How to Study the Bible

I took a workshop on how to study the Bible at our church, Victory Fort. and today, we talked about guidelines when studying. We talked about context and how we sometimes take some verses out of context. Here's one:

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38 NIV)

We usually take this verse to talk about tithing and generosity. But if we look at the verse before that,

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:37, 38 NIV)

We can see that this verse actually talks about forgiveness and not giving money. How apt when taken in context to my life right now. Lord, soften my heart. Teach it to forgive. I want to give forgiveness freely, just as You would have me.

Ah, Lord. I feel so at peace when studying Your Word. But I need to go back into the world. I need to go back to where the fire demon in my heart is strong, and I am weak against it. Be with me, my God. And help me forgive. Help me forgive.

Of Men Past

God, O, God,

My Protector, my Redeemer, my Lord. To You be glory and honor forever. You are the Creator of the world, the Author of my life. Nothing is hidden from You. You protect those who are Yours.

I am Yours, am I not? O Lord, why is the spirit of sadness coming over me? I met a man who is dear to me. He is a sweet sweet man. Very decent. Very kind. He was the first man I ever really went out with. And praise be to You, Lord, that my first man was a kind and decent one. But I was young then, and he was ready to settle down. And we drifted apart before we even officially became an item. He is married now to a nice girl, and I am very happy for him.

He gave me a book he had written. I had distanced myself from that world after my first boyfriend had broken my heart. The world of stories was a world of chivalry and true love to me. And when we broke up, I felt that that world turned out not to be true, and that true love was nothing but a wish that can never be found in the real world. Of course, circumstance has taught me that true love does exist but that what we think as true love is really not love but a feeling we associate with love. And that true love is not romantic. On the contrary, it is that thing that keeps us going even when the feeling is gone.

I read the book and I found I had missed this world, this world where anything can happen. Where people were chivalrous. Where love was true. And the thing about stories is you can get a glimpse of the heart of the writer from the text. And when he talked about an absence of a formal relationship with a particular girl, and tears threatening to burst when he saw the girl with another guy, I suddenly couldn't help but think if I had not hurt him back when we parted years ago.

He is still kind and decent now. I saw no bitterness in him when I met him again. We didn't hang out anymore. He was married now. It wouldn't be proper. And when we'd have lunch, he would make sure we had a third person with us.

I liked that. I appreciated that. It made me respect him more. It made me feel protected.

And it made me cry that after this man, what seemed to follow in my life was a series of broken guys.

I can't say I regret that I didn't pursue a relationship with this man. If I had back then, I would probably just hurt him. I was still selfish and self-centered back when I met him (I still am but I think it has been greatly turned down now). I can't say I regret falling in love with the broken and hurting guy who became my first boyfriend because that taught me a lot about men, relationships and myself. And it sent me crawling to my God. So I can't say I regret it. But I just felt sad.

Fight the Good Fight

We have just started an equipping series in church on how to study the Bible. And we studied 2 Timothy 4, and this is what I gathered from my studying:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good fight
The good fight. The most basic of our fights. The battle between good and evil. The good fight of faith. We are in a battle, aren't we? We knew that. As children, we knew the most basic of our fights. But as we grew older, the situations become more complex. And our desires often grey out what we used to see as wrong.

I have finished the race
Life. We have hat rat races, running a business, running from hurts. We run life. But why call it a race? Why the competitive element to it? Urgency. That is why. We never really know how much more time we have. But this is a race and there is an urgency to do the things God has called us to do.

I have kept the faith
Faith can dwindle. Faith can drop. But the idea is to sustain the faith until the end.

The crown of righteousness
What is righteousness? It's basically fulfilling our end of the bargain in our relationship with God. And it doesn't say here that we will achieve righteousness. Rather, it will be crowned us. Do what needs to be done, and at the end of it, He will make us worthy.

Overall take-home
Press on. I may be faltering, and I may want to give up with all the failures I have as a Christian. But we have to press on. Do what needs to be done, and do it with a sense of urgency. And at the end of it all, God will make you worthy of the relationship with Him.