I can think of a scripture but can’t remember where it is in the Bible.  The things I remember are that it was on the bottom of a page near the end of the Bible and it was on the right-hand page.  Because I had it highlighted, I found it again.  I’ve also been in  a circumstance and flipped open my Bible and found a highlighted spot that was a perfect encouragement that I needed in that moment.

I’ve known of people who will read through the Bible in a year and use a yellow highlighter as they read.  The next year, they highlight in green and so on so that they can have a color journal of what spoke to them the most each year.  I think that’s awesome, but I don’t always stick to a plan that long.  I had planned to only highlight the scriptures that speak of love in pink and then Christian life in green and different colors for different categories of scripture.  Anything that I couldn't categorize, I highlighted yellow if I liked it a lot.  Develop your plan for colors.  If you can stick with it, it may enhance future reading.

I have highlighters especially made for Bible pages because they’re so thin.  I also have regular highlighters.  It really is not going to make or break you on what type you buy.  I even underline sometimes with my regular pen, but I need a ruler or a bookmark to get the lines straight.  Colors are a personal preference.

Let’s practice this skill and see what we all think is important.  It will be interesting to learn.  PLEASE do not be ashamed if you don’t feel like any piece of the passage should be highlighted.  The goal of this drill is to see the variations of different methods of highlighting.  This will not make you a better scholar or a worse one.

Patterns

Some of you may have noticed a pattern in this scripture passage and that is what you chose to highlight.  There have been times when the Lord repeatedly said, “IF  you will… THEN I will…”  I call this a pattern.  In Numbers 29 there is a definite pattern set forth under the feast of tabernacles.  I’ve learned that when God says something more than once, it is time to take notice.

When studying the Bible it is good to notice patterns.  There is several ways that we can notate a pattern as well.  One thing is to highlight the repeated word or words.  This will stand out to us the next time we open the Bible to that particular passage.  We can journal what we’ve noticed as a pattern.  When we journal things, we may have journalled it before and then flip back those few pages and recall what the Lord was speaking to us in the first incident where that something was mentioned.  It is okay to just read the Bible and enjoy it, but when we start noticing these patterns and things that God speaks through the Word, it becomes alive in us.

Another way to document a pattern is to write a symbol by that particular scripture.  I’ve written a cross by scripture in the Old Testament that refers to Christ.  I’ve put a heart by things that mention His love.  If you can draw a small shape, you can do these methods.  An asterisk can set apart a few verses as well.  We started learning to notice patterns in preschool and now we can apply that to the study of the Word of God.

You’re likely finding out that anything that you used in school to help you with your studies can be used in studying the Bible.  Write in the margins of your Bible.  Put a date when you studied that passage in the past... that date can be significant later in life.  When I studied in college for classes, I underlined or highlighted the things that I thought I would need to know for a test.  I wrote notes in the margin from lectures.  That is not different from Life.  The Bible is our guide to life.  It might just do us some good to have some things marked or highlighted that will help us on our journey through life.

Worksheet Lesson 6.0

What guideline will you use when highlighting in your Bible?

Have you ever been hesitant to make marks in your Bible?              Why or why not?

Has your view of highlighting changed or stayed the same since this lesson?

Homework

Read Psalm 119 this week.  Notice the pattern in this scripture.  There is a theme throughout this chapter and it revolves around a group of words with similar meaning.  Feel free to highlight favorite verses or mark repeated words.

Basic Bible Study - Part 5

Previous Lessons:
Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4

Lesson 5.0

Writing in a journal is not required to be a Christian, but it really can enhance the study of the Bible.  Not only can it help in Bible Study, but it can be a reminder of what you’ve journeyed through in your Christian walk.  Better than that, it can help you remember what God has done for you.

You can write your thoughts.  You can write a scripture that inspires you.  You can write a “Sermon” or teaching that the Lord lays on your heart.  You can take notes from what you hear in church in your journal.

A journal is not necessarily a fancy book, although it certainly can be.  Some journals are just a notebook that never gets the pages torn out.  Sometimes having a nice looking book can help encourage you to journal.  Fancy or plain, a record of what you’ve studied or thought or experienced is sometimes more valuable than money to you in the future.  It could carry you through a rough time in your life.

Sometimes a dream that God gave you is very important to write down.  If you have a peculiar dream, it is important to write it down as soon as you get a chance.  If you later realize it is from God, the details will be important as you find its interpretation.  The fact that Pharoah dreamed of fat and skinny cows really made a big difference when it came to interpretation.  Cows just eating cows could mean that there is just cannibalism in the land.

Sometimes, if you learned what a word means, you might write down every verse you find with that word in it.  It can enhance the things you already know and it gives you a bigger picture of God.  Also, you can draw pictures or doodles in a journal.  You can do a combination of words and pictures.  You can write song lyrics in your journal that have meant a lot to you.  Clip articles from newspapers or magazines and paste them in your journal.  Possibilities are vast.

In today's world, keeping a digital journal may be easier for some people.  It is certainly more compact.  One can journal using any word processor and save it to his or her device or computer.  This can be private or print and share experiences.  Some people journal on social networking sites as notes.  If you tweet, all that you tweet is public and you can reflect on your life from various status updates and tweets.  Some people blog as a journal and others do photo journals.  What ever form of digital journal you choose, first decide if it is public or private, then look at the possibilities of where to journal.  I have actually used the voice recorder on my phone to capture thoughts or even songs that I have written so that I can go back and find them again.  This is private, but can be considered a journal.

Jeremiah 30:1 CEV
1  The LORD God of Israel said, "Jeremiah, get a scroll and write down everything I have told you."

Worksheet Lesson 5.0

T/F  Writing in a journal is every Christian’s duty.
T/F  Writing in a journal may enhance your Bible study time.
T/F  There is no wrong way to journal.
T/F  Digital journaling is always public.

Homework
Purchase a notebook or journal or revive an old one this week and write in it with your Bible reading 3 times this week.  Do not limit yourself.  If you find that you enjoy journaling, do it daily.  Look into some preprinted journals if you prefer to journal that way.

Basic Bible Study - Part 4

Previous Lessons:

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Two main digital Bible sources will be used for this study.  The first is e-sword, a downloadable Bible that is free to users, but some versions of the Bible and commentaries cost money as they are copyrighted.  The next is YouVersion which is a free online Bible with many versions to choose from.  It is available from any web browser, but also as an app for apple, blackberry, android and other smartphones and devices including the Kindle Fire.  To read many translations from YouVersion, you must be connected to the internet.  Some versions are available for download.  There are also other Bibles to download to kindles or electronic devices as well as Bibles that are a device in themselves.  The variety is vast, but with the covering of two types, hopefully the others will be understandable as well.

The first type of digital Bible study, e-sword is a downloadable Bible.  You only have to be connected to the internet for downloading the program.  When you use it, you will not need to connect to the internet.  You can find it at www.e-sword.net .  Once you go to that page, you will find a “button” on the right side that says, “Download e-sword now.”  

If you scroll to the bottom of the next page there will be 2 options.  If you’ve never downloaded the program before, you need to do the first option which is e-Sword v10.1.0 application installation .  

Click the down arrow button and follow steps from there.  If you feel more comfortable, you can have someone else walk you through those steps.  The benefit of this is that the Bible is stored on your computer and not the web.  There is less chance of a tampered with version of the Bible that way.

The highlights are added by the user.  The actual program has clearer print than this image.  It is a screenshot provided by the website.

The ease or difficulty of using e-sword will depend on how comfortable the user is with using the computer.  The books of the Bible are listed on the right.  You may download as many translations/versions of the Bible as you desire, but know that several of them cost money and it is an online transaction.  Those decisions are a personal choice, but there are many features that are beneficial and free.  We will walk through it as a class.  If you are only reading the blog, you are welcome to download this free version of the Bible.  If you so desire to help the developers of this excellent resource, there is a place to donate on their page.

Unfortunately I do not own a mac computer and cannot show how to get to the program using one.  I'm sure fluent mac users will have no difficulty finding the program on their computers.

The next digital Bible is an application and not a download.  The information is stored on the internet and a connection to the internet is necessary to read the Bible through it.  There are some downloadable versions of the Bible that can be stored to your device, but switching versions requires an internet connections when the Bible is in use.  The website is www.youversion.com .  If you create an account online, you can link your account to an app that you install on your smartphone, iPad, iPod, kindle, tablet or other electronic device.  When you go to the app store of your device, this Bible can easily be found by doing a search for, "YouVersion."   It is difficult to talk about what to do with these apps, so the rest of the class will be dedicated to using them.  If you are not in class, the best way to find out how to use the app is to just experiment.  Following this paragraph, I have included a tutorial on the use of YouTube.  It is just over 9 minutes long, so you can be prepared with your time if you are interested in watching this.  He uses an iPad, but other devices have similar use.  There are more videos with instruction on their use on YouTube and maybe even GodTube.

Worksheet Lesson 4.0

1. True/False  There are only 2 trustworthy digital Bibles

2. True/False  You don’t need an internet connection for e-sword after its installation is complete.

3. List any other digital Bibles that you’ve heard of or actually used.

Assignment:

Check out the digital Bibles that we’ve talked about this week and see if either of them are right for you.  If you don’t like it, there is nothing wrong with that, just keep reading your print Bible and you will be on a great path.  If you use a digital Bible that requires a password and user name, keep those in a safe place.  There is nothing wrong with opening a few accounts if you forget your user name or password, but many programs will only allow an email address to be used one time.

Find Mark 10:45 on a digital Bible