Pick up a quick tip to get more out of your Bible study

I've taught for over twenty years and I can help you go deeper when you open up the Word.

Study Tip: Finished

Usually, when I study, I focus on books or passages, or even words, with the intent of seeing the deep details God incorporates into His word. I love studying that way. However, sometimes it’s good to remember that the Bible for all its diversity in authorship, time and style is one coherent story. This one story is told in three parts, each marked by the word “finished” (or “done,” depending on your translation).

Creation is finished.
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. Genesis 2:2

Salvation is finished.
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. John 19:30

Final redemption is finished.
And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. Revelation 21:6

He created us. He saved us. He will one day bring us into His eternal presence. He initiated each step in the plan and He brought it to completion. Keeping the larger narrative in mind helps refocus our attention on God and His plan. In focusing on and glorifying God that way, we fulfill the true purpose of all Bible study — worship.

Study Tip: Palm Sunday

By Paula

All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
“Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
Matthew 21:4-5

The Bible records two instances in which Jesus rode instead of walking. The first we’ll remember and celebrate this coming Palm Sunday. The second we’ll celebrate sometime in the future.

Matthew 21:1-5 records Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem the Sunday before His crucifixion. In a perfect fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, He enters the city riding on a young donkey.

Albert Barnes and others who study the historical side of Scriptures attest that horses were rare in Judea, so they were only used in times of war. During peace time, kings and princes rode donkeys. (Judges 10:4, 12:14 and 1 Samuel 25:20 show the noble and the wealthy riding donkeys.)

The unmistakable picture is that of a King coming as a peacemaker. The crowds immediately recognized what Jesus was doing and began shouting the Messianic sections of Psalm 118. All of the promises they had clung to through countless Passover celebrations were about to reach their fulfillment.

Except they didn’t.

We know how the story plays out. The mood changed and days later that crowd who had pronounced blessings became a mob calling for His blood.

Now let’s skip ahead.

In Revelation 19:11, John reports, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.”

Now Christ rides a white horse. Roman general rode white horses, especially in their victory parades. Jesus is not coming to make peace this time. The text plainly says He’s coming to make war. The offer of peace has expired, and those who have rejected it have become His enemies and will face Him on the battlefield. Further reading in Revelation 19 reveals it’s a war He will win decisively.

As you celebrate Palm Sunday this weekend, consider what an amazing thing it is for the King, crowned with power and majesty, to offer us terms of peace, a peace that would cost us nothing but our allegiance to Him.

Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Study Tip: Opened and Torn

By Paula

Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him. Mark 1:10 NAS

Today’s study tip is a quick behind-the-scenes look at a couple of verses from Mark’s gospel. The word “opening” in Mark 1:10 is the Greek word, schizo, the root for the English words schizophrenic and schism. I’d always pictured this more like a curtain opening at the beginning of a show, but schizo means to rend or cleave. It’s much more energetic and active.

Now skip ahead to Mark 15:38. “And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” Torn is the same Greek word, schizo, that we saw in Mark 1:10.

The writer nerd in me immediately sees this as a subtle but beautifully crafted way to bookend the story of Jesus’s ministry. It’s even more significant than that.

At the start of Jesus’s earthly ministry, the heavens are opened. God gives notice that Jesus is His Son, and we should listen. God validates Jesus’s ministry with the seal that Jesus speaks for Him. In the Upper Room, He tells His disciples if they’d seen Him, they’d seen the Father. In other words, all the access you could ever want or need to the Sovereign King of Kings was now available. If you wanted to talk to God, you simply had to talk to Jesus. That’s an amazing thing right there.

But it got better.

At the end of Jesus’s ministry, the veil in the temple is torn from top to bottom. The physical access people had to the Father through the person of Jesus Christ was now completely wide open because of His shed blood on the cross. We are no longer limited to meeting God at a particular time and place. We have free, unlimited access to Him because of Jesus. All the barriers are have been torn, cleaved, rent apart.

That’s a lot of power packed in that one little word.

Study Tip: The Approach

By Paula

Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:5

Sometimes our Bible study is hindered by the attitudes and expectations we bring to it.

We may believe Scripture is confusing and hard to understand, so it’s as satisfying as reading the legal notice for prescription medicine.
We may see it as a list of rules so we look forward to it like we anticipate the changes to the IRS code.
We may study purely out of obligation so it brings us as much joy as skipping dessert.

But what if we saw it as an invitation to step onto holy ground instead?
What if we viewed it as a chance to hear from the wisest counselor?
Or a visit with a mighty king for a private audience?
Or maybe a quiet conversation with a trusted friend?

It’s even more than that.

The Bible is the way the ultimate lover of your soul reveals His heart.

The next time you sit down to study, take a few moments to decompress, to focus and to ask God to reveal His heart as you read. He promises that if we seek Him, we will find Him. After your study, make sure you thank Him and record what you learned. It never hurts to share it with someone else, too.

Study Tip: God’s Love

By Paula

Since Valentine’s Day is this week, let’s do a quick study of God’s love.

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3

The Bible has a lot to say about love. In fact, after God or Jesus, love probably has more entries in your concordance than anything else. Love originates with God. He defines it and He embodies it. Interestingly, the first mention of the word love is a father’s love. It comes in Genesis 22 referring to Abraham’s love for Isaac.

The Bible uses two unique words to try to describe God’s love for us.

In the Old Testament, writers chose the word hesed. It’s usually translated mercy, lovingkindness, steadfast love or unfailing love. Wrapped up in that one word is the idea that we, in our weakness, rest in the protection and blessing of God. He offers it with a generous unyielding commitment, not borne of obligation but of choice. It is God’s particular love for His chosen people. Psalm 136 uses hesed in its refrain.

In the New Testament, we see agape used. It’s the unshakeable, sacrificial love that prompts action. It’s the love that initiated the plan of salvation, the love that caused Jesus to die for us and the love the causes us to obey God and serve others in grace.

While you could easily devote your life to studying, meditating on and basking in the love of God, here are a few verses worth considering, but keep in mind, hesed, may be translated any number of ways.

Exodus 15:17
Numbers 14:18-19
Psalm 5:7
Psalm 103:8-11

John 14:15
1 John 4:9-10 (pretty much the whole book of 1 John)
Romans 5:8
Ephesians 2:4
Romans 13:8

What do these verses tell you about love? About God? About us? What actions does love prompt God to take? What should love lead us to do?

Study Tip: Demas in the Details

By Paula

“For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica.” 2 Timothy 4:10

At the end of Paul’s letters, he sends personal greetings to individual Christians. We know next to nothing about most of the people Paul mentions, but occasionally, we can follow a few extra references and get a behind the scenes look at the early church. One of those believers is a guy named Demas. He is first mentioned in Colossians 4:14. “Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you.” Then again in Philemon verse 24. “As do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow laborers.”

So what does that tell us about Demas? We know Colossians was written while Paul was in prison in Rome. Demas’s mention indicates he was committed enough to minister to the apostle while he was under house arrest. In Philemon, Paul calls him a fellow laborer.

Most scholars believe those two letters were written within a couple of years of each other, around AD 60-62. However, by the time 2 Timothy was written five or six years later, the relationship had changed. Drastically. Paul says Demas has forsaken him. The Greek word for forsaken carries the idea of leaving someone helpless in the midst of a dire situation. Demas knew Paul was in a Roman dungeon and he utterly abandoned him. The apostle felt hurt and betrayed.

Demas’s reason? Paul says it was because Demas loved this present world. Interestingly, his name means “popular.” When the persecution amped up under Nero, Demas decided the cost was too great. He was not the first.

What can we learn from the brief account of Demas?

We shouldn’t be surprised when people walk away from the faith. Jesus predicted it would happen in Matthew 13:20-21. While we want everybody who hears the name of Jesus to respond with a lifelong commitment, it doesn’t work that way. Even full-time ministers like Demas are not exempt. We need to ensure our relationship with Christ remains vibrant.

Scripture never shies away from portraying our failures and weaknesses. With that kind of honesty, there is no question that the things accomplished were done by the hand of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. We should aim for transparency in our own lives.

Not everything is for public consumption. Did you notice when Paul had good things to say about Demas, he wrote those in general letters intended to be read in public and circulated among neighboring churches? His criticism came in a private letter written to the man he trusted most, Timothy. (Granted, the letter is in the Bible now where everyone can read it, but I think it’s for this lesson.) Take the opportunity to praise people in public, and highlight their work. Any shortcomings should be kept private.

If you want to study more “footnote” folks, try researching Trophimus, Epaphras, or Aristarchus.

Study Tip: Finished

Study Tip: Palm Sunday

Study Tip: Opened and Torn

Study Tip: The Approach

Study Tip: God’s Love

Study Tip: Demas in the Details

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