It's easy to get to a point of wanting to turn away from people sometimes, especially those we dislike. However, Jesus said of us, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
He also says in Mark 12:28-31 - "‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (NASB)
I was reminded of this second verse earlier this week. God died for those whom I don't get along with just as much as He died for me. He loves them just as much as He loves me. He has commanded me to love them also.
Dear Father God, I realize that it is I who need to see others through Your eyes and not my own. Please help me to love them the way that you love them and also help them to love me the same way. In seeing each other in this way, may we fulfill Your desire that we get along peaceably in love.
Monday, January 29, 2018
When You're Running Out Of Everything
Good morning all. 💗 This is an excellent message series. The messages are only about 15-20 minutes each. They pack a bit of a punch but in a good way. If you want to be blessed, listen to this message. It has very practical answers for why the brook dries up in our lives (whatever the brook signifies for you). There are 3 parts in total but only still less than an hour.
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Monday, January 22, 2018
So Will I & Reckless Love
I was on Facebook this weekend when someone mentioned the song "So Will I." I had never heard it but they had such a deep, instant connection, that I went to listen to it. It is beautiful. I happened to click on Amanda Cook from Bethel. There was another song on after it that I loved just as much or more, called Reckless Love. I love them both so much. I am sharing them so that you can hear them too. Our Heavenly father is too amazing for words. 💘💗💘 Listen and be blessed.
At 5:33 Cory starts talking about the testimony and story behind the song.
It is totally worth hearing. The lyrics are in the Show More dropdown.
The chorus: "Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God" 💗
This version of Reckless is more melodious and beautiful on its own.
Lyrics are on screen for this one.
At 5:33 Cory starts talking about the testimony and story behind the song.
It is totally worth hearing. The lyrics are in the Show More dropdown.
The chorus: "Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God" 💗
This version of Reckless is more melodious and beautiful on its own.
Lyrics are on screen for this one.
Which Bible Is Best?
:0) Hi all.
This is a rather long post but you will quickly see why. I hope I don't lose you in all the information. If you have any questions or think of something I may have left out, please feel free to let me know in the comments. ;)
I wanted to explore different types of Bibles, study methods, and possibly a few different types of worship but there must be some things that come in proper order. The most important thing is to first look at the Bible you will be using. The short answer of which one is best is whichever one will get you to keep reading. ;) Let's look at some deeper insight that might help you figure out what that is. Here we go....
Paper or Digital? Paper provides something tangible to see and to carry that doesn't require power during storms and won't be compromised in a hard drive or internet loss. However, the digital Bibles provide a buffet of resources such as commentaries, multiple translations, look-up features and highlighting, among others. With some, such as Olive Tree, you can use it on multiple devices. Any notes or highlights that you make are saved to the online server and can be accessed from any of those devices, even if it wasn't the one where you made the change. Some prefer this as a method of backup as well as portability. It is constantly readily available and able to be updated. Then, there are those of us, like me, who appreciate those features but just still prefer something I can hold in my hands.
Do you have a Bible? What translation is it? Do you feel a different one would be more beneficial to where you are going with your study? What is your focus or purpose? Obviously, you want to get closer to God. Yet, there are different methods of doing that. This post will give a bit of an over view of some of these methods. I intend to do a couple of follow up posts with more in depth information on some of them. In some cases, there are related topics to uncover, as well. But we will focus on that later.
For now, here are some common study methods:
Clearly, some of these options will not require anything other than a standard Bible. This could be one that you already have. Yet, if you are going to take notes in the margins, do inductive study or Bible journaling, you may want a Bible with specific features. The most important of these is translation.
What difference does that make? Well, it can make quite a lot of difference, actually. There are different types of translation. You need to have one that you can easily understand, so that you will want to read it. I love the King James language but even for me, as an English major, it was still a bit difficult to get through in some places. When I was given an NASB, It was like getting new glasses. The word breathed and came up off of the page for me. This made me eager to keep reading. I nearly blasted through Genesis. I still hit a bit of slow down in Leviticus or Numbers but that wasn't the translation. That was the nature of the passages. Geneologies, long building descriptions, and censuses, etc tend to be harder to get through for anyone, no matter what.
There are two main types of translation:
Word for word translations, such as the KJV, NASB, NKJV, and ESV are as close to the original text as possible, striving to literally translate word for word.
Conversely, the thought for thought (paraphrase) translations, such as NIV, NLT, and Message, seek to relay the concept without the literal word translation.
The pitfall of the thought for thought is that you, essentially, have to rely on someone else's interpretation and hope they have the context correct. With the word for word, you can draw your own conclusions about where the author was going with the words spoken or what God was really saying. Here is a link to a comparison chart of the most common translations.
The next thing that you should decide is what your purpose is. Inductive study is one option. That is a process of observing the text, interpreting its meaning and then deciding how it applies to your life. There are many acronyms out there for inductive study. One of the more popular ones is the S.O.A.P. method. This stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. I have also seen P.O.W.E.R., S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S., F.E.A.S.T. and others. Here is a list if you want to see which one you might want to use to approach your study. I'm sure there are probably even more than those, or will be. lol
If you are going to do inductive study, are you going to simply highlight and underline or are you going to do symbols? The size and style of the font may make a huge impact. Some Bibles are only 7pt in size and do not leave much, if any, room to do symbols. You may need to consider a large or giant print text. I did as much for mine. Even at 11pt, it is definitely bigger than my other Bible (8pt) but I don't think it is truly giant. I might still be able to do symbols but, depending on the ones I choose, it may be a tight fit.
If you are notetaking only in your Bible, there are many Bibles that have wider margins on the sides and bottom. This is ideal if you like to do sermon notes, definitions, or outlines in your Bible. Some people like to make a note of the date a specific passage spoke to or impacted them in a major way.
You can also, as I do, use the note taking Bible as a journaling Bible. In my case, I wanted a journaling Bible and wasn't willing to wait for one designed for that purpose. I caught an NASB (my preferred translation) NoteTaker Bible on sale for $7.99 and jumped at it. Bibles can be expensive and I was anxious to start. I can still journal in the margins with 1.2" of space but it isn't as spacious as the 2" journaling specific Bibles. I sometimes have to shrink the graphic I want to use. However, it does still function in this capacity. I don't really regret it. More space would be nice, however, I tend to look at it as the same amount of space but divided between side and bottom instead of one. Technically, it is more. 1.2" + 1.2" = 2.4"
This leads me to Bible journaling. Some may be unfamiliar with this concept. It is becoming more and more popular with the passage of time. This is a way to use your creative outlet to depict the scripture for your refereence. I will talk about this in more detail on a future post. The nutshell is that you can use many mediums to "decorate" or "personalize" your Bible. It is also a way to express worship through art. In my case, I like all of these ideas but I also prefer to look at it as writing the Word on my heart with a visual reminder. For lists, laws, promises, etc. It helps to have a picture in mind for some of these or just scriptures that you want to focus on. Not everyone will be comfortable with this method of study because some don't believe in writing in the Bible whatsoever. Some do but don't believe in covering the words whatsoever. It is totally a choice and all options are up to you.
There are 3 main types of Bibles designated for this purpose:.
This is a rather long post but you will quickly see why. I hope I don't lose you in all the information. If you have any questions or think of something I may have left out, please feel free to let me know in the comments. ;)
I wanted to explore different types of Bibles, study methods, and possibly a few different types of worship but there must be some things that come in proper order. The most important thing is to first look at the Bible you will be using. The short answer of which one is best is whichever one will get you to keep reading. ;) Let's look at some deeper insight that might help you figure out what that is. Here we go....
Paper or Digital? Paper provides something tangible to see and to carry that doesn't require power during storms and won't be compromised in a hard drive or internet loss. However, the digital Bibles provide a buffet of resources such as commentaries, multiple translations, look-up features and highlighting, among others. With some, such as Olive Tree, you can use it on multiple devices. Any notes or highlights that you make are saved to the online server and can be accessed from any of those devices, even if it wasn't the one where you made the change. Some prefer this as a method of backup as well as portability. It is constantly readily available and able to be updated. Then, there are those of us, like me, who appreciate those features but just still prefer something I can hold in my hands.
Do you have a Bible? What translation is it? Do you feel a different one would be more beneficial to where you are going with your study? What is your focus or purpose? Obviously, you want to get closer to God. Yet, there are different methods of doing that. This post will give a bit of an over view of some of these methods. I intend to do a couple of follow up posts with more in depth information on some of them. In some cases, there are related topics to uncover, as well. But we will focus on that later.
For now, here are some common study methods:
- Reading and highlighting verses that stand out or speak to you
- Notetaking inside bible only
- Notetaking but in separate notebook only
- Book/ Chapter/ Topic studies
- Inductive Study marking
- Study Bible
- Devotional Bible
- Bible Journaling
Clearly, some of these options will not require anything other than a standard Bible. This could be one that you already have. Yet, if you are going to take notes in the margins, do inductive study or Bible journaling, you may want a Bible with specific features. The most important of these is translation.
What difference does that make? Well, it can make quite a lot of difference, actually. There are different types of translation. You need to have one that you can easily understand, so that you will want to read it. I love the King James language but even for me, as an English major, it was still a bit difficult to get through in some places. When I was given an NASB, It was like getting new glasses. The word breathed and came up off of the page for me. This made me eager to keep reading. I nearly blasted through Genesis. I still hit a bit of slow down in Leviticus or Numbers but that wasn't the translation. That was the nature of the passages. Geneologies, long building descriptions, and censuses, etc tend to be harder to get through for anyone, no matter what.
There are two main types of translation:
Word for word translations, such as the KJV, NASB, NKJV, and ESV are as close to the original text as possible, striving to literally translate word for word.
Conversely, the thought for thought (paraphrase) translations, such as NIV, NLT, and Message, seek to relay the concept without the literal word translation.
The pitfall of the thought for thought is that you, essentially, have to rely on someone else's interpretation and hope they have the context correct. With the word for word, you can draw your own conclusions about where the author was going with the words spoken or what God was really saying. Here is a link to a comparison chart of the most common translations.
The next thing that you should decide is what your purpose is. Inductive study is one option. That is a process of observing the text, interpreting its meaning and then deciding how it applies to your life. There are many acronyms out there for inductive study. One of the more popular ones is the S.O.A.P. method. This stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. I have also seen P.O.W.E.R., S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S., F.E.A.S.T. and others. Here is a list if you want to see which one you might want to use to approach your study. I'm sure there are probably even more than those, or will be. lol
If you are going to do inductive study, are you going to simply highlight and underline or are you going to do symbols? The size and style of the font may make a huge impact. Some Bibles are only 7pt in size and do not leave much, if any, room to do symbols. You may need to consider a large or giant print text. I did as much for mine. Even at 11pt, it is definitely bigger than my other Bible (8pt) but I don't think it is truly giant. I might still be able to do symbols but, depending on the ones I choose, it may be a tight fit.
If you are notetaking only in your Bible, there are many Bibles that have wider margins on the sides and bottom. This is ideal if you like to do sermon notes, definitions, or outlines in your Bible. Some people like to make a note of the date a specific passage spoke to or impacted them in a major way.
You can also, as I do, use the note taking Bible as a journaling Bible. In my case, I wanted a journaling Bible and wasn't willing to wait for one designed for that purpose. I caught an NASB (my preferred translation) NoteTaker Bible on sale for $7.99 and jumped at it. Bibles can be expensive and I was anxious to start. I can still journal in the margins with 1.2" of space but it isn't as spacious as the 2" journaling specific Bibles. I sometimes have to shrink the graphic I want to use. However, it does still function in this capacity. I don't really regret it. More space would be nice, however, I tend to look at it as the same amount of space but divided between side and bottom instead of one. Technically, it is more. 1.2" + 1.2" = 2.4"
This leads me to Bible journaling. Some may be unfamiliar with this concept. It is becoming more and more popular with the passage of time. This is a way to use your creative outlet to depict the scripture for your refereence. I will talk about this in more detail on a future post. The nutshell is that you can use many mediums to "decorate" or "personalize" your Bible. It is also a way to express worship through art. In my case, I like all of these ideas but I also prefer to look at it as writing the Word on my heart with a visual reminder. For lists, laws, promises, etc. It helps to have a picture in mind for some of these or just scriptures that you want to focus on. Not everyone will be comfortable with this method of study because some don't believe in writing in the Bible whatsoever. Some do but don't believe in covering the words whatsoever. It is totally a choice and all options are up to you.
There are 3 main types of Bibles designated for this purpose:.
- Traditionally blank margins, lined or unlined.
- Coloring or Illustrated Bibles - these may leave some margins for you to decide how to use but also have plenty of things for you to color if you aren't too artistic.
- Interleaved - Every other page is blank. This leaves an entire page for you to design or decorate instead of just two side margins that are separated.
Lastly, devotional Bibles are similar to study Bibles but, instead of timelines and historical types of information, the added content is more of a "food for thought" in the form of a story that sparked a personal epiphany, etc. The devotions are something that shed light on a meaning, or perspective on the Bible's context.
Both devotional and study Bibles can come with the sermon notes, devotionals or thoughts of popular preachers, teachers, and speakers. Some of these include T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyer, Kay Arthur, Charles Stanley, John MacArthur.
Once you decide each of these things, you will get closer to having the "perfect" Bible or as close to it as possible, for this season or stage of your life. It is also possible that you may have more than one in use at a time but for different purposes. I have an NASB for journaling but I also have an NKJV for inductive study. I know other people who use one or more devotional Bibles, in different translations, and then also have a journaling bible or what have you. There is no wrong way to get into God's Word. If you feel like one Bible does it, that is all you really need. Feeding your faith is the most important thing to get out of all of this. Your approach is the only difference the rest of it makes.
I hope that I provided some insight that helped you to decide which Bible was best for you or that I may have given you thoughts or ideas that maybe sparked an interest into other forms of study. If you still aren't convinced or want to see more possibilities, keep watching for the follow-up posts on Inductive study and Bible journaling. I will update this post with the links for easier finding once they are available. ;)
There are many places to buy your Bible. My favorite is Christian Book Distributors. They have frequent sales and you can get some awesome buys on Bibles, gifts, movies, books, other things as well.
Dayspring, LifeWay, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million are some other ideas but certainly not the only ones. As it is not too far past the holiday, as of this writing, some of these sites are running clearance sales. That may or may not extend to Bibles. Dayspring, for instance has up to 70% off on selected items, some of them being Illustrated Faith supplies for Bible journaling.
Thanks for hanging in there with me to the end. I hope you have a truly blessed day/ week. <3
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Happy New Year 2018!!
Greetings all.
I would have said so much sooner but I have been quite sick for the last couple of weeks. Dratted flu first and now Acute Bronchitis and Sinusitis in its wake. I am getting better now, though, and much wanting to get back to blogging. I have been trying to get some things together both in my head and on paper before I bring them in to publish.
I have so much to share with you and need to make sure I don't lose bits of it. lol Or lead you in circles trying to follow my train. ;) I hope to get some more posts up really soon.
Until then, God bless and I pray you are all healthy, wealthy in heart, and wise through His understanding.
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