Because, it's not so much of a thing. You're not checking boxes, right? We're not doing this just to have knowledge. We want the word to transform us and to renew our mind and to transform our hearts so that we follow Christ. Well, hello again, and welcome to the Trim the Wick podcast. I'm, Dan.
And I'm Becky.
And we are back with you again this week. We are so glad to be here. We wanted to take a little bit of time this week and wanted to dive into the idea of digging through the word of God. A lot of times people think that basically the Bible is just a history book or it's just a theological book. It's for academic study.
God's word is a, living word, and it doesn't just talk to us about things of history and things of theology and the character of God, but it also talks to us about who we are as people and God's relationship to us.
Right. So the whole arc of scripture, from Genesis to revelation is the overarching story. Is God wanting us to know who he is? And the way he shows us who he is is through his interaction with humanity from the beginning.
Right. The one thing that, you know, Jesus says is that as we are going, there's an action there. There's a thing of we are to be living our lives, and as we are going, we are to carry the gospel with us. We are to carry this word with us everywhere we go.
So we need to know it.
We need to know it. And you know what? We live in an amazing time, and the year 2024, we have got the ability that at our fingertips, we have concordances and Bible dictionaries. And you go to the computer, you can bring up all these maps. I remember when I was, in Bible school, I mean, my books was more than. Almost more than my tuition.
Right?
And, I mean, I had all these books of Strong's concordance and all this stuff, and now it's literally at our fingertips.
Yeah.
And we've got so many things and so many opportunities now. It can almost be overwhelming.
It can. And I think a lot of us, you know, there's kind of this dichotomy that goes on people that grew up in a certain faith tradition. Do you have a, pretty set idea in your head because of what you grew up with, what Bible study is supposed to look like, how we do it? There's a right way to do this thing. Right. But if you're somebody that has come to faith as an adult, you know, we've talked to several who. It's like, I don't even know where to start.
Right.
Because there's so much out there.
Yeah.
So what's the right one? What's the, What's the most beneficial one? What's the one that's the most biblical way? You know, there's all these questions surrounding it, and I think it's yet another area of living out the christian life that we've overcomplicated significantly.
Yeah. I can remember in certain churches that we had been members of or staff of, you know, they had certain pet things that they really felt were important for. This was how you studied the Bible.
Right. And some of that's down to what you're trying to accomplish with Bible study.
Yeah. We wanted to look at some of these things this week, and we kind of wanted to talk about this because I think that people get discouraged because they might try something and it's not.
For them, but they feel that they're on the. They're the one that's failing.
Right.
It's not that it's the tool that's the problem. They're using the wrong tool to accomplish something. They just.
Exactly.
They stink.
Yeah. Ah. You know, it's the old thing of, you know, you're trying to screw in a screw with a hammer, and it's like, you know, what? If you keep bashing it hard enough, you're gonna get that thing in the wall.
Right.
But it's not how it was supposed to be done, and it's gonna look like a mess, and you've.
And you got some damage around the.
Outside that you've caused and you've completely frustrated yourself and stuff. So we kind of wanted to talk about this and because we have tried different things, and I. You and I are very different in how we study and how we learn. So we kind of focused on four major things or four different styles.
Right.
And we want to talk about them. And there's positives to all of them, but for some people, there might be some negatives in them. We're definitely going to dissect them a little bit. But we want to emphasize that in all of these, there are positives, and all of these could work for you either while you're doing it or where you're at right now or maybe in future.
There are different methods that accomplish different purposes and get you to different places.
So, yeah, the first thing we do want to say is this. It all begins with allowing the Holy Spirit to do his job in our lives.
That's right.
And you open the word of God and you just start reading the words. It will be like any other book, any other novel. But when you ask and invite the Holy Spirit to say, holy Spirit, use this book, use these words to change my life, to transform me, to allow me to see God through these words.
Right. Because again, anytime you approach a book, you approach with the author's intent.
Right, right.
And the author's intent, God's intent in giving us these words was to reveal himself to us.
Yeah.
And Jesus even told the disciples, you know, as he's preparing to go to the cross and he's talking to the disciples and he's kind of giving them a little bit of a. Some liner notes of, listen, this is what to expect. In John, chapter 14, he says, these things I've spoken to you while I'm still with you. So this stuff that we've got written down, it's the stuff that he spoke to them in the gospels. And I've spoken this to you while I'm still with you.
But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things.
Yeah.
So he's saying right there, I didn't teach you all the stuff. You couldn't have borne all of the stuff, yet your brains couldn't have handled it. But the Holy Spirit, he'll teach you all things. And in addition to that, he's going to bring to your remembrance all that I've said to you.
Yes.
So anytime we approach Bible study or scripture reading, trying to pull out this book and hear from God and see God in it, we need to do it with the understanding that the author had an intent. And then the author also gave us himself, to help us understand and learn what he wants us to learn from it, because we're real good at taking words and twisting them to what we think we want them to mean.
Right. This is, again, sometimes you read something and you think this is what it says.
Right.
But you need to allow the Holy Spirit to translate.
Yeah.
And actually teach you what it means to you and how to apply it. Because the ultimate is that we're going to live out this christian life. And the words that we're reading from the scripture and the things that we're hearing, we're going to live those things out because that's what it means to be a, follower of Jesus.
Right.
We need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us, to teach us through those words. And there's a simple thing, and I know it just sounds almost elementary. But this is actually something that I did a while back, and it's before you even start reading, just take a second. Acknowledge, you know, thank you, God, for this word, Holy Spirit. Make this a part of my life. Holy Spirit, teach me what you want
me to know from this passage. And just acknowledge that from the very beginning, you know, and it might sound basic and it might sound whatever, but it just kind of gets your mindset that you're going to be hearing a. From the Holy Spirit while you're reading.
Right. You put yourself in a posture of being the student.
Yes. The first way of Bible study that we want to talk about is basically the basic devotion is that you get a devotional book that's either a 30 day book or a month to month or whatever. Or it is a devotional book that is based on a particular, topic or a particular book. And it is set up in small snippets and passages where you're not really reading the full passage, but you're reading a small section. And then there's a commentary and then an application to that.
Right. And usually those devotional books that are set up in that and structured that way, they tend to offer some introspective questions at the end, like, okay, here's the passage of scripture that we'd like you to read. Here's the main theme and thought that we want to point you to in that passage. And then we're going to ask you to do some searching of yourself, of, Where do you see that in your life? Where could you apply that in your life? It's almost kind of a guided reading.
You're right. And a lot of times there are opportunities to answer questions and to application and prayer. And a lot of times, as a matter of fact, I'm working on one of those right now.
Right.
These are really good for a basic, and they're, good for almost an any time for those people who like that structure.
Yeah, they're good if you're. If you're new to Bible study and you're looking for just to kind of get into some sort of a routine.
Right.
You know, and you're looking for a little bit of structure there. Like you said, they're good to help you kind of get your feet wet a little bit. Where, you know, I don't know if I. I mean, the Bible's like, it's 66 whole books. Which. Which book do I start with? How do I find the bits that are relevant? Cause I don't wanna open up to chronicles and see this list of genealogies, and I'm gonna quit
before I begin. Devotionals are a great place to kind of get your feet wet and get yourself into a routine where you're not overwhelmed.
Right.
You know, there have been times in my life where either life has been insanely busy, or I have been in a really dry, spiritual place where I want to connect with the father. I want to hear what he has to say to me. But I almost don't even have the energy to look at the scripture as a whole.
Right.
and, yeah, I know there's. There's somebody out there that's going, well. You shouldn't ever be in that place, you know, if you're walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, this is the reality, y'all.
Quit judging. It is. It is. How.
It's the reality. There are dry places.
There are times when you need to be, refreshed.
Yeah. And so sometimes, you know, I have found that if I'm in one of those really dry desert places for a while where the relationship with the father feels distant, and I'm not sure, but I want to stay connected.
Right.
Going, okay. It's not this big, overwhelming task to pull out a devotional and read a few verses and spend a little bit of time in prayer. And there are times, y'all, when that. Those few verses can be the same verses that God uses to replay in my head for a week.
Yeah.
Sometimes when you're in that dry place, that little. That little bit of manna in the desert satisfies, you for an extended period, and then it keeps your body going, but it also begins to renew that hunger for more and deeper.
Yes. Now, for you, you are a reader. You love to read, and you can sit down and read books, and so I am not a reader. It is very frustrating for me to sit down and read, and I do not read for enjoyment or pleasure.
it's a job for you.
It is a job, you know, to say, hey, you need to just sit down and read a chapter a day, or you need to. That is really difficult for me because that is not an enjoyable thing. And I know you can say, well, you need to discipline yourself. Okay, whatever.
And there are places where you need to discipline yourself and have.
Yes. When it comes to being able to say, you know what? I need that drink. I need that. This is where I believe those devotional books come in handy and are very positive, because, like me, if you open up the scripture and you see all these words and it is just, like, confusing and overwhelming. And it is a mountain that is so big, you don't even want to start.
Right.
The devotionals are a great place to start because they're going to guide you. Right. They give you snippets, you know, verses and stuff that are gonna speak to you and help you process what they are without being overwhelmed by the entire genealogy. It's gonna pull a verse out to help you understand the importance of the genealogy and how it applies to you, instead of having to focus on all of the names and all of the stuff. And that's where I think the devotional books
just are the strongest, you know? I think the devotional books are a little bit fall short is when you start wanting to get a lot deeper.
Yeah. They don't tend to be the deep things of God, do they? It's definitely the milk.
Yep. And please understand we're talking as a, in general, we're not. You know, there are some devotionals that are deep, heavy dives, and we understand that. But on a whole, when you go to the christian bookstore and you look at the shelf, most of those are very surface, and they're a little deep, but not really. And that is one of my. Would be one of my complaints. But that's not what they're for.
Right. There may be some profound truths that are packaged in very small packages. You know, one of the most popular devotional books that's out there, that's been around forever. Oswald Chambers is my utmost for his highest.
Right.
There are some very, very deep truths in that one that are fantastic and that, do you end up having to chew on this stuff, for a while to really let it sink deep into your life? Yes, there are those books. But by and large, a devotional book either keeps it very light or has a very targeted, timely topic in your life. There are devotional books to help people who are processing. There are devotional books that are out there to assist you as you're approaching getting married.
There's a new believer.
Right. So there are some really good ones out there. Don't dismiss them and diminish them just because they, quote, only offer milk or only offer one targeted thing. sometimes that's what we need, and sometimes that's the word, put in a format that it is digestible for us.
So, as you can see, the devotional, we like them, but again, they have their place. so the second one that we want to talk about was reading programs and, like, reading through the Bible in a year. And this one for me is I'm just going to throw it out there. This is a nightmare for me because like I said, I don't read very well. I, have dyslexia, if you don't know that. And reading and sitting down for 20 minutes, 30 minutes to read every day. I do. I do it a lot.
But for me to stay up with the reading program and the amount of reading that has to be done is not 20 to 30 minutes every day. It turns into more of two to 3 hours. And that just gets frustrating.
Right.
And then when I miss a day or two, I'm done. Because then it's, an open door to condemnation, and I'm behind, and I'm never gonna finish this. And it's why did I even start? And it just snowballs.
Yeah.
So for me, this is really difficult. But for you.
For me, it's a thing that tends to not work for different reasons. And what's interesting, you know, there are people in our lives, my parents are very involved in a, through the Bible in a year that they renew. And the really cool thing about the program that they utilize and the group that they're involved with is that it's very much a community thing.
Right.
You know, they're involved with a community who reads through the scripture together at the same time on the same things and has discussion with one another. And that can be really, really helpful. And it has built community for them. It has led to deeper understanding of the word for them. And it's been a beautiful thing I have done in the past. Some reading through the scripture
on those kind of rigid set programs. And where it fails for me is not in the amount of reading that there is or the, you know, the structure of whether it's chronological or whether it's, you know, one psalm a day and then one other several chapters a day. I don't struggle with any of that part of it. So in that sense, it's an efficient way of digesting the word. For me, you get a lot of word each day,
and it's a good thing. Where I run into issues with it is, on a personality level, I m was the kid who had all kinds of self condemnation. If I didn't make the 4.0, I'm the kid who shoot. I'm the grown woman who has a task, listen, set before her for the day. And if there's not a check mark by every single task on that list at the end of the day, I really struggle with, I was a
failure today. And what happens in that kind of a structured, regimented reading plan for me is at some point within that reading plan, there will be a moment where it becomes about completing the task of reading so that I can check it off and, feel okay versus reading the word. Because I love the Lord who wrote the word to me and I don't. You, know, I know enough about myself now at 50 something.
I know enough about myself to know that those kind of reading programs are fantastic for lots and lots of people. And they do offer opportunities, like for my folks to build community. They stretch your capacity because you are reading lots of the word at a time, and man, you're filled with it. In order to accomplish most of those reading programs, you're not just sitting down in the morning and reading a little bit. You're going to read throughout the day in order to get all of it read.
And that's not a bad thing. No, that's not a bad thing at all. That's a lovely thing. It's having an ongoing relationship. Where the Lord pours into you through his word is wonderful. But like I said, the point where that, that structure, that plan, the, this is today's readings, and tomorrow there's going to be m exactly as much to read as there was today. Personality wise. I have a real struggle with, with doing those kinds of things and allowing it to still be relationship instead of task.
Right.
And I don't ever want my reading of the word to become a task in my life.
Yeah. And I think that was one of the things that I have had multiple people that I've known over the years who, that they've done this and done it successfully. And that is one of the things, like you mentioned, where it's not a, They sit down at one time and digest it all at once, but they even break it up into multiple times a day. They'll read a little bit before breakfast, then they read at lunch, at dinner, and then before they go to bed at
night. And so that there is this constant all day of being renewed by the word and being, washed by the word. And that's a good thing.
It is.
And, you know, again, what we're, what we're talking about is that not everything is going to work for everybody at every time.
Right.
This is one of those things where doing those types of readings for me is just, that's not where I'm at right now. That's not what God's doing with me now. I do read more now than I ever have in my entire life. And I read more scripture now than I ever have in my life. But I fallen in some of the same things you do, where it's like, if I don't check Mark, if I don't, I get behind, and then it turns into a condemnation and a spiral. And I know that happens to a lot of people.
Right. And we don't want that to happen. One of the lovely options that I do want to mention here, that if you do join one of those kinds of reading programs, that you're like, you know what? I'm going to go buy me a one year bible that's set up for that, or I'm going to join a group that does this. One of the places where modern technology does help.
Yes.
Is that we have found, and it's very effective around here in our house. Allowing technology to read the scripture to you.
Yes.
Is a wonderful thing. So you can, if you want to do those, read through, the bible or read through whatever your structured reading program is. If reading is difficult for you for any reason, you can choose to do it by audio.
Yeah.
you can plug into so many different bible apps and go just do the read aloud, you know, and I need to read this passage, this passage, and this passage today. And you can go about your day and allow the word to be in your ears the whole time. Right. And listening to it that way. The one, again, positives and negatives to all of
this. Right. You gotta find what works. the one caveat, if you're gonna do that, is that whatever else you're doing at the time needs to not be so distracting that you're not actually hearing the word that's being spoken.
Right. Cause, it's not so much of a thing. You're not checking boxes.
Right.
We're not doing this just to have knowledge. We want the word to transform us and to renew our mind and to transform our hearts so that we follow Christ.
Right? So if I'm talking to you and you're in the kitchen with me and you're talking to me while I'm doing dishes, I can still hear and participate in that conversation.
Right.
But there are some tasks that if I'm doing them, you know, if I'm sitting down paying household bills and you're talking to me, guess what I'm not hearing, right?
Yeah, exactly. so the third thing that we wanted to discuss is doing Bible studies or books on particular topics or on books of the Bible and doing things like reading a book on Galatians or reading a book that kind of expands as you're reading the scriptures as well, where it's kind of like your own Bible study type thing, where you're reading.
The scriptures in tandem with somebody's commentary.
Right. Or someone else's book or something like that. And this is something that, I've used a lot over the years, and it has helped me because not everyone has the time to do all of the study and all of the backgrounds and all of the things that. To really get a lot of deep meat out of some of the scripture. So it's nice to have that, to be able to supplement what I know and what I'm
reading and stuff. And again, we're also relying on the Holy Spirit to filter out what are man's words and what are God's words, because this is the downfall or this is the hiccup, I would think, in this whole thing is every writer has their own biases, right? And every writer is human. And every writer that, is going to be writing a commentary about the word, they are seeing it through their eyes. They are seeing it through the things that
they. That they see. So we need to be very careful that we're allowing and asking the Holy Spirit to help us separate the different things so that we know what God's actually saying and not what man's saying.
Right. Yeah. So consider your sources. When you're picking up books, make sure that you're asking people that you trust to help you find things that are going to be theologically sound, because there's a lot of crazy out there.
Yes, there are. Just because, you know, anybody can write a book and get it published. And they're not always the, let's say, the, most biblical scholars of biblical scholars that write books.
But it does help, you know, if you've got a trusted source and. Or sometimes even, you know, I've had this happen to me where we've been in a bookstore, and like you mentioned, I'm a book reader. M and. And I'll be looking through and thumbing through some of the. The different books that are out there. God will just kind of highlight one of them to me and. And draw me to it and go, wow, that one looks really interesting. I don't know this author.
Yeah.
So I'm gonna read the flyleaf, I'm gonna read the intro, and I'm going to ask and go, okay, Lord, what did you highlight this one for? And very often the answer is, because I want you to read it.
Yeah.
M. So I'll go ahead and pick it up and bring it home, and I'll read it. And I'll read it in conjunction with the scripture, because very often these kinds of books will cite scripture. And so anytime scripture is cited, I will go to the cited scripture and make sure that it's actually saying what the author of the. This other book is saying. It's saying. And so. And there have been some times where the Lord has used authors to really open my eyes about some things.
Yes.
There have been times when I'm like, okay, three of your four points were fantastic and dead on. And your fourth point was so wildly out there, it's not even. Not even close. And so you toss what's no good, and you keep what God brings you. That is the good. And you, again, you read with that holy spirit discernment the entire time.
Yes.
But it does, like you were saying, it really helps. especially if there's a section of scripture that you're wanting to know. Okay. Because you and I both. We're big context people. Context, context, context. I want to know what was the historical context? Who was the original audience? What was going on in the world at the time? What was, you know, what is this illustration that Jesus is speaking about? What would the. The people of that day, what would their understanding of that have been?
Right.
Context, context, context. Because it informs what God's saying.
That's right.
That means I would have to be a historian. That means I would have to be a languages person. That means I would have to know. But like you were saying, if you can get hold of some good books that bring light to some of those things.
Yes.
Where you don't have to necessarily hunt down all of the original sources yourself.
Yes.
It's very helpful in your study, and it's very helpful in going into a deeper understanding of some of what the Lord is revealing about himself in the scripture.
Yeah. Again, you know, I know that we keep coming back to this, is that there is that reliance on the Holy Spirit to guide us and direct us and to speak to us. I want the Holy Spirit to reveal to me what this is and leaning on that, because there are lots of people who have lots of great words and they say things in fantastic ways and they are completely wrong.
Yeah.
So we want to make sure that we're allowing the discernment of the Holy Spirit to discern what we're reading, what we're seeing, so that we can really glean what is being said, what is actually in the word. So that, again, I'm going to go back to it. It renews our minds. It changes our hearts, transforms us, so that we can be more christlike.
Right?
Because that's what we're wanting, is to be more christlike. The last one that we want to just talk about is just opening up the word and pulling out a pad and paper and just praying over the word and reading it and writing down what God's telling you or just highlighting what God's telling you in the word, you know, circling the words and underlining them and covering the margins sometimes just.
Putting the pen down and praying over.
It and just reading it. And there are so many times when, for me, I've. God's led me to a thing where it's just like, you know, sit down and open up the word, and I'm going to tell you where to go. I'm going to tell you where I want you to be, and I just want you to read this chapter five times, you know, or I want you to read, you know, these six verses five times. I don't want you to do any other research. I want
you to look at anything. I just want you to read this passage and just pray over it and.
Pray about it and just listen to.
Me and just listen what I'm going to tell you about it.
Yeah.
There's, more times than not, that is where God is just. It's that direct line, because there aren't other extenuating things that are pulling on me. there's nobody else's words. It's just being able to be quiet and hearing what God has to say.
It's my favorite. It's that unstructured. Open the word and just have a conversation with the father that. It's my favorite. That's my favorite. Because that's where I think the relationship really gets driven deep. The other forms and scripture says that we are to study to show ourselves approved workmen, that we not be ashamed before God. He wants us to do that, digging in deep.
And yes, he does.
What's the historical context? What's the languages? What's the. It's not only that there's nothing wrong with that kind of study. That kind of study is encouraged. Yes, it's work. Yeah, but that kind of study is encouraged. But it is a beautiful thing when you get to do the unstructured, where you just go, you know what I'm. This book is my very, very favoritest book on the bookshelf, and I'm gonna pull it out because it's the words of a friend. It's the
words of a counselor. It's the words of my father.
Yeah.
And I wanna spend some time in what he wanted to say to me.
Yes.
And it's that unstructured time in the word that becomes the most intimate time. I feel like it's the time when you allow the Holy Spirit to really highlight things to you that. Yes. This book was written to the whole of humanity, but it was also written to you.
Right.
And it's in that unstructured one on one time where you're just listening.
Yeah.
You're reading and you're listening. And when he tells you to stop, you stop. And when he tells you, you know, we call him those Salah moments. Right. Those pause those pause and ponder and let it sink deep moments. That's where I think the word really comes alive in your life. It's where he digs those things deep into your heart and says, that's for you. You plant that seed right there in your heart and let that grow.
Yep.
Hey, I'm gonna rip this weed out over here that you've been letting grow, because I'm gonna show you a truth that you really need to hear. And you need to yank that thing, that lie that you've been allowing to grow. You need to yank that up out of your life.
Yes.
Those times where you're just sitting with the word and the spirit, that's when it becomes the relationship.
Yeah. All of these, all four of these. And even more that we're not mentioning. They're all good. They can all help draw you closer to the father. And we wanna encourage you to do all of them.
Yeah.
And you know, you might not be at a point where you wanna do the read through the scripture in a year. That's great. You're not a less of a believer because you haven't done that. But find something else. Go to one of the other ways to get in the word. We need to be in the word daily. We need to be allowing the word of God to wash over us, the Holy Spirit to speak to us through the word, to teach us, to grow us, to change us and transform us.
To be more like Christ, transformed by the renewing of our minds. Right. And how do our minds get renewed? By the washing of the water of the word. And so we've got to have it.
Yep. So, guys, thank you so much for hanging out with us this weekend. We hope that this has encouraged you. we've kind of been talking about this, and we really wanted this podcast this week to encourage you guys so that you're in the word more often.
It's not a beat down, it's not a demand. It's a joy. And there are several methods that are beneficial.
Yeah. So pick one.
Pick the one that fits where you are in your walk with the father right now.
Yep. And if one of them is not working for you, go to a different one.
Shelve it and go to a different one.
That's right.
There is no shame. There is no condemnation.
That's right.
He just wants to be with you.
That's right. He wants to go, Adam, where are you? You know, and he wants to hang out with us and spend time with us. If you're enjoying this podcast, let other people know. Word of mouth endorsement is kind of the, the best endorsement because it is people who you know and you trust. If you tell them about it, they're most likely going to listen. And if they're going to get something out of this, we just, we just ask that you just encourage them and let them know about this podcast.
Also, go to our website if you want to know more about what we're doing. It's Matthew two five seven.com. and you can learn more about Becky and I and trim the wicked I and all the things that we're doing here and overseas. And to connect with us on a more of a day to day basis, check out our Instagram rimthewitglobal.
So get in the word this week and we'll see you again next week.
Okay, love you. Bye.