Alpha and Ab...

Dear Jesus - Touch our hearts with the beauty of Yourself in this study....
This post began in the end.  Revelation - that is.  Did you know the phrase 'Alpha and Omega' occurs 4 times in the Bible and all those occurrences are in the book of Revelation?  This was news to me - and got me to thinking along the lines of a very simple principle for Bible study:  Greek words generally have corresponding Hebrew words.

Jesus' Request for Forgiveness...

Dear Jesus - We cannot even glimpse Your amazing love and forgiveness unless You give us the gift of Your Spirit.  Please give us that gift now that You may change our lives...

The other night I was puttering around idly listening as my husband read to my son from The Bible Story book for the night.  The evening's story was about the crucifixion.  The books are old.  Very old.  And very Biblically accurate.  However, something the author noted caught my ear.  I had to check it out for myself.

Bible Study Prep - The Basics

The fog in my head is Zyrtec-induced because I think I may in fact - after escaping all these years - have a sort of Springtime allergy.  This got me to thinking perhaps I should post a sort of primer about preparing for Bible study.  Let's see what the Bible says...

Alpha and Omega

..Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End...


Dear Jesus - I don't even know what to say.  You are so amazing - beyond compare.  Please reveal Yourself to each of us personally today...

As you can imagine, the subject of 'remember' is heavy on my mind.  Such a subject for digging!  But check this O.U.T.!!!  Law of first occurrence.  Gonna grab just the first & last occurrence - see what Jesus reveals to us about Himself:

How Jesus Saved Me From My Television

This is just another reason why I love Jesus.  Because He delivered me from my television!  It started innocently enough...

In 2006 or so, my husband and I decided to reduce our cable expenses and only pay for the near-minimum service.  We figured all we watched was public broadcasting and the Discovery Channel anyway - so easy enough to do.  No problem.

As 2010 entered, this oh-so-slight-niggle crept into our hearts that despite our admission that we only ever watched PBS & the Discovery Channel, we really were watching too much television.  Yeah - we probably agreed with the 'niggle'...

Spring of 2011 came around - and with it?  Spring Cleaning!  Woohoo!  Craigslist here we come!  And we did.  The desk purchased with such high ambitions a few years previously, had proved to be rather a space hog.  Except - on it sat the TV and the cable box.   (And no, we didn't sell the TV, patience here!)  So - listed it on Craigslist. 

Stones - Parallels to Today

Dear Jesus - Please send us Your Holy Spirit so we can awaken from our sinfilled slumber and see our true condition...

We've been considering the 15th chapter of 2nd Chronicles.  An amazing chapter to be sure.  In this post - our focus will be 'parallels' and the 'me' or the 'church' dimensions.  This means, we will be looking for parallels between the story, its setting and our day.  These parallels the Holy Spirit will show us and help us to discern their relation to our personal lives.

Before listing some of the verses that stand out, let's consider the context:

King Asa had faced the first 'million man march' on record and the Lord delivered Judah in amazing fashion (2 Chron. 14:9-12).  Chapter 15 gives additional context about the condition of 'the church' during these times:

Stones - God's Vocabulary

Dear Jesus - Our minds are sin filled and degenerate from generations of sin.  Please cover us with Your Holy Spirit.  Open our eyes, that we may behold wonderful things from Your Word.

A daily Bible reading program provides the reader with a free field, rich with treasure and ours for the digging!  There are lots of programs available.  I recommend Revived by His Word because it is only 1 chapter daily and there is an accompanying blog commentator who, read regularly, will expose us to many study principles for unpacking the chapter.

Last week, I read 2 Chronicles 15 and for the first time, my heart burned within me regarding a link to the New Testament.  The Bible is the language of God - His vocabulary if you will.  The more we take it in, the more patterns and pictures will pop out to us.  Much like learning any language.

Stones...

Dear Jesus - We understand that You use many symbols in the Bible.  Please send us Your Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth so we can understand You more...

To the right there are links to a solid source for Biblical symbols.  However, what do you notice as you review the list?  It is the Bible itself that is to explain itself.  As we have noted before, we must always approach the Bible with prayer for it is a Book like no other.  It is the Word of God.  Spiritual things are spiritually discerned and God in His great mercy promises us the Holy Spirit to guide us in our study. 

The next most important safeguard to keep in mind is that the Bible is the revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:1).  We must measure all we discover against the picture of God's character that it reveals.  We do this by comparing verse with verse. 

The topic of Bible symbols is a beautiful one - and therefore the enemy attacks it particularly vigorously.  But we are determined not only to pick up the gems lying on the surface, but to dig for buried treasure as well!  Our safeguard?  The Bible defines the symbols it uses.  How awesome is that?

Let's give this a go... 

Context, Context, Context - and John 14:1-6

Dear Jesus - Thank You for Your amazing WORD...

Perhaps I have mentioned this before?  Since June of last year, I have an amazing prayer partner.  We meet on the phone on M / W / F of each week.  First, we discuss our Bible reading for the day.  We are both on the same reading plan.  Then we move into prayer.  Total time?  About 30 minutes.  Experience?  Priceless.

Anyway - we got to discussing John 14:1-3 yesterday.  Once again the value of context popped up.  Below is the expanded text in the NASB which provides a more literal translation.  Consider the question:  Where is Jesus going?

Fighting in the Family...

Dear Jesus - Give us courage we pray, to trust always in You...

The full story is told below.  What I'd like to point out today is the result of a few study techniques:  Names, Numbers & Context.