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Archive for the ‘Bible Study’ Category

Bible Basics (Part 3)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, History, Old Testament, tagged , , on May 17, 2010|

Continuing with our discussion of the Bible ands its organization and content, the following is a summary of what we covered in the last 2 posts on Bible Basics:

The Bible has 2 testaments: The Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament has 39 books divided into 5 sections:  The Law, The History, The Poetry & Wisdom, The Major Prophets and The Minor Prophets.

The Law consists of:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

That brings us to the next grouping of books in the Old Testament – The History.  The Books of History include:

  • Joshua (the tribes entering into and conquering the promised land)
  • Judges (the 300-year period when Israel was ruled by Judges and the Israelites moving through a repeated cycle of sin, oppression, crying out to God, God’s deliverance, and gradual falling away from God and repeating the cycle)
  • Ruth (an important story of two women during the period of judges which has important images of the Kinsman redeemer which connect to the Book of Revelation)
  • 1 and 2 Samuel (a story of 2 kings for Israel, first Saul and then David)
  • 1 and 2 Kings (Solomon’s kingdom and the divided kingdom)
  • 1 and 2 Chronicles (God’s story focused solely on the Southern Kingdom of Judah)
  • Ezra (the return from Babylonian captivity)
  • Nehemiah (the rebuilding of the City of Jerusalem)
  • Esther (a story of a Jewish woman living in exile who saves the Jews from extermination)

The Books of the History span over 1,000 years of the history of the children of Israel following them from the time they entered the promised land, to the time of judges, to their receiving a King (Saul) and his removal by God, to David being anointed their King, to David ruling over Jerusalem, to David ruling over all of Israel, to the Kingdom dividing, to the fall of the Northern Kingdom, to the Fall of the Southern Kingdom and the children of Israel in their captivity and ultimately, their deliverance from captivity.

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Bible Basics (Part 2)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, Law, Old Testament, tagged , , on May 16, 2010|

As I outlined in the last post, the Bible has 2 Testaments (Old Testament and New Testament), and each testament is divided into books, and the books are further grouped together with other books of similar purpose, content and/or authorship.

By way of review, the groupings of the  books of the Old Testament are:

  • The Law
  • The History
  • The poetry and wisdom books
  • The Major Prophets
  • The Minor Prophets

The Books of  the Law include:

  • Genesis    (Covers the beginnings of man:  his creation, the fall, judgment by flood, judgment at the tower of babel, lives of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph)
  • Exodus  (Life and Ministry of Moses, Deliverance from Egypt, Delivery of the Law, specifications for and building of the Tabernacle, and  the wilderness experience for the Israelites)
  • Leviticus  (Laws of sacrifice, Laws of sanctification)
  • Numbers  (Wanderings of the Israelites)
  • Deuteronomy  (Recap of the law and promises of God)

The books of the law cover the time from creation through the death of Moses in approximately 1406 B.C.

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Bible Basics (Part 1)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, tagged , , on May 13, 2010|

The Bible is neatly (but not evenly) divided into to “Testaments”, the Old Testament and the New Testament.  As you might know, a “testament” , means a covenant or set of promises from God to man.   To simplify, the Bible is a 2-part set of promises from God to mankind.  The first covenant or testament is the Old Testament.  The second covenant or testament is the New Testament.

The two testaments are  further divided into books, and the total number of books in the Bible is 66.  The total number of authors is believed to be 40.  The authorship of some books is not entirely clear from the historical and other evidence.   The books in the Old Testament are further divided into 5 groupings:

  • The Books of the Law
  • The Books of the History
  • The Poetry and Wisdom books
  • The Major Prophets
  • The Minor Prophets

The purpose and subject matter of each group of books is different from that of the other groups.  Within a group, each book may be different either in its focus, audience and/or purpose.  Together; however, the books comprise one coherent message.  That is the beauty of it.  Learning about any particular book of the Bible is great, but learning how that book then fits into the bigger message and points to the way of salvation can be even more exciting and can bring deeper understanding of God and a greater closeness to Him.

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2 Corinthian 3:2-3

Posted in 2 Corinthians, Bible Study, Devotional, Exhortation, Relationship with God, tagged , , , , , , on March 13, 2010|

 
You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2 Corinthian 3:2-3

1.  As believers, our lives are letters (epistles).

  • Maybe you have heard it said, “You may be the only Bible those close to you ever read.”   If that is so, let your life reflect the gospel as clearly as possible – no mixed messages.
  • God’s plan to share the gospel is through people ministering to people. He desires that our lives be so changed by our relationship with Him that others will wonder, question, and follow.
  • Is the message in the letter written on your heart communicating the message of God’s love to the lost and condemned world around you?

2.  God is the author.

  • Pages don’t write themselves; they have an author
  • God will write your story if you allow Him.  God wrote Esther from captive to queen.  God wrote David from Shepherd boy to mighty warrior to King.  God wrote Joseph from slave to Pharaoh’s second.  God wrote Saul from assassin to Apostle.  God wrote Peter from fisherman to great church leader.  God can write my story to be a great epoch tale of victory over evil if I let Him.
  • God desires to leave His imprint on our lives, marking us as His forever.

3.  He authored us by His Spirit.

  • Give up striving.  This is not about what you do:  how many times you go to church, how much money you give.  This is about surrendering control of your life to Jesus, so He can fully communicate His message to the dying world through you.  To do that, you must first receive the message yourself and let it transform you.   Only then can it hope to transform others.
  • Start soaking up the Word.  Sit with Jesus daily.  Read, study and meditate on the scriptures.  Let them permeate your life.  Let them write your story.
  • Remove barriers to the working of the Holy Spirit in your life.  Confess your sins, allow God to cleanse you by His Spirit.  Pray always and without ceasing, so that you might always be in communion with the author.

May the richness of living for Christ become abundantly clear to you as you draw closer and closer to Jesus.  It was Jesus who promised that sitting at His feet was the “good part” which would not be taken away.  May you settle there and find rest for your soul while you wait.

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