books – Dancing In The Kingdom

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 15 – Reforming our Souls

Bible-centric disciplines

[Bible references: Genesis 24:63; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-2; 19:14; 119:11, 127; Isaiah 66:2; Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 10:27; John 14:15, 21; 17:3; Acts 5:29; 17:11; Romans 10:17; 1 Timothy 4:15-16; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17; Philippians 4:8; Titus 3:1; James 1:22; Revelations 1:3]

“If we are ignorant of God’s Word, we will always be ignorant of God’s will.” ^{^[1]}

“Delighting in God’s Word leads us to delight in God, and delight in God drives away fear.”^{^[2]}

“The Scriptures teach us the best way of living, the noblest way of suffering, and the most comfortable way of dying.” ^{^[3]}

“We discover the will of God by a sensitive application of Scripture to our own lives.”^{^[4]}

The Bible is not God, it is His word to us. The end point of Bible disciplines is not to know the Bible, it is to know the God who gave us the Bible. There are various techniques available to us to let the Word of God to lead us to the one who is The Word.

Discipline of Hearing the Word

The Bible was written before the time of the printing press, therefore before the time when widely printed copies of the Bible were available. So, reading the Word of God was not possible for most people, only the hearing of it. Yet, even today, although we can read, study, memorize and meditate on the Word, the goal is to hear the voice of our Lover, the one who gave us the Word. Our relationship is not with the Bible, our relationship is with the Living God. We long to hear the voice of His Spirit speaking to us.

Whether we are reading, studying, or meditating on the Bible, we can pause to listen. What is God trying to say … to you … at that moment … in your situation. We need to develop skills of listening. We should develop the same skills in listening to God as we do listening to the people around us. We should distinguish between “hearing” and “listening.” In passive “hearing,” we find ourselves wanting to respond, to assert ourselves, trusting in ourselves instead fully listening to the work of God in another’s life before we hear a whole message. Listening to others requires discipline coupled with faith and grace. Listening to God’s voice requires patience, restraining our ready-made answers and waiting for His voice.

Discipline of Reading the Word

The discipline of reading the Bible vs. studying the Bible is that reading is for breadth and studying is for depth. It is through Bible reading that we may do short devotionals during the day or do reading programs that allow us to read the Bible (either the entire Bible or in parts) in a specified length of time. It is reading that allows to become familiar with larger parts of the Bible and to see whole context of different books of the Bible. But even as we are reading for breadth, it is the opportunity for us to listen to His voice speaking to us. Reading is done without an agenda, not looking for a particular thing, but prepared to hear God’s voice as we read.

Read for breadth –read long passages in the Bible.
Read consistently – Make a habit of continual reading.
Read without agenda – come with questions, not answers you want to justify.
Read prepared to listen – give time to reflect and listen to God’s voice.

Discipline of Studying the Word

All the examples listed below should give you the idea that there are many approaches to studying the Bible – use whatever approach or combination of approaches is suitable for what you want to accomplish.

Bible study by books. Use either the inductive^[5] or synthetic^[6] methods.
Bible Study by chapter. Read the entire book to understand context (kind of book, author, etc.), outline the chapter (look for details: comparisons, contrasts, etc.), Begin the task of interpreting: (Define unusual or significant words, understand geographical settings, read in various translations, use cross-references).
Bible study by paragraphs. Determine main thought, Rewrite the text, Make an outline, Use a concordance.
Bible study by verses. Identify the verbs, Identify the people, Identify ideas, Verse mapping.
Bible Study by words. Trace use of word in chapter or book, Use a concordance, Word study in Hebrew or Greek
Bible Study by topics. Use a topical study guide or a concordance to examine how a topic is addressed throughout scripture.
Bible Study through biography. Use a biographical study guide or a concordance to study the life of a Biblical character.
Bible study through journaling. Create a journal that records your thoughts as you study scripture.
Bible study through scripture writing. Scripture Writing is a wonderful way to solidify God’s word into your heart. For some, reading isn’t enough. There’s something about taking that God breathed scripture, writing it down and reinforcing it in your heart in a way that will help you memorize and digest it.

Discipline of Memorizing the word^{^[7]}

“Bible memorization is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it is a fundamental way of filling our minds with what it needs. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. That’s where you need it! How does it get in your mouth? Memorization.”^{^[8]}

“I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture … No other single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends! Your prayer life will be strengthened. Your witnessing will be sharper and much more effective. Your attitudes and outlook will begin to change. Your mind will become alert and observant. Your confidence and assurance will be enhanced. Your faith will be solidified.”^{^[9]}

Memorizing the Word allows us to meditate on it so that it can get more deeply into our hearts. We don’t all memorize equally well, but the goal is to get the Word in our heart whether it’s word for word out of a translation or not. Whether or not we memorize word for word, meditate on it so that it sinks into your heart so that it’s available in the moment of need. Here are some techniques for memorizing verses.

You can even turn verse into a prayer.
Memorize Verses in a Theme
Get a Partner to memorize with you
Write the Verses down and carry them with
Writing the verse in your own words.
Listen to the Verses through an audio Bible
Say Verses Out Loud
Use Music. Find verses that are set to music or create your own music
Break down the verse in shorter chunks and memorize a chunk at a time
Use physical motions to go with the verse.

Discipline of Meditating on the word

Christian meditation is the act of filling one’s mind with Scripture and dwelling on God and all that He offers to humanity. In the Bible, the words translated as “meditation” have a variety of definitions: mutter, speak quietly, and ponder, imagine, mourn, complain, study, talk, or utter.^{^[10]} You can see that meditation can take a variety of ways for us to interact with what we are reading or memorizing. It is this type of engagement with not just Scripture, but the God who gave us the Scripture that opens us up to transformation.

In Psalm 1, it is written that the ideal Bible reader is one who meditates on the Scripture day and night. In ancient Jewish culture, the followers of God would meditate on His word by speaking it to themselves over and over. They would dwell on the Scripture. As time went on, the definition of meditation changed slightly. During the times of the New Testament, both Jews and Gentiles were all coming to God. This is when meditation changed slightly because the word now had a Greek connotation and culture, rather than a Hebrew connotation and culture.

Apply your imagination and senses

Envision yourself personally engaged in the relationship or encounter or experience of which the text speaks. Hear the words as they are spoken. Feel the touch of Jesus on a diseased body. Taste and smell the fish and bread as they are served to the multitudes. See the truths that God has revealed by mentally recreating the scene with yourself present. There is nothing magical or mysterious in this. The purpose of the imagination is not, as some have argued, to create our own reality. Our imagination is a function of our minds whereby we experience more intimately and powerfully the reality God has created. As you are doing so, reflect on the truth of the Word; brood over the truth of the text; absorb it, soak in it, as you turn it over and over in your mind.

Forming our character

It is difficult to know when meditation moves into prayer. It isn’t really that important. But at some point, take the truth as the Holy Spirit has illumined it and pray it back to God, whether in petition, thanksgiving, or intercession. In other words, take Scripture and turn it into dialogue with God.

Where possible, and according to sound principles of biblical interpretation, replace proper names and personal pronouns with your own name. God never intended for his Word to float aimlessly in impersonal abstractions. He designed it for you and for me.

Then worship the Lord for who he is and what he has done and how it has been revealed in Scripture. Meditation ought always to lead us into adoration and celebration of God.

Finally, practice. Commit yourself to doing what the Word commands. The aim of meditation is moral transformation. The aim of contemplation is obedience. And in obedience is joy inexpressible and full of glory.

Discipline of Obeying the Word

“There will be no peace in any soul until it is willing to obey the voice of God.”^{^[11]}

“Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.”^{^[12]}

“God has no more precious gift to a church or an age than a man who lives as an embodiment of his will, and inspires those around him with the faith of what grace can do.”^{^[13]}

When we truly love someone, we desire the best for them and are willing to inconvenience ourselves for their sake. There is a sense in which their desires become our desires. In such a situation, we do not find ourselves doing just the minimum for them, but to do all we can. When the object of our love is God, we respond to the overflowing love He has for us by returning His love. We do not “obey commands” just because He has authority, but because we care about what He cares about, and that care includes us and our best interests. The goal of obeying the Word is not obedience, but to respond in love to God’s desires.

It would be a mistake to learn a lot of Bible but fail to apply it to our lives. If we learn about the God who loves us and the kingdom He is establishing even right now, our response should include our desire to participate in bringing the kingdom of God on earth. Here are some responses we can think about towards that end:

Pray about how God can make us more like Him.
Think about what we learn about God and what kind of difference that should make in our life.
Think about what doctrines, warnings, promises did we learned and what our response should be.
THE 4-P APPLICATION – Problem: Identify something in our life that needs to change. Passage: Identify what verse or verses point out the problem in our life. Plan: Create a plan to work on that change in our life. Progress: Create a routine to check on the effectiveness or carry-through of our plan..

^[1] Graham, Billy. “How do I know God’s will for my life” billygraham.org 27 May 2019 billygraham.org/answer/how-do-i-know-gods-will-for-my-life

^[2] Jeremiah, David. What Are You Afraid Of? Facing Down Your Fears with Faith.” Lifeway Christian Resources 2014

^[3] Flavel, John.

^[4] Ferguson, Sinclair B. Banner of Truth Magazine Issue 219 December 1981

^[5] Got Questions “What is inductive Bible Study?” Got Questions gotquestions.org/inducitive-Bible-study.html

^[6] Guthrie, George H. “How to Do a Synthetic Bible Study” Inglewood Baptist Church http://storage.cloversites.com/inglewoodbaptistchurch/documents/Synthetic_Study.pdf

^[7] Mathis, David. “5 Tips for Bible Memorization.” Crossway 23 June 2018 www.crossway.org/articles/5-tips-for-bible-memorization

^[8] Willard, Dallas. “Spiritual Formation in Christ for the Whole Life and Whole Person” Vocatio, Vol. 12, no. 2, Spring, 2001, p. 7.

^[9] Swindoll, Chuck. “Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life” Zondervan, 1994, p.61

^[10] Peña, Madeline. “Christian Meditation: Definition, Biblical Examples, & More” Just Disciple justdisciple.com/christian-meditation

^[11] Moody, D.L. “Steps in the Downfall of Israel” Northfield Echoes 1897 (p. 317)

^[12] Chambers, Oswald. “My Utmost for His Highest” 1924 eBook p. 64

^[13] Murray, Andrew. Leadership Vol. 7 No. 4. Fall 1986

Observe

Read Psalm 1:1-3; 2 Timothy 3 :16-17; Revelation 1:3. What should be our attitude about the Bible?

Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents

Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 1 – Shadows of the Kingdom – Chapter 1 – Prelude

The library

[Bible references: Daniel 9:2; Jeremiah 31:31, Matthew 21:42; 26:28; Mark 12:24; Luke 4:21; 24:13-35; John 2:22; 5:39]

The Bible we have now is in one binder, but it was not written that way. It was not written as one book by one person at one time with a series of chapters. The Bible actually contains a library of different texts written by different people in different time periods. Originally, those texts were written on individual scrolls and over time people collected those scrolls to make a little library of scrolls, or what we now call “books.”

The term, “Bible,” comes from ” the Phoenician word for “reed,” byblos.” Later on, that word was transliterated into Greek as “ta Biblia,” which means “the books” or “the library”. After that when the word was translated in Latin as “Biblia” and in English as “Bible.” The Bible then is a collection of “books” which were first written on scrolls.[1] In New Testament times, Christians started to make copies of the Bible texts in a “codex” form, sort of like today’s books. This format allowed multiple texts to be put in a single codex.[2]

The “books” within the first part of the Bible, before Jesus was born, were written mostly in Hebrew over a period of 1500 years and we call that set of books the “Old Testament.” The books written after that were written mostly in Greek over a period of 50 years and we call that set of books, the “New Testament.” In all the major Christian traditions, the New Testament has 27 books while the number of books in the Old Testament have at least 39 books.[3]

The word testament means either 1) a disposition or will or 2) a covenant or an agreement. We get the term “New Testament” from the book of Jeremiah 31:31(NIV) “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.”

The books in our biblical library contain many kinds of literature, there is historical narrative, biography, prophecy, poetry, letters written to and from various people, various kinds of wisdom literature, rules of conduct, instructions for how to build things, interpretations of things previously written. All that complexity makes it difficult for people to figure out how to use the Bible. But at the same time, despite all its complexity, the essence of what we need to know can be known by the average person.[4]

The Old Testament writings centered around God’s covenant of Israel as mediated by Moses. The Hebrew Bible contains 5 books in the Torah, 8 Books in the Prophets, 11 books in the Writings. In the Protestant version of the Bible, the Old Testament contains 5 books of the Law; 12 historical books, 5 poetical books and 17 prophetic books. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox version also contain other books which were accepted by the Jews in Egypt but not by the Jews in Palestine[5].

The “New Testament” writings written after the death of Jesus centered around God’s covenant to the world as mediated by Jesus. It contains 4 Gospels (“Good News” about Jesus), 1 history book, 21 letters (some written by Paul to various churches, some written by Paul to individuals, and some written by other apostles to the churches), and 1 prophecy book (which is also written as a letter).

[1] Soroski, Jason. “What does ‘Bible’ mean and how did I get that name?” Bible Study Tools www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/explore-the-bible/what-does-bible-mean.html

[2] Encyclopedia Britannica “codex manuscript” Encyclopedia Britannia Britannica.com/topic/codex-manuscript

[3] See Appendix C – Books of the Bible

[4] Got Questions “What is the doctrine of the perspicuity of Scripture?” Got Questions www.gotquestions.org/perspicuity-of-Scripture.html

[5] These were known as the Deuterocanonical (second canon) Books, although the Protestants call them the Apocrypha. (See Appendix C – Books of the Bible)