I counted the chapters that we studied this year at our church and although “Chapter of the week” seems as though it may cover about 50ish chapters there were actually 76 studied this year. Wow! For all of you who joined us as Grace in studying the Bible together, I congratulate you on the achievement! I would be willing to bet that you have a similar story to mine, and I’d love to hear it, when you get a chance.
To give some direction to our study we asked 3 simple questions.
What did God say? What did God say to me? And what will I say to others?
What did God say is a straightforward synopsis of the Word. Don’t add your ideas, explanations, or the sightly affected memories that you might have had regarding a chapter or event. What a great exercise! Try it if you haven’t already. As you’re reading, journal the main points. You can do that by answering a few questions: Who was involved? Where did this take place? A really helpful one to me was learning who is the book written by and to? Why was it written? Sometimes it is describing an event, other times it is warning people, still others it is written for clarification or correction.
What did it say to you? For me this year, I did a lot of digging and praying. I asked myself why did God find it important for me to know this today? What can I do about this added knowledge? Does my attitude today line up with the attitude that I read about? Did something stand out as new and different than what I had remembered? There are so many questions that I had a chance to dig around to answer. Super challenging and rewarding!!
What will you say to others? This was one of the reasons that lead me to write posts this year. It created an additional opportunity to have meaningful conversations (albeit one-sided) about God and His word. Not to say that I didn’t have face to face conversations with people, but those opportunities are fewer and further between. Whereas, the computer is in front of me on a daily bases. The world at my fingertips, at least the opportunity is greater. This question helped me really narrow my take-away lessons to very few points. Often one or two. It also was what helped me remember and carry the lessons with me through my days.
What did God say through this study?
He is detailed, planned, ordered, funny, personal, intimate, tender, just, warm, succinct, exact, and oh so creative. I fell deeper in love with Him and wanted to spend more and more time with Him.
What did God say to me over the course of the year?
That His word is alive and active. (Hebrews 4:12) I am sure I mentioned this throughout but I’ve read through the Bible several times. (I hope so.) This is not bragging, more like a confession. I chose to make Jesus Christ my Savior in 1974. What!?!?! I checked a calculator which affirms the fact that if I have read through the Bible 6 times it is not nearly enough because 569 months have passed since that day. (Wow, I did not intend to go there.) I certainly would say that Jesus became the Lord of my life years after that, but in all of this time I am amazed by how ALIVE the word of God is. What I mean when I say that is that it reads different. Something new stands out and captures my heart on the 3rd reading than did on the 2nd. And after over 40 years in the word, I am still learning. I am more in AWE than ever. It’s not like reading a favorite book or watching a favorite movie that thrills or saddens your heart at just the right moment. It is a growing relationship. One that you can hear the words “I love you” today and they mean something different than they did last week. Does that make sense?
God said to me, there is much much more to Me for you, Lisa. You have to keep working at this relationship. I say, “yes, Lord.”
What do I say to you after a year together?
For those of you who joined me on part or all of this journey, I appreciate you. I appreciate the fact that you hung in there to read through my rambling thoughts and rough and tumble phrases. I pray, pray, pray, that there was some moment here or there that God used to turn your thoughts toward Him. There is a reason that I named this blog “Worship Moments”. Every word is intended to shine a light on the goodness and greatness of God. They are written to show you another way of thinking about the things that might already be familiar to you.
I am not that smart or eloquent. What I am, is willing. I am a servant, just like I’ve encouraged you to be.
To close out the year, I wish you all the best as you reflect on this past year. I pray that you take some time to do that and also think about what God has shown you this year about Himself, and about you. I pray that you continue to seek Him and move a step closer from wherever you are today. I pray that you would reach up for a hand to walk along side you, as a mentor and/or partner in Christ. I pray that you would reach out and help someone find a relationship with Jesus. There is no time to waste.
