As usual, we had a work day on Tue. Our friends Ron and Cherie joined us from Minerva and brought our friend Tammy from Bolivar. The girls cleaned the place up, while the guys cut and hammered away! The hand railing for the steps to the pastor's study is almost complete and soon we'll have lights in the study!
Here's my thought for the day! (I must warn though that my grammar and punctuation is terrible! So if you happen to read this before Cherie gets ahold of it, I apologize! I think I'll be getting a few lessons in grammar soon!)
When I first came to God 12 years ago, something I can definitely say that helped to build a strong foundation for me was that I studied the bible. A few years back, while reading, God helped me understand something.
2 Tim 2:15 says:
"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
Wow! I thought... that scripture doesn't say read to show thyself approved! It says study! I looked up the word "study", and it basically means "work hard or be diligent." There are many answers and treasures in life to be found in the Word of God, but we have to search for them. Reading the Bible on a daily basis is so important, but going beyond that to study the Word of God just gives us a deeper understanding of who God really is. He reveals Himself to us through the book He wrote!
So you might wonder, how do I study? First of all pray that God will give you a fresh understanding when you study- then pick a subject: faith for instance. If you have a study Bible, you can follow the "study trail" on faith. Look the word up in a Bible dictionary and look up a bunch of scriptures on faith. Get a Strong's Concordance. It's a huge book that looks like it would be worse than reading the encyclopedia! But it has all the Greek and Hebrew words from the original Bible text and it tells you the original meaning behind the words. Write down all the information that you gather: scriptures you've found on the subject, the meaning from the Bible dictionary, the meaning from the Concordance, or anything else you might find interesting.
I like to use the PC Study Bible and do all my studies on the computer. It's quick and easy that way. It has multiple Bible dictionaries, all kinds of references, and a Strong's Concordance. Many times as I study, God will speak to me and either direct me to other scriptures I hadn't thought of or help me to see how it applies to a situation in my life.
So I encourage you to try studying the Bible. I really believe that God will speak to you and you'll get to know Him in a new way!
And a wonderful time we had working with you! Always a pleasure to run down to Dover {sure wish it could be more often!} and lend a hand! If any of you folks happen to be in that area, be sure to stop in and see how beautifully the building is coming along!
ReplyDeleteGreat post about studying the Bible as you read through it! It makes such a difference in understanding God's Word...and guaranteed, He'll speak to you on a personal note, revealing something new each time you read a scripture! In simply reading , you come to know what it says , but in studying, you find out what it means ...and His Word comes ALIVE!
{yes, the "punctuation police" were here} :o)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete