Have you read through the entire Bible? My first attempt was in November, 1996. I know this because I planned to start by reading the shortest books first. Apparently, I lasted almost a week and then my dates marked in the table of contents disappeared. I still have the Bible I used and it has since been read cover to cover many times, three times in one particular year. Kids today would call my initial attempt an epic fail, but I call it a learning experience. Firstly, I learned that I am far too much of a perfectionist. Missing a day or two is not a valid reason to give up. Secondly, I realized the beginning is the very best place to start.
What Bible story do you remember most or best from your own childhood? I asked this question of several people today and I received answers like Jonah and the Whale, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, and Noah’s Ark. My youngest was fascinated with the story of Cain and Abel in the storybook Bible we read together when he was a small child. He is the younger of two brothers. If you were to look that story up and read it from the Bible, I’ll bet you’d be surprised by how the biblical account differs from your memory.
I remember teaching a group of elementary aged kids a Bible lesson and being argued with vehemently by one particular child that I had the story all wrong. I pulled her aside and showed her the words in my Bible, as she was definitely old enough to read them for herself, yet she persisted, saying, “That’s not how the story goes. I saw the movie!”
The Bible says about itself that God’s Word is living and active- exposing the desires of our hearts, and also informing them. From God’s Word, I receive discernment and direction, the very mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:16)
“For the word of God is alive and powerful.
It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.
It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
Hebrews 4:12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.4.12.NLT
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalm 37:4 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.37.4.ESV
Many people would argue that delighting oneself in the Lord will result in receiving all your heart’s desires, but scripture clearly states that our hearts are deceitful, not to be trusted.
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”
Jeremiah 17:9 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jer.17.9.NLT
We receive our heart’s desires when we delight in the Lord, meditating on His Word night and day, because God is literally implanting in us the desire for what He has in store for us. When His good and perfect gifts come to us, we are ready to receive them with a grateful heart and fullness of joy because even the desire is from Him.
“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”
Psalms 119:105 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.119.105.NLT
God’s Word also guides our thoughts, informing our words and actions. As I sat in my kitchen late on Saturday evening, reviewing my notes in preparation for teaching Bible study on Sunday morning, the power suddenly went out. It was nearing midnight on an incredibly dark night. We keep lanterns and flashlights in almost every room of our home, but somehow I was the farthest possible distance from any of them at that moment. The grandkids had been over earlier in the evening so the tricycle and the dinosaur truck were parked in the hallway leading to my bedroom. I inched my feet forward tentatively, making sure not to bang into anything.
Once I reached the bathroom and the nearest lantern, my return to the kitchen to finish my review took only seconds because I had light for my path. I couldn’t see the entire way through two rooms to my seat, but I could easily continue at a pace without fear of injury or unseen obstacles.
Jesus used stories to teach for a specific reason, which he explains to his disciples, but I think stories are more memorable for anyone, no matter your learning style, than lists or bulk information. In school, I despised history because it seemed I was always being asked to memorize and regurgitate dates and battles and treaties and presidents or monarchs. That changed when I had the opportunity to homeschool my youngest during his final years of high school.
He suffered from seizures which caused him to miss too many days of traditional school. Besides, following text on a page or screen was a primary seizure trigger. As we studied history through literature at home together, I read aloud while he kept his hands busy with some repetitive task like casting a fishing rod or paddling a kayak. My child who understandably never loved reading would get more caught up in a story than me, some fictional and others true, begging me to keep reading far beyond the day’s requirement. We entered into the lives of the families who sent brothers off to fight a civil war, sisters who worked in horrible conditions in factories before labor laws, even Bible histories began to come alive.
Remember how the prophet Nathan confronted King David about his sin with Bathsheba? He told him a story about a rich man who stole the only lamb from a poor man to feed his guests. The king was enraged, ready to kill the man, when the prophet said, “you are that man!” (II Samuel 12:7) I feel the tension building in my own chest just repeating the story.
When “His disciples came and asked him,
“Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge.
But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand.
When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.
For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’”
Jesus goes on to say-
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see;
and your ears, because they hear.
I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it.
And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.”
Matthew 13:10-17 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.13.10-17.NLT
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard.
He will tell you about the future.
He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.
All that belongs to the Father is mine; (I and the Father are One) this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”
John 16:13-15 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.16.13-15.NLT
Don’t blindly trust everything you read or hear, especially online, and know who you can trust! God should top that list and His Word is the gold standard for everything and everyone else. As the apostle Paul said to young Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”
2 Timothy 1:5 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/2ti.1.5.ESV
“Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God.
Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.”
Hebrews 13:7 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.13.7.NLT
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.”
Acts 17:11-12 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/act.17.11-12.NIV
Counterfeit investigators employed by the National Treasury have many tools at their disposal but they diligently study every detail of authentic bills so they will easily be able to recognize a fake. The more familiar I become with the truth of God’s Word, the more easily I will recognize the lies of the deceiver.
That’s why Solomon admonished his sons to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.3.5.NLT
Peter wrote that we should live our lives in such a way that when others see that our conduct is above board, that we act with integrity, they will be ashamed of speaking ill of us.
“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life.
And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.
But do this in a gentle and respectful way.
Keep your conscience clear.
Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.”
1 Peter 3:15-16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1pe.3.16.NLT
“Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!
But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child.
But when I grew up, I put away childish things.
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.
All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”
1 Corinthians 13:9-12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.13.11-12.NLT
“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval.
Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.
Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.”
2 Timothy 2:15-16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.2.15-16.NLT
“Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”
1 Timothy 4:12 NLT
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