Every experience God gives us,
every person He puts in our path,
is the perfect preparation only He can see. –
Corrie Ten Boom
Really Reading the Bible
Part 1: The Need to Ask God’s Guidance:
Pray before you begin
to read or study the word:
1. Acknowledge the Author of the Word:
‘Lord, I come to ask you as the Author of the Word
to open it’s meaning and application to me
that I might walk in obedience to its call,
and made ready to do your good work.’
16All Scripture is inspired by God
and profitable for teaching,
for reproof,
for correction,
for training in righteousness;
17so that the man of God may be adequate,
equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
2. Ask the Holy Spirit for His guidance:
‘Holy Spirit I ask that you will lead me in the Word
that I might discover and be lead by the truth of the Word;
give me eyes to see and observe,
the ability to properly interpret it,
and then the ability to apply the truth to my life.’
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes,
he will guide you into all truth.
He will not speak on his own;
he will speak only what he hears,
and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 16:13
3. Ask God to guide your thinking:
‘Lord may my mind be transformed as I open your Word,
may I approach it in humility
that that Your Word may come alive to me,
and its truth be applied to my own life.’
Romans 12:2
2And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
so that you may prove what the will of God is,
that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Philippians 2:5-8
5Have this attitude in yourselves
which was also in Christ Jesus,
6who, although He existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7but emptied Himself,
taking the form of a bond-servant,
and being made in the likeness of men.
8Being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Luke 10: 21
21At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said,
"I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent
and have revealed them to infants.
Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
4. Ask God to help you search out His Word
that He may be Honored:
‘Lord help me to approach Your Word
with the reverence it deserves.
Assist me in searching out its treasures
that you wish to apply to my life
and the lives of others through me.’
Proverbs 2:1-4
1My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
2Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
3For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
4If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Psalm 19:7-11 is a definitive statement about the Word of God:
Psalm 19:7a
7The law of the LORD is perfect,
restoring the soul;
The word perfect is the Hebrew word tamiym
which describes the ‘state of wholeness.’
When God speaks His Word is meant to bring wholeness.
The enemy speaks to tear us down,
to kill, steal and destroy. (John 10:10)
God’s Word brings healing (physical and emotional)
and restoration (brings us back into fellowship)
God’s Word will bring correction and discipline when it is needed;
but it is always brought with love and mercy
Even in His wrath He always remembers mercy
2LORD, I have heard the report about You
and I fear O LORD,
revive Your work in the midst of the years,
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.
Habakkuk 3:2
Any word that separates us from God,
did not originate from God.
Our Father has a perfect love for His children
God’s Word invites us into His presence,
they are healing words
that invite us into a greater intimacy with God.
Psalm 19:7b
The testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple.
Testimony means to ‘tell it again.’
God’s Word tells us again and again
about His acts of love and mercy
that are fashioned
to bring us back into His presence.
When God speaks He does so with clarity.
God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace…
33for God is not a God of confusion but of peace,
as in all the churches of the saints.
I Corinthians 14:33
God always speaks in a way that brings life and safety
He desires to bring us into his presence
to build us up into the image of His Son
12for the equipping of the saints
for the work of service,
to the building up of the body of Christ;
13until we all attain to the unity of the faith,
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a mature man,
to the measure of the stature
which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:12-13
God doesn’t want us in the dark
His Word is compared to the light
105Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105
God doesn’t hide things from His children.
But will hide things as hidden treasures
for us to find
as they we are obedient to search out His Word.
God invites us and leads us to come into His presence
So that we might grow in intimacy
and respond correctly to what He says
Psalm 19:8
8The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
God’s voice has a unique righteous tone to it,
that-is-to-say that when we hear the Word of God
it just sounds right, because it is the truth.
The word ‘right’ here is the Hebrew word yashar,
which literally means to be straight,
but implies a moral and ethical correctness
The Lord’s voice always leads us in ways
that agree with His very nature;
because we were created in His image
there is a supernaturally natural resonance
that strikes a chord of agreement within us.
As a pastor friend I know well puts it –
“We just know in our knower!”
God is completely holy
and above the opinions of man.
His very nature is like a huge rock – steadfast and immovable.
When God speaks,
His Spirit witnesses to our spirits
and we just know that His Word is true,
it is not dependent upon our situation or circumstance.
It is settled simply because He has proclaimed it.
There is an old saying
that is frequent in Christian circles that says…
“God’s Word says it,
I believe it,
so that settles it.”
As good as that may sound, I believe it should state:
“God’s Word says it…
that settles it…
so I believe it!”
Our hearts rejoice in this matter
because we know deep down that we belong to Him
and that He ‘He has our back’… (our front, and both sides as well).
Psalm 19:8b
The commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes.
There is no impurity in God’s Word –
that which He speaks has no hidden agenda,
no secret motive, no bias, no evil intent of any kind.
Thus His Word is pure…
when he announces that He loves us
and that His mercy endures forever…
He really means it!
He is not going to reconsider tomorrow
and change his mind because we stumble, or fall.
He will be there with His pure love
to draw us into His presence
and restore us into right relationship,
because of the finished work of His Son on Calvary.
His desire is that we would so come to know
this purity of love
that we would see ourselves and others in the same light,
and agree in our mind with His assertion.
This is what He means by “the enlightening of our eyes.”
Psalm 19:9
9The fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true;
they are righteous altogether.
God is eternal and wants us to have an eternal perspective –
for we are eternal as well.
He desires that we are enduring… true… righteous… and clean,
because these virtues, these character traits of our God
are what will bring us to the place
of quiet confidence and peace.
His power and wisdom are without limits…
He wants to fill us with “The Faith of God”
rather than faith in God.
His desire is that we would walk a naturally supernatural walk
that will demonstrate His kingdom to the world around us,
so that they will see his heart and faithfulness
and be drawn to Him.
All that God says to us is solid, enduring, eternal and righteous.
There is a fundamental stability, a unshakable surety to all He says.
The Psalmist proclaims:
89Forever, O LORD,
Your word is settled in heaven.
90Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations;
You established the earth, and it stands.
91They stand this day according to Your ordinances,
For all things are Your servants.
Psalm 119:89-91
What God proclaims is faithful and will all be fulfilled in Him.
His Word gives us a peace and confidence
which witnesses to the fact
that we can trust everything He says.
Psalm 19:10
10They are more desirable than gold,
yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey
and the drippings of the honeycomb.
There is an unmistakable sweet fragrance
and sweet savor to God’s Word.
11"Your lips, my bride, drip honey;
Honey and milk are under your tongue,
And the fragrance of your garments
is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
Song of Solomon 4:11
His word is desirable because
the intent of His word is always to bless us with life, and life abundant (John 10:10b).
His greatest desire is to see us freed from ever bondage
that we might be free to worship Him in spirit and in truth.
His Word will confront us because
He wants to irradiate everything that keeps us from His presence.
Psalm 19:11
11Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward.
James summarizes the goodness of God
and the intent of His Word in this fashion:
17But the wisdom from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, reasonable,
full of mercy and good fruits,
unwavering, without hypocrisy.
18And the seed whose fruit is righteousness
is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:17-18
5. Our bodies are His Temple (1 Corinthians 6:19)
we need therefore to discipline ourselves
that His word may dwell richly in us
so His glory will be displayed. (Colossians 3:16)
‘Lord help me to be obedient
to be in your Word each day,
that I might be disciplined to rightly divide your Word of Truth.
Help me to be a vessel fit for Your use,
that Your Word may transform me
so that Your glory will be evidenced by others.’
19Or do you not know
that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
who is in you, whom you have from God,
and that you are not your own?
1 Corinthians 6:19
16Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you,
with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another
with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16
6. We are to meditate on the Word of God:
I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.
Psalm 119:99
‘Teach me Lord to meditate on your Word
that I might internalize Your truths
that will set my heart free
to bring you unfettered worship and praise.
Allow your Word to penetrate my heart and soul
that I may become a living testament
of Your truth and faithfulness.’
To meditate means to earnestly reflect upon,
to ruminate over and over again
until the truth of the Word is internalized.
When Kings took the throne in Israel
they were required to sit in the presence of a priest
and make a handwritten copy of the Law.
In this way they became intimately familiar
with the Word of God.
They were required to keep that copy with them
and were to study it daily,
so that it might provide them Godly wisdom
as to how they were to rule God’s people.
When he takes the throne of his kingdom,
he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law,
taken from that of the priests, who are Levites.
Deuteronomy 17:18
Repetition, careful observation,
making your own handwritten copy,
markings, and symbols
all serve to internalize God’s Word in our hearts,
so the Holy Spirit can bring it back to us
at just the right moment.
7. The Word of God cleanses us:
‘Thank You Lord that Your Word washes over me
to cleanse me and change me into Your image.
I embrace the washing of Your Word in my life
and ask that You use Your Word
in me and through me to Your glory.’
26so that He might sanctify her,
having cleansed her
by the washing of water
with the word,
Ephesians 5:26
3"You are already clean
because of the word which I have spoken to you.
John 15:3
17"Sanctify them in the truth;
Your word is truth.
John 17:17
‘Lord, I come to ask you as the Author of the Word
to open it’s meaning and application to me
that I might walk in obedience to its call,
and made ready to do your good work.
Holy Spirit I ask that you will lead me in the Word
that I might discover and be lead by the truth of the Word;
give me eyes to see and observe,
the ability to properly interpret it,
and then the ability to apply the truth to my life.
Holy Spirit I ask that you will lead me in the Word
that I might discover and be lead by the truth of the Word;
give me eyes to see and observe,
the ability to properly interpret it,
and then the ability to apply the truth to my life.
Lord help me to approach Your Word
with the reverence it deserves.
Assist me in searching out its treasures
that you wish to apply to my life
and the lives of others through me.
Lord help me to be obedient
to be in your Word each day,
that I might be disciplined to rightly divide your Word of Truth.
Help me to be a vessel fit for Your use,
that Your Word may transform me
so that Your glory will be evidenced by others.
Teach me Lord to meditate on your Word
that I might internalize Your truths
that will set my heart free
to bring you unfettered worship and praise.
Allow your Word to penetrate my heart and soul
that I may become a living testament
of Your truth and faithfulness.
‘Thank You Lord that Your Word washes over me
to cleanse me and change me into Your image.
I embrace the washing of Your Word in my life
and ask that You use Your Word
in me and through me to Your glory.’
A-Men
End Part 1
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