ALL Scripture is inspired by God

 

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” -2 Timothy 3:16,17

This past week at the Institute Debbie Jo White and Blake Holmes taught on Daniel and the Old Testament prophecies. As we walked through the prophetical books of the Old Testament, that most Christians pass over, it was good to remember that ALL scripture is inspired by God and good for equipping.

Of the 39 books of the Old Testament 17 of those are prophetical books;

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

12 were written pre-exile, 2 were written during exile, and 3 were written post-exile. Many were written to Judah but a few were written to Israel (Amos, Hosea), Assyria (Judah, Nahum) and Edom (Obediah) All the prophecies emphasis their own day, captivity and return, the first coming of Christ, and the millennial reign. And the theme of all the books are repentance and restoration through the future hope of the coming Messiah.

It was cool to read some of the prophecies that will come to fulfillment in the future and read some prophecies that have already been fulfilled and recorded in Scripture. Micah prophesied that Christ would come from Bethlehem about 700 years before Christ was born! Throughout our study two of my favorite books we looked at were Hosea and Micah.

Hosea wrote the book of Hosea to Israel before they were conquered by Assyria. He told the story of his faithfulness to an unfaithful wife and compared it to Israel’s unfaithfulness and God’s faithfulness. Hosea 3:1 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods.” But God shows grace when to those who turn from their sin and return to Him. Hosea 6:1-3 “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.”

So many times I am like Israel but God is faithful. This book is a great reminder to return to the faithful Lord!

Micah is another book that I really liked learning about. Micah wrote to Judah before they were taken captive by Babylon. The book tells of the Lord’s indictment of the nation of Israel and tells what the Lord requires from His people. This is a question that Christians today wonder about and we took some time going through different verses that say what the Lord desires from us:

Micah 6:6-8 “With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Matthew 9:13 “’But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”

Psalm 51:16,17 “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

God doesn’t care about burnt offerings or acts without the heart behind it and He wants His people to love like He does.

Through the Old Testament prophets I have understood more of God’s mighty power and wrath coinciding with His incredible love and mercy for mankind. This week really got me interested in reading the Old Testament prophets that I probably would have otherwise skipped over. There is knowledge to gain from all scripture, prophets included.

Evangelizing!

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”

Matthew 28:18-20

This past week at the Institute we studied the topic of Evangelism. It was an incredible week of learning and I was challenged a lot as we looked further into Scripture about God’s call for Christians to share the gospel and what that requires.

Afshin Ziafat, a predominate and sought out Muslim-converted Christian speaker, spoke on Wednesday about a side of Christianity that most churches in America don’t preach- suffering and persecution. Someone told the class a metaphor saying, “If you saw someone walking blindfolded toward the edge of a cliff wouldn’t we grab them and pull them far away? So why is it that we don’t say anything to the friend, co-worker, or stranger who hasn’t heard the gospel?”

We’re afraid of rejection, afraid of persecution, and afraid of suffering. We like the parts of the Bible that make us feel good, we obey the commands that come easy for us, and we live out our faith when it’s most convenient for us and fits our busy schedules. We are refusing to accept the entirety of being a follower of Christ. We pay no mind to Jesus’ words that persecution will come as a result of following Him (Matthew 5, 10, Luke 21). We somehow forget that Jesus’ radical teachings put him against the worst persecution and lead Him to death on a cross! Paul wrote in Romans 8:16-18 that as fellow heirs with Christ we suffer with Him. But “we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” knowing that this time on earth can’t even be compared to the glory of heaven!

The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes! (Romans 1:16) Jesus’ death and resurrection that allows me to now be reconciled with Him is what gives me hope and joy and purpose in life. So if I, a proclaiming follower of Christ, am not suffering for the sake of the gospel, then what is it that I’m doing? If the gospel is the greatest message I’ve ever heard why do I not share it more? Why do I not want more people to know it?

Afshin gave us a better picture of what Christians in other parts of the world face because of their faith. Over in Iran, where Christianity is illegal, friends of his this very day are being harshly imprisoned after being caught sharing the gospel! They are risking everything to spread the power of the gospel. They have grasped Matthew 16:24,25 that says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Well the day after Afshin spoke, Thursday, we were asked to step out of our comfort zone (and for many of us it was definitely uncomfortable at times) and go into the Branson community with the intention of sharing the gospel. There are many different methods Christians have come up with to share the gospel: Door-to-Door and Street Evangelism, Tracts, Soularium Cards, Romans Road, Four Spiritual Laws, The Bridge Method, Relational Evangelism, and Media Evangelism to name a few.

I went to Walgreens and Books-A-Million to evangelize relationally. My whole perspective on the day changed. Everywhere I went I was much more aware of the people around me and more engaged in the conversations we had. I cared more about what people were saying and when I went into a conversation with the hopes of sharing the gospel my questions to them were different. I would try to ask questions that could transition easily into questions about faith. At Walgreens there were a few ladies getting Christmas cards made in the photo center and I was surprised by how excited they were to just talk to someone about their family and what Christmas means to them. The ladies I talked to at Walgreens were all Christians and it was encouraging to just have a conversation with other believers. At Books-A-Million I had a good conversation with a lady working there who helped me find the book “The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. She said she wasn’t a believer but had thought about it before. It’s interesting how willing unbelievers are to listen to your beliefs when you are genuinely interesting in listening to what they have to say. She’s still skeptical of Christianity but maybe she’s thinking more about it after our conversation.

I think evangelism has hurt the Church a lot because people go evangelize with the soul purpose of converting someone right then and there and it seems so forces and there’s a “holier than thou” attitude that’s obviously repulsive to unbelievers. There is not much willingness to listen, or care for the person- just get the message out there and go! But God is a relational God, He is patient, and deeply cares for the lost. Those are important for the church to remember when evangelizing. We’re supposed to spread the gospel and love and let God work.

Two verses that have been sticking out to me are-

2 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Matthew 16:24,25 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’”

What I took away from this week on evangelism is that nothing I say or do will make an impact on the world without the Holy Spirit at work. But as a follower of Christ I have a responsibility to take part in the great commission and be willing to face whatever good or bad comes of it for Christ’s sake.

The. Martin. Luther.

This week at K-Institute we studied the history of the church. So much information was thrown at us as we went from the age of Catholic Christianity beginning in 70 AD with the destruction of the temple to today with our post-modern ideologies and rejection of absolute truth. One man that I enjoyed learning more about was Martin Luther who showed great bravery and boldness to begin the Reformation.

In the early 1500s there was great discontentment in Europe and the people were in need of reform. Basic questions of Christianity needed to be re-answered; how is a person saved? Where does religious authority lie? What is the church? What is the essence of Christian living? And Luther was about to come on the scene to answer some of those questions.

Luther was an educated man trained in law. He later became a monk and would spend hours in confession over his sins that he couldn’t tackle. He would actually be in confession so long that monks started to refuse to listen to him! He later made a trip to Rome and saw the corruption of the church. The papacy was teaching that salvation was granted to people by their good works and how much money that donated to the church. He was devastated by this and decided to become a college professor, studying and teaching the Bible. When he read Romans 1:16,17 the message of sin and salvation finally clicked and he began to radically teach that salvation comes through faith.

Romans 1:16,17

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”

Luther wrote the 95 Theses, protesting against the abuse of indulgence sales, and posted them on the doors of the church of Wittenburg on October 31, 1517. Because of the printing press copies of the theses spread very quickly to France, England and Italy. In 1521, a few years after the theses were posted, Luther was called to go before the Diet of Worms and recant his authorship and content of his writings. Facing arrest, his response was:

“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.”

Denying man and his own safety Martin Luther proclaimed the word of God. He later translated the Greek Bible into German so people could have their own copies of the Bible and study and learn for themselves. He was the leading man of the Reformation simply because he held true to the word of God and proclaimed it to people who needed to hear it.  

In a culture today that also desperately needs questions of Christianity re-answered, I am inspired by Martin Luther to stand up boldly for what the Bible teaches, and encouraged by the great impact he made in his lifetime!

Kingdom Era

This past week we had a man named Charles Stolfus come and speak to our class about the Kingdom Era. The Kingdom era, beginning in 1052 B.C. is the time period in which the twelve tribes of Israel establish a new monarchy and are united under the rule of Saul, David, and then Solomon. In 931 B.C. a civil war breaks out which divides the tribes into the Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (2 tribes).  Nineteen unrighteous kings ruled the Northern Kingdom for 250 years before the Assyrians conquered Israel. Of the twenty kings that ruled the Southern Kingdom, only eight were righteous before the Lord, and after 400 years He brought judgment upon them when the Babylonians conquered Judah. Two kings of Judah stuck out to me because of their enormous contrast in character- Hezekiah and his son Manasseh.

Hezekiah began his reign in 716 B.C. at the age of twenty-five and was the 13^th king of the Southern Kingdom in the line of David. He was a man of God who obeyed His commands, and because of that God blessed him and Judah during his reign. He brought together the Levites and priest and repaired the house of the Lord, he was a very successful military leader, and was the most righteous king of the Divided Kingdom Era ever saw. 2 Kings 18:3-6 “He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah (a wooden symbol of a female deity). He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the LORD; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the LORD had commanded Moses.”  During his reign Hezekiah consistently went to the Lord in prayer and God answers. At one point Sennacherib, king of Assyria came to attack Judah. Hezekiah sought help from the Lord and peace from Sennacherib. When Sennacherib refused to relent Isaiah prophesied in 2 Kings 19:6,7 “Isaiah said to them, ‘Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord, ‘Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’” The Lord struck down 185,000 in the Assyrian camp, Sennacherib returned to his land and was killed. Another example of God’s faithfulness is when Hezekiah gets sick and Isaiah tells him he is about to die. Hezekiah rose up a prayer and then 2 Kings 20:5 says, “Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you.’” Hezekiah’s faithfulness to prayer is a great example to me. He did not do necessarily what the people of Judah wanted of him, but he listened to God to direct his decisions during his reign.

Toward the end of his reign Hezekiah had a son named Manasseh who became the 14^th king of Judah after his father. At this point we see one of the greatest kings of the time succeeded by one of the most evil kings Judah ever saw. Manasseh became king in 697 B.C. at the age of 12 and reigned for 55 years. Manasseh put an end to all the good that his father had put in place. He rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah had destroyed. He built altars for Baal, made idols and worshiped them, practiced witchcraft and other kinds of evil that provoked the Lord’s anger. God sent prophets to rebuke Manasseh and tell of His judgment but he didn’t listen. 2 Chronicles 33:11 says, “Therefore the Lord brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria against them, and they captured Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon.” We see God’s wrath toward and unbelievably wicked king who knew the great example of his father and knew God’s commands but completely ignored them. His story could have ended there in torment and judgment for his unrighteousness, but what happened next is incredible- 2 Chronicles 33:12,13 says, “When he was in distress, he entreated the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.” God showed this evil man mercy and his life was restored! Manasseh recognized his sin and unfaithfulness and took action to make things right in the kingdom. He removed from the city all foreign gods and idols from the house of the Lord and other alters that he had built. He made offerings to God and called the people to turn from their sin and serve the Lord. He was a changed man. Manasseh is another example of the grace God shows to ANYONE who comes to Him! Manasseh didn’t seem to care much for his fathers beliefs at the beginning of his reign, but toward the end of his life he could testify to the words his father spoke years early – 2 Chronicles 30:9 Hezekiah says, “For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your sons will find compassion before those who led them captive and will return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.” Such a great reminder!

Throughout the study of Kingdom Era I was struck by God’s patience toward the kings and people of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. His wrath was great but He gave the people many chances to turn away from their sin and follow His commands. God continually rose up prophets to speak to the kings and give warning of the coming judgment but they didn’t seem to care. The people of Israel and Judah were destroying the house of the Lord, worshiping wooden deities that they carved themselves, and practicing witchcraft and the Lord continued to speak to them and give them the opportunity time and time again to return to Him. And even in His entire wrath we see how merciful of God he is as he extended grace to Manasseh! God’s character is unchanging and I’m so thankful to serve the same patient, merciful, and just God that the kings of Israel and Judah served 3,000 years ago.

God is Love

What is your definition of love? How does our culture define love? Just turn on the TV, listen to the hit radio station, or look at what’s on the magazine covers and billboard and you’ll get a clear picture of what love is in America. We as a culture are in love with money, fame, fashion, rebellion, fun, independence, exterior beauty, and the illusion of happiness or having it all together. We use the word so carelessly that it can now be attached to almost anything… “I love your shoes!” “I love your hair!” “I love the St. Louis Cardinals!” “I love all of my Facebook friends!” The word “love” has become hugely commonplace and almost insignificant. Even saying, “I love you” doesn’t always seem to hold much value. America’s 50% divorce rate reflects that. Our culture has twisted the meaning of love. Everyone has an inherent longing for love but our culture doesn’t know what true love is or where it comes from. Where is the devotion, the loyalty, and promise behind the word “love”?

What is true love and how do we show it not only in a marriage but also in every relationship? Throughout the week we answered this question and gained a lot of knowledge about personality traits, emotional intelligence, and what a healthy relationship looks like.

One of my favorite things we did this week was complete a spiritual gifts profile and Uniquely You Questionnaire that helped us discover why we act the way we do. It’s crazy how accurate the results came out to be and it was fun to learn the personality type of other people in the class. The way we act, think, and feel, and what motivates us are all so important to understand especially as it relates to the way we interact with other people of similar or different personality types. My personality type is passive and task-oriented, which is described as competent, compliant, cautious, and calculating. I was sitting next to my roommate whose personality is active and people-oriented, which is described as inspiring, influencing, impressing, and inducing. We were laughing because we are two extremely opposite personalities. It’s important to know the predictable pattern of people close to you because without that knowledge there is room for a lot of conflict. When you have an idea of why people act the way they do, you are then able to avoid conflict, more easily resolve conflict, and also better appreciate the person for who God made them to be.

The way we treat, interact, and communicate with people is a direct commentary on how we relate with God. If we are not right with God we will not be able to fully experience love in our other relationships. If we understand God’s love toward us we will better be able to show love to the people in our life because God is our example of love. Every day we are being transformed more and more into the likeness of God, and every day we must humble ourselves before the Almighty God who has shown us indescribable grace and love. James 4:6“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” In the same way we should also humble ourselves before our peers and serve out of love. A good question asked was “Are you serving today out of an effort for love or are you serving out of an effort of love?

As we began to talk about marriage we learned more about how marriage is a picture of Christ’s love for the church. Ephesians 5:22-30 “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.”

In the same way that God has made a covenant with the church, so marriage is a covenant between a man and woman. A covenant is never to be broken except by death. A few weeks back while studying the life of Abraham and the covenant promise between him and God I learned that “Beriyth” is the Hebrew word for covenant; it is a solemn binding agreement made by passing through pieces of flesh. Genesis 2:21-24 describes the covenant of marriage: “So the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’’ For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” Marriage is a commitment that requires responsibility.

Not everyone is called to marriage. Paul talks about how it is good not to marry so you can focus completely on your ministry. When you marry you are divided between your spouse and your work for God. One of the women who spoke to us this week talked about how ministry driven she was and how she thought she would be like Paul and for that reason not marry. But what’s great about marriage is that it is a process of sanctification that will result in better ministry for the glorification of God. Marriage is two people sharpening and pushing each other to be better workmen of the Lord!

I can’t say that at the end of the week I was any more or less excited about marriage, but I did come away with a better understanding of what God created marriage to be.  The biggest thing I took away from the week is that we should marry someone of proven character not potential. Sacrificial love does not start when the ring goes on the finger. I want to prove myself to be a woman of God before marriage. I can aim to be what Proverbs 31 describes starting today.

I can aim to be completely trustworthy.

I can aim to work hard in delight.

I can aim to walk with strength and dignity.

I can aim to gladly give to the needy.

I can aim to always speak in wisdom.

But above all these I need to daily come before God in fear and reverence. 

I can strive for these things in order to be a good wife but ultimately I should strive for these things in order to be a good follower of God who is the ultimate groom and the ultimate example of love. He is love and nobody’s love will ever compare to His.

So what is the definition of love?

1 John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love.” 

_____________________________________________________________________

…As a little side note, Lauryn Hill is one of my favorite artists, she is a musical genius and her songs inspire me every time I listen to them. In fitting with this weeks topic of marriage, I thought I’d post her song Tell Him which is clearly completely influenced by 1 Corinthians 13.

Here are the lyrics-

Let me be patient let me be kind

Make me Unselfish without being blind

Though I may suffer I’ll envy it not

And endure what comes

Cause he’s all that I got and

Tell him…

Tell him I need him

Tell him I love him

And it’ll be alright

Tell him I need him

Tell him I love him

And it’ll be alright

Now I may have faith to make mountains fall

But if I lack love then I am nothin’ at all

I can give always everything I possess

But am without love then I have no happiness

I know I’m imperfect

And not without sin

But now that I’m older all childish things end

And tell him…

(Chorus)

I’ll never be jealous

And I won’t be too proud

Cause love is not boastful

Oooh and love is not loud

Tell him I need him

Tell him I love him

Everything’s gonna be alright

Now I may have wisdom and knowledge on Earth

But if I speak wrong then what is it worth?

See what we now know is nothing compared

To the love that was shown when our lives were spared

And tell him…

Silence is Deadly

Blame it on the artsy side of me, but these days I'm loving the poetry from P4CM, a church out in L.A. The honesty and power coming through these poets is crazy!
"Silence is Deadly" makes a very convicting point on what it means for believers to not be spreading the Gospel.

Compassion

A few months ago I read a compelling book called "Follow Me to Freedom" by Shane Claiborne and John Perkins. In a world dying for social justice and true freedom, this books inspires change in positive and effective ways. Many people and organizations fight for change having passion and compassion for a cause and end result but little compassion for the individuals affected. Genuine compassion for individuals is what we need more of in life. This is a quote by Henri Nouwen placed in the book that I had written down in my sketchbook and just ran across it again... thought I'd share...


"Compassion grows with the inner recognition that your neighbor shares your humanity with you. This partnership cuts through all walls which might have kept you separate. Across all barriers of land and languages, wealth and poverty. Knowledge and ignorance, we are one, created from the same dust, subject to the same laws, and destined for the same end. With this compassion you can say, 'In the face of the oppressed I recognize my own face and in the hands of the oppressor I recognize my own hand. Their flesh is my flesh, their blood is my blood, their pain is my pain, their smile is my smile. Their ability to torture is in me, too; their capacity to forgive I find also in myself. There is nothing in me that does not belong to them too; nothing in them that does not belong to me. In my heart, I know their yearning for love, and down to my entrails I can feel their cruelty. In another's eyes I see my plea for forgiveness, and in a hardened frown I see my refusal. When someone murders, I know that I too could have done that, and when someone gives birth, I know that I am capable of that as well. In the depths of my being, I meet my fellow humans with whom I share love and have life and death.'"
-Henri Nouwen


Aloha

First blog entry ever in my whole life!

Aloha to a new year of life in the tropics of Branson, MO. The Kanakuk Institute class of 2012 is here for the next 8 months studying the word of God and growing together! After a couple of exciting and eventful weeks we are all now getting used to our schedules and seeing what life will look like on the island surrounded by plastic palm trees.

We’ve gotten to listen to some awesome speakers so far on topics like conflict/resolution, repentance, and the importance of accountability. Early this week David Lawson from Precept Ministries came to speak to the Institute class about inductive bible study. He shared with us some hilarious stories and cracked a few dry jokes, but what stood out to me most about him was how passionate and excited he is about this type of study. His life has absolutely been transformed by studying the bible this way.

Before this week I was somewhat familiar with inductive bible study but never grasped the importance or effectiveness of the technique. David Lawson of Precept Ministries International walked us through the book of Titus, which I had never read before, using the inductive method and I really liked it and learned a lot in the three class periods he spent with us.

Inductive Bible study is a way to study the bible on your own and allows you to come up with your own conclusions based on what the bible says instead of learning based on what scholars or authors have to say about the scripture. It involves a lot of careful reading, marking single words and searching out the meaning of different words and phrases by looking at context and flipping to other parts of the Bible for better understanding.

There are three major areas in inductive study: Observation, Interpretation, and Application.

Observation: During the observation phase of the study you want to read through the text searching for obvious people, places and events. You’re also trying to grasp what the Bible says by looking for the 5 W’s and H:

Who wrote the letter? To whom? Others mentioned?

What is the letter about?

When?

Where was the author? Recipients?

Why did the author write the letter?

How?

Also mark repeated words or phrases and make a list of what the text says about them. After reading through the text a few times the key words and phrases will start to appear. These are the words and phrases that will uncover the meaning of the text. Without them the text wouldn’t make sense. Everything in the Bible has meaning and purpose. Something mentioned just once is still important, but if something is mentioned multiple times it’s probably super important to pay attention to and study.

Interpretation: The important thing to remember here is that context rules. Context leads to proper interpretation. For example, I might ask you to help me with a project I’m working on by running out and taking a picture of a trunk. You could come back with a picture of the back of a car and I’d say that’s wrong. Or a large box of clothes and you’re wrong again. Or a base of a tree and you’re still wrong. When I say I’m doing a project on zoo animals and need a picture of the nose of an elephant, then you will be able to help in the right way. Context is so important. Titus 2:13 says, “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,” Is Paul referring to God and Savior as separate beings of the trinity- God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior? Or is he referring to Christ Jesus as God and Savior being one? Based on the next verse, Titus 2:14 I think Paul is referring to God and Savior as both being Christ Jesus. This example taken out of context wouldn’t really change much, but other examples could really affect how the text is interpreted especially when looking at cultural context.

A few steps to take during the interpretation phase of study are cross-referencing and word studies. The great thing about study bibles is that they have some references in the margin to guide you!

Application: This is the part where you take what you just learned and apply it to your own life. Your belief system will determine your behavior. Depending on the part of the Bible being studied there might seem to be a lot of application or maybe a little. Either way it’s a great time to better grasp God’s character, understand salvation, and observe how believers live and how to put it into practice.

Inductive Bible study is something that takes time and discipline. You might read the text 15 times and catch something new every time. We probably read through Titus 10 times in class and after going through the steps of observation, interpretation, and application I felt like I had learned so much, but also felt like we had just touched the surface. The knowledge to be gained from the Bible is endless! Inductive Bible study will remind you of that! It’s overwhelming… in a good way! This week I was reminded that the Bible is the most exciting and intriguing book ever written! There is SO much to be learned. Who could ever get bored of it? The more you read and study the more you realized how little you know. This year we as a class are doing a few inductive studies starting with the life of Abraham. I’m looking forward to the knowledge to be gained here on the island.

Aloha!