I want to give you a path
into the Bible, to help you enjoy it for your first reading. This will be especially helpful for you if English is not your first language.
The Bible, as you may know,
is not one book even thought it appears to be one.It is not written like
a novel.It is instead sixty-six separate
books.
39 books in what is called the Old Testament,
27 in what is called the
New Testament
It was written to share the Good
News to the world from the beginning of all things. It was also written by a variety of individuals
and over vast amounts of time.
So where should you begin to read!?
When I got my first Bible, I
just thought it was a book; I started reading it from the beginning. It was a long and difficult slog for a
nine-year-old. Much of it did not make
much sense and by the time I finished, the Old Testament, I was thoroughly mad
at God for killing so many animals!
Should you ever manage to
read all the Old Testament you will understand.It is quite an important observation, but more about that
another day.
You can start reading anywhere. For someone just beginning to read it, I would recommend you begin in Mark.
This is the second book in the New Testament section.
It is short, energetic and provides a good understanding of the reason
and the way Jesus came to minister to this world.
Or search YouTube for ‘Overview:Mark' by The Bible Project
To begin, you may want to read only one chapter a day, so you have time to think about what you have read. Mark has only 16 chapters.
Progress Tool
A. Get an index card, a piece of paper or start a Bible reading notebook (more on this in another segment). B. Draw a table (see below) with 16 squares. C. Write the numbers 1 through 16 in each block. D. Cross off each chapter as you complete reading it. This is a great tool you can use to encourage you to keep reading.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
What Bible Version Is Helpful to Start With?
If you do not have a Bible, consider
buying or borrowing a copy of The Life Application Bible (LAB). It comes with many notes, illustrations and maps that make the
geography, individuals and customs make sense, plus it offers some ideas of ways you can apply what you
learn to your everyday life.
Each book of the Bible in this
annotated version comes with an introduction and various important features of each
book.These help you grasp what you are
reading, such as key thoughts, keywords, characters and verses, etc.
You can either read the introduction or
simply dive right into the story.
What Translation?
A good translation to begin
with (especially if English is not your first language) is the New Living
Translation.There are many different
translations (and I'm happy to explain them someday).
This translation is easy to
read.It does not use old-fashioned,
Elizabethan English (‘thee’ and ‘thou’, ‘didst’, ‘knowest’, etc.).Finally, the NEW Living Translation is a true
translation, accurate to the original manuscripts – so trustworthy to study.
Enough for now.Please email me anytime with questions (darlenerichard@gmail.com ) and I
will happily respond.
O for a Thousand Tongues - St Michael's Singers [with lyrics]
Find a quiet
place.Bring your Bible with you.Pray the Holy Spirit will open your heart to
understand His words and the challenges of this study before you begin.
Then read James 3:1-12. (I’ve shared the Amplified Version) or read the
passage in your own Bible:
1)“Not
many of you should become teachers [self-constituted censors and reprovers of
others], my brethren, for you know that we [teachers] will be judged by a
higher standard and with greater severity [than other people].Thus we assume the greater accountability and
the more condemnation.
2)For
we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things.And if anyone does not offend in speech –
never says the wrong things – he is a fully developed character and a perfect
man, able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature.
3)If
we set bits in the horses mouths to make them obey us, we can turn their whole
bodies about.
4)Likewise
look at the ships, though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, they
are steered by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman
determines.
5)Even
so the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things.See how much wood or how great a forest a
tiny spark can set ablaze!
6)And
the tongue [is] a fire.[The tongue is
a] world of wickedness set among our members, contaminating and depraving the
whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth – the cycle of man’s nature –
being itself ignited by hell (Gehenna).
7)For
every kind of beast and bird, or reptile and sea animal, can be tamed and has been tamed by human genius
(nature).
8)But
the human tongue can be tamed by no man.It is (an undisciplined, irreconcilable) restless evil, full of
death-bringing poison.
9)With
it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God’s
likeness!
10)Out
of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing.These things, my brethren, ought not to be
so.
11)Does
a fountain send forth [simultaneously] from the same opening fresh water and
bitter?
12)Can
a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine figs?Neither can a salt spring furnish fresh
water.”
Introduction
Did you know the
tongue is a muscle and it is the one muscle that gets the most exercise of all
our muscles!We love to talk in fact, we
spend an average of one-fifth of our entire lives talking!This does not include the time we spend
talking to ourselves.
If
you go through an average day you will speak about 20,000 words each day.This is enough to fill 66 books of around 800
pages each!
Some have the gift
of gab and some have the gift of gabbing well.What we must keep in mind is that the way we speak reveals how we are
doing spiritually!
Take a moment to write down your thoughts:
Share a personal experience
where you were built-up by someone’s words.
Share a personal experience
where you were torn down by someone’s words.
You
can speak in jest or in the heat of your emotions and you can hear words others
speak that wound you.God entrusted you
to use this great power wisely.But it
is not easy.
Nevertheless, there is no
rewind -- you can’t take your words back, no matter how you wish you could.
Metaphors to help
James, the author,
is known for how he fills his writing with illustrations we can relate to.In the passage above, he uses seven metaphors
to explain the tongue.What are they?Would these be easy to share with another?
1.B
_______ in the mouth of a horse
2.R
____________ of a ship
3.F ______
/ S ________ that sets a forest ablaze
4.B ___________
or M ______________
5.F
_________________
6.P
__________
7.F _____
T _________
After the resurrection of Jesus -- and before He ascended to heaven -- He challenges those who
would follow after Him:
“And
Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to
Me.Go therefore and make disciples of
all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20
That makes you and
me His representatives until He returns! So, it is important for you to use your words being
ever mindful of that responsibility.A good
place to begin is to remember Jesus’ example.Think about how Jesus spoke to those He met and taught and
corrected.
============================
What is one example you remember
that illustrated how Jesus spoke with someone?
=============================
You can use your
words to build others up, encourage and refresh them or to wound them for life.Wounding words seem to have a very long shelf-life
in your heart.The tongue reveals hidden
heart thoughts, ideas and temptations you are dealing with.
You must purpose
to use your words to glorify Christ, because you are Christ to those around you.
Application
1.Think
and consider before you speak
2.Watch your
words (Your tongue is in a wet place and it’s so easy to slip.)
3.Put
off gossip and put on praise
4.Be wise
with the use of your words
Speak (write,
post, send) whatever you intend to say to the glory of God.
Morgan Blake an
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Writer:“I
am more deadly than the screaming shell for the howitzer.I win without killing.I tear down homes, break hearts and wreck
lives.I travel on the wings of the
wind.
"No innocence is strong enough to
intimidate me, no purity pure enough to daunt me.I have no regard for truth, no respect for
just, nor mercy for the defenseless.My
victims are as numerous as the sands of the sea, and often as innocent.I never forget and seldom forgive.My name is gossip.”
Five ways to avoid sharing gossip
1.Is it
true, do you know it’s true?
2.It may
be true, but is it necessary to share it?
3.Is it beneficial?
4.Do I
have permission to share this?
5.Is your
motivation pure?(Don’t use the excuse
of sharing a prayer request to share gossip).
Where is help to
moderate and ensure your words are encouraging?The ultimate help comes from having a new heart and allowing the Lord to
transform your words.Practice keeping
short accounts with yourself and know how to approach someone you've wronged with your words to ask them for forgiveness.
============================= (Spiritual soap – I John 1:8-10) =============================
Pray and ask the
Lord for wisdom and strength.Always remember: What you say, may not
seem important at the time, but what you say is your testimony to others. It can wound or it can change another's life.
Types of Words to Avoid
Careless
Vain
Meaningless
Idle
gossip
Contemptuous
Caustic
Purposefully hateful
Carnal
Filthy
Blasphemous
Immoral
Arrogant
Angry
Petty
Hostile
NOTE:Did
you know that every one of the Ten Commandments can be broken by using words
alone!
Bill McCartney, who
established the Christian group, the Promisekeepers said, ‘The measure of a man
is in his words.Are they true?Can he back them up?In the final analysis what else do we offer
people?Can you back up your words?Do you live them out?”
