Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Proverbs 30-31. Notable Verses and Thoughts

[Pro 30:5-6, 8, 11-14, 18-20, 25-26, 28, 33 KJV] 
5 Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto them that put
their trust in him. 

6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. 

... 8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 

... 11 [There is] a generation [that] curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. 

12 [There is] a generation [that are] pure in their own eyes, and [yet] is not washed from their filthiness. 

13 [There is] a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. 

14 [There is] a generation, whose teeth [are as] swords, and their jaw teeth [as] knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from [among] men. 

... 18 There be three [things which] are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: 

19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid. 

20 Such [is] the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. 

... 25 The ants [are] a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; 


26 The conies [are but] a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; 

... 28 The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces. 

... 33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.


[Pro 31:6-7, 10-12, 18-23, 25-28, 30 KJV
6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. 

7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. 

... 10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price [is] far above rubies. 

11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 

12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 

... 18 She perceiveth that her merchandise [is] good: her candle goeth not out by night. 

19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 

20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 

21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household [are] clothed with scarlet. 

22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing [is] silk and purple. 

23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 

... 25 Strength and honour [are] her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 

26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue [is] the law of kindness. 

27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 

28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband [also], and he praiseth her. 

... 30 Favour [is] deceitful, and beauty [is] vain: [but] a woman [that] feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Proverbs 27 -28. Notable Verses and Thoughts

Been a while since I said I was going to blog my studying to be accountable. Well, forget the excuses, yah, the excuses. Okay, I will write about them in the next entry :o). 
 [Pro 27:1, 5-7, 12, 14-15, 17 KJV] 
1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. … 
*This reminded me of James 4. 
[Jas 4:13-15 KJV] 13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what [shall be] on the morrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye [ought] to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.


Pro 27:5 KJV Open rebuke [is] better than secret love. 

6 Faithful [are] the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy [are] deceitful. 




7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.


 ... 12 A prudent [man] foreseeth the evil, [and] hideth himself; [but] the simple pass on, [and] are punished. 


... 14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him. 


15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. 


... 17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.


[Pro 28:5-6, 9-10, 13, 18, 23, 25-26 KJV] 5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all [things]. 


6 Better [is] the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than [he that is] perverse [in his] ways, though he [be] rich. 


... 9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer [shall be] abomination. 


10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good [things] in possession.


 ... 13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy. 


... 18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but [he that is] perverse [in his] ways shall fall at once. 


... 23 He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue. 


... 25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat. 26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

Friday, July 4, 2014

Baby Steps

I almost didn't do this...didn't I say that's what happens...good intentions and all. But here I am, thank You God for those heart tugs. Didn't actually do any official studying today but here are some thoughts.
Baby Steps...
Wasn't sure where to begin but since my goal is to study the entire Bible, it makes sense to start at the "Blue Letter Bible." is a great study for online/digital users. There is a great lexicon and a bunch of translations, not to mention dictionaries and commentaries. I believe God wants me to focus on asking the Holy Spirit to show me and not depend on the teachings of man.  He has blessed some with the gift of teaching so He can teach us through others. We just need to remember to test the spirits and watch our life and doctrine closely.
book f Genesis. The
Ready, Set...Study....
Regarding what translation of the Bible I believe I need to use. To date, based on prayer and experience, so far the King James is the main one, but not the only one. I do like referring to the New Living Translation paraphrase and comparing with other translations. And then another helpful tool is the Greek/Hebrew lexicon that you can use on the online versions.
And...if you have a hard time writing or typing like I am right now, due to muscle fatigue, you can make notes by audio or video. I may try that.
Study tools...
If you are going to do the inductive Bible study method (there seem to be a few variations of it), you will have seen that you are to have coloured pencils and markers and a Bible and notebook to make notes and cool codes beside passages and such. Because of my physical issues, lifting heavy Bibles are difficult, so I am going to try to do my study digitally.
Disclaimer :o) Ultimately, these study blogs are meant to help me be accountable and not being made "pretty" for the public. Obviously, blogging means it is open to anyone who happens to look. Bonus if anyone out in internet land finds anything here useful. Please keep in mind, I do not plan, so far, to make this fancy production for, so forgive me if anything isn't of good visual or audio quality. Lord willing, I will be here every day to record my study. If you want to join along, feel free.
Jesus Is The Word

I just read yesterday, that less than 10 percent of Christians have read the Bible cover to cover. It is
actually rather stunning to think that 90 percent of us who claim to believe in Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Saviour,  have not read His Word. How can that even be possible? Oh, but it is. I have been a believer for over twenty years and even though I have read portions of the Bible throughout, I can only remember purposely reading cover to cover once! Shame on me.
The How To Manual
Wait a minute, if we buy a new gadget or do dad, we always read the owner's manual - don't we? Well, I am one of those people who tend to wing it and try to figure out how to work something by trial and error. But, you know where that leads me? Firstly, I don't get the full usage or benefit of the item because I don't even know how to use it properly. Secondly, I end up damaging or hurting it, or myself. Depending on what it is, I may even ruin it. Hmmm....well, apply that to the becoming a Christian and it explains a lot. If we turn our life over to Jesus, yet do not read His Owner's Manual, how on earth can we live as Christians? It makes sense why so many of us, 90 percent to be more precise, failing, flip flopping and running around blindly, no different from the rest of the world. Thankfully God is patient and we can't earn our salvation. But He doesn't want us to just do our own thing, our own way. Here are some of many passages about His Word.

[Psa 19:7-14 KJV] 7 The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD [are] right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD [is] clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD [are] true [and] righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired [are they] than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: [and] in keeping of them [there is] great reward. 12 Who can understand [his] errors? cleanse thou me from secret [faults]. 13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous [sins]; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

[Jhn 1:1-5 KJV] 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

[Jhn 1:14, 18 KJV] 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ... 18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him].

[Heb 11:3 KJV] 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

[Psa 119:160 KJV] 160 Thy word [is] true [from] the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments [endureth] for ever.

[Psa 119:50 KJV] 50 This [is] my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.

Thank you Lord for tugging at my heart and causing me to come here to be accountable by blogging what I study. Help me tomorrow to dive in and actually do that deeper studying part. Please help all of us to hunger and thirst for more of You. Give us wisdom  and discernment to understand and know You better and please bless anyone who reads this blog. Help them to know how much You love them and want them to let You into their life. Thank You for your love, forgiveness, patience and that you love us more than we can ever know. Help us to honour You in all we do. In Jesus' Name, Amen

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Dig Deep!

 Have you ever listened to or read someone's testimony or teaching about their relationship with Jesus Christ and their words affected your heart, stirring that longing to be as close as you possibly can with Jesus? So you vow from that moment on to get studying and reading, praying and learning. You even buy a new Bible, a note book and some fancy new coloured highlighting pencils! Then the sun rises on the next day and before you even got started, there you are distracted with life. In my case, whatever impulse that has caught my attention, be it sewing, organizing, drawing, yapping, creating, writing, watching cooking videos...whatever it may be. Poof, the sun sets and my new notebook is unmarked. Thankfully, we can't earn favour with God and He knows our hearts, thankfully He isn't distracted and is patient, loving, merciful, kind and so much more than that.
God Intentions
If you are the kind
of Christian like me, then there was a time when you did mark up your notebooks and Bible, even attending Bible studies, studied on your own, listened to all kinds of Bible teachers, bought books to help you learn more in and had quiet time with God every day.
After the first ten years or so, my quiet times lessened, and when I got married, I got really docile (spiritually speaking.) riding on my husband's coat tails. He reads and prays and I listen and times I nap! Hey, he has a soothing voice.
On my own, I may read a chapter a few times a week or less and when I am not distracted by videos on the internet, I will listen to an audio Bible. It goes in spurts. As for consistency and intense, deep Bible study, my intentions are there but failure to do overtakes me.
No one's fault by my own. It is called the fleshly, sinful "old man" that wages war against the new "spiritual man," 24/7.
Inspired
Well today, God reminded me of truths that I have lost sight of. He spoke to my heart through the words of a wise young lady who is only twenty years old.  She is one of the daughters of one of my very beloved sisters in Christ who sent me the recent update from her daughter's blog. As I read it out loud to my husband, tears of inspiration and joy flooded my eyes. I can't do justice to what she said so read directly, what God has been doing in her heart. (click here)
As I endeavour for the umpteenth time in two decades, to take on studying the Bible in a deeper more intense way, the way she talks about. God reminds me through her words before I even begin:
"Not you...us, together." On my own, I can't do this.
The method she has been using is call the"Inductive" Bible study program. Not just reading the Bible but studying, praying and applying God's Truth to her life. In fact in nine months she read the Bible through five times! Like she said, she didn't do it on her own, but with Him, together. "Not I, but Christ."
So here I am sharing what happened this morning, along with information for anyone else who may be interested in digging into God's Word deeper. No, my brain is not as young as her's, so studying forty plus hours a week, won't be happening. My goal, for now is a chapter a day. Well, unless God sees otherwise. (May I listen and not be selfish!)  To hold myself accountable, my intent is to blog a little every day or once a week :o) to share what God teaches me, a blog as I go Bible study. Hopefully, that may help me learn some discipline. Oh, the "D" word! I know it is part of the Fruit of the Spirit, but I seriously lack it. You heard me mention the word impulse right? Having ADHD doesn't help. Oops, I am making excuses before I even begin.
It is so awesome how He touches our lives with each other's. All part of the great big body of Christ.  When we are blessed, it makes sense to pass on that blessing.
Inductive Bible Study
The type of study method she has been employing at the "School of Biblical Studies." Click here to see a video about the SBS is called (click to learn more) Inductive Bible Study. at the University of Battambang in Cambodia..

Some Inductive Bible Study "How TO" Links:
I am just starting so I have decided to just share the links that look pretty decent. I am not saying one is better than the other. So pray, ask God to show you what He wants and check out these links.
1. From Precept Ministries: Inductive Bible Study
2. University Of Battambang: Inductive Bible Study
3. Precept upon Precept: How To Study Your Bible Inductively