"Read your Bible, pray everyday. Read your Bible, pray everyday. Read your Bible, pray
everyday, & you'll grow, grow, GROW!"
My Grammie taught me that little ditty when I was just a little girl. Over the years it has come to mind countless times, most often when I hear (eavesdrop) on spiritual & theological discussions that seem to run in circles, so deep is their content. Many have been the times when I have listened in on such discussions only to have my mind reeling, my jaw slack, & a less than intelligent blank stare upon my face. The intellectuals will take a verse like, "Jesus wept" & decipher from those two words that there was one tear shed for every sinful person...while what I got out of it was that Jesus cried. Silly example, but pretty accurate. In these moments I feel dumb. I begin to wonder why I am not capable of such intelligence, of such keen insight into the heart & will of Abba...and then that little song comes back to mind. Regardless of IQ & SAT score there are only 2 ways to know who God is & what makes Him tick...to read His Word & to be in union with Him through prayer.
"Every scripture is God-breathed & profitable for instruction, for reproof & conviction of sin, for correction of error & discipline in obedience, & for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete & proficient, well-fitted & thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
"Your word is a lamp to my feet & a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105)
"God's word is alive & working. It is sharper than the sharpest sword & cuts all the way into us. It cuts deep the the place where the soul & the spirit are joined. God's word cuts to the center of our joints & our bones. It judges the thoughts & feelings in our hearts." (Hebrews 4:12)
If one regards the Bible as utterly true, then it's indisputable that the words within & knowing them is vital to our spiritual health...I've always known this, never doubted it, but that doesn't negate the fact that sometimes trying to decipher the scriptures is like trying to spell Mary Poppins' famous tongue twister, 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (thanks, Wikipedia)...it's befuddling! Over the years I've heard countless messages on developing the discipline of reading the Bible daily, but reading the Word is one thing, understanding it another. This has been a struggle of mine until just a few months ago. I've been teaching Sunday School at our church, & in January we began using the Answers in Genesis curriculum (HIGHLY recommend it!). It is set up so that within 3 years the students will have covered the ENTIRE Bible...so cool! Even cooler than a kindergartner having been through the entirety of the Word is that the first 6 weeks are spent answering common questions of the faith. One Sunday the lesson I was to present was on Hermeneutics...a big word I'd never heard of, but one than transformed my ability to read the Bible. Hermeneutics is the process of studying a text, in this case the Bible. It's 3 simple steps that allow one to read anything, to understand it, & to use it...simple, effective, & faith changing.
Step 1: Observe
Remember back in elementary school when in Language Arts we learned to use the question words; who, what, where, when, why, & how? Well dust off the cobwebs because evidently that was a good lesson to learn! When reading the Bible, we need to ask ourselves those questions. Regardless of whether you're reading a single verse, a chapter, or a whole book it's important to know the answers in order to understand what you're reading. In most Bibles at the beginning of each book a little information box tells about the author, the audience, time period, & summary of the book. This is definitely a good place to start answering the questions above.
Example: Romans
Who: The apostle Paul is writing to the Roman people who were Gentiles (nonJews)
What: This book is about righteousness, God's righteousness & about striving towards righteousness ourselves
Where: Paul was in Corinth while he wrote this letter to the Roman people
When: 57 A.D.
Why: The Roman Gentiles were not familiar with the Law, with God's history & word...they did not know what He expected from His people. Paul wrote to them explaining these things.
Knowing the date of the writing makes it easy to research (I simply google the date & place) what life looked like for the typical person during the time, the historical context. By doing that I learned that when Paul wrote his letter to the Romans in 57 A.D., Nero was emperor of Rome. Nero was a real sweetheart, lemme tell ya. He executed his own mother, murdered his brother, & began the persecution of Christians...knowing all of this, before reading the book of Romans, gives me some foundation to build on & greater understanding. Before I read a single verse, I know why the message is important...these people were suffering & dying for their faith.
Step 2: Interpret
Having background information & an understanding of the historical context lays the groundwork. Now it's time to read a piece of scripture & to decipher it...to interpret it's meaning. There's no shame in using a dictionary to look up unfamiliar words! I've downloaded the Merriam-Webster app on my iPad for this reason alone!
Example: "Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God's love-not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us-nothing created in the whole world-will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39)
We already know that Paul is writing this to the Roman Gentile people. We know that in 57 A.D., these people were enduring the rule of a relentless, immoral emperor, & we know that Paul is writing to tell them about righteousness. Now we can look at this particular verse. Paul is saying that he is utterly positive that nothing- absolutely nothing- can separate us (Roman Gentile Believers) from relationship with God. Can you imagine how encouraging that would have been to those who were facing suffering & possibly death because of their faith?
Step 3: Apply
At the beginning of this post I shared a verse that told how God's word is living & active...it's relevant to you & I today...it makes a difference to us, even 2,000 years later. Now that we know what the verse meant then, we have to ask what it means now...to us. Every piece of scripture is applicable to your life & to mine. We can look at the verse used in the example, knowing that nothing could separate Roman belivers from God's love, & we can know that the same is true for us. For those who believe in Jesus, we are united with the Father...despite circumstance. That's a truth in our lives, & it's powerful!
I have found this Hermeneutics process to be faith changing for me...to be able to read any given scripture, comprehend it, & see why it matters to me...well that's priceless. I hope that walking through it has helped you to see that it is possible to read scripture & comprehend. Hermeneutics: Observe, Interpret, Apply...piece of cake! I want to close by saying I echo the message of having a set aside time to take in God's word, daily. I'm busy, you're busy...we're all running around like chickens with our heads cut off half the time, but this is vital to maturing in faith. Begin with committing to a verse a day. Walk through the Hermeneutics process with each one. Meditate on it, pray about it, & watch God use it in your life! I encourage you to work up to at least 1 Chapter a day...it takes less than 5 minutes...He deserves that. I caution believers to be wary of taking scripture in tiny segments...most often to completely understand, we need to read a good chunk. Abba will honor faithfulness...I've seen firsthand the blessings that come from being diligent about reading His Word. Read your Bible, Pray everyday...and you'll grow, grow, GROW!
Be Blessed!
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