Feb
1
Written by:
clarkj99
2/1/2008 3:10 PM
Originally published by Scott Kirkpatrick
* All Scriptures are from the New International Version (NIV)
(2Co 5:14-15) For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
(Col 3:15-17) Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The goal of bible study is to have fellowship and walk with God through his word.
The goal of bible study is to bring God glory and to live a life worthy of the calling we have received.
The goal of bible study is to be wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Consider the following scripture:
(Ja 1:22-25) Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (1:23) Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror (1:24) and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (1:25) But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
Reflection and Obedience are the two keys to experiencing and learning the word of God.
1.
What is reflection?
“Reflection is the primary tool to trigger learning from experience" (Marsick & Watkins, 1997, p. 304).
"The process of reflection is the core difference between whether a person repeats the same experience several times…or learns from experience in such a way that he or she is cognitively [and] affectively changed" (Boyd & Fales, 1983, p. 100).
We are going to look at different ways to reflect on God's word:
1.
Meditation
The word meditate occurs 14 times, 12 times in the book of Psalms. David was a man after God's own heart. He meditated on God’s word.
To reflect is to meditate or "go over a matter in one's mind"—Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
(Ps 119:97) Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
(Ps 119:99) I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.
Insight is gained through meditation
Additional Scriptures: Ps 1:2, Ps 119:15, Ps 119:23, Ps 119:48, Ps 119:97, Ps 119:99, Ps 119:148
Ways to meditate on the word
* Use a journal for bible study with guiding questions to answer in writing, i.e:
o What is the principal subject of the chapter?
o What is the leading lesson?
o What is the key verse? (Memorize it.)
o Who are the principal characters?
o What does it teach about God the Father?
o What does it teach about Jesus Christ?
o What does it teach about the Holy Spirit?
o Is there any example for me to follow?
o Is there any error for me to avoid?
o Is there any duty for me to perform?
o Is there any promise for me to claim?
o Is there any prayer for me to echo?
* Highlight/underline key passages that move our heart. Return to highlighted passages for deeper reflection and thought
* In addition to daily bible reading, read spiritual books to deepen understanding of God’s word. DPI, IPI and NAVPress are good sources
2.
Examination
To reflect is to examine and investigate
(Acts 17:11) Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Different resources for investigating God’s words. See:
* Concordances – Strong’s
* Study Bibles
* Commentaries
* Word Studies
* Topical Bibles
* Online Bible Study Sites – www.crosswalk.com
* Word Dictionaries
* Bible Encyclopedias
* Bible Customs and Manners
* Bible Software
3.
Memorization
To reflect is not to forget
(Deut 6:4-9) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
(Deut 8:10-18) When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
Additional Scriptures Ps 119:93, Ps 119:109, Ps 119:141, Ps 119:153, Ps 119:176
In order not to forget God’s word we should make a daily practice to memorize scriptures. A simple method is to memorize at least one key verse every day (you decide your key verse, remember to memorize book, chapter, verse and text). For those with PDA devices, www.laridian.com has an inexpensive memory software program.
2.
What is Obedience?
The root word of obedience – obey, occurs 164 times in the bible
(Ja 1:22-25) Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (1:23) Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror (1:24) and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. (1:25) But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
We are going to look at different ways to obey God's word:
1.
Walking
To obey is to walk with Jesus.
(1Peter 2:21-25) To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Additional scriptures Ps 119:1, Ps 119:3
To walk is to continuously align our heart mind and actions to Jesus. We practice imitating Jesus. We constantly ask ourselves “What would Jesus do?” What would Jesus think?” “How would Jesus feel?”
2.
Practice and Training
To obey is to practice and train to be Godly
(Lk 8:21) He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."
(1Co 9:24-27) Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Practicing and training involve doing something repeatedly over time for improvement and growth. Key ingredients are discipline and self-sacrifice. Identify the following:
* Godly behavior you will consistently practice
* Daily actions you will take based on daily bible study
* Set short term, medium term and long term spiritual goals. Identify the spiritual practice and training that will be required to achieve these goals. Just Do It!
3.
Recount or Declare
To obey is to recount, speak preach and declare the Word of God
(Ps 119:13) With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
(2Tim 4:1-2) In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.
Additional Scripture Ps 119:46
We need to recount or speak about the word of God to our brothers and sisters and to the lost. Our goal is to correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction
Final Encouragement, achieving our goals:
The goal of bible study is to have fellowship and walk with God through his word
The goal of bible study is to bring God glory and to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. The goal of bible study is to be wise to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Final Exortation
(2Pe 1:3-9) His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
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