"A voice says, 'Cry out.'
And I said, 'What shall I cry?'
'All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.'"
- Isaiah 40:6-8 (NIV)
"For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort,
but on God's mercy... "One of you will say to me: 'Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?' But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? 'Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?"' Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?"
- Romans 9:15,16,19-21 (NIV) (emphasis mine)
I find it very interesting that a week with the teaching being one that is more-so academic than emotional can turn out to be a week that still has quite an emotional impact. I find it even more interesting that this emotional impact is one that is stronger than most of the others I've had during weeks that were actually centered around emotional topics. The best thing I can say about that is how one cannot attain knowledge of God and of His Word without being struck in the soul and heart with revelation; the more I learn about God the more I change. Sometimes (more times than not) however, this change is near impossible to notice and the change is not welcome, such was the case this week. I'll first give the academic portion of the week and then give the emotional impact.
Our speaker this week was a man by the name of Steve McCormick, and his topic was on Inductive Bible Study. I was extremely excited for this week as I have been growing more and more in love with reading the Bible and simply learning all there is to learn. Whether they be historical events, genealogies, poetry, or deep topics, I've been getting more and more excited about reading it all and discovering for myself (not by myself, assistance from the Holy Spirit is mandatory I've learned by now) what they mean and how that is supposed to change my life. Steve definitely supplied what I was looking for with much information and examples. He started by explaining what Inductive Bible Study even means. He contrasted it with deductive Bible study, which is one has a specific conclusion they want to reach, and they go to the Bible to find information that supports that conclusion, which can be very dangerous if not done correctly. Far too often people, myself included, will take verses out of context to support what they say, and the fact of the matter is that virtually any conclusion can be reached by taking verses out of context. Peter warns us of people who do that and what it can cause if we ourselves do it by first talking about Paul's letters:
"His [Paul's] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do other Scriptures, to their own destruction."
- II Peter 3:16b (emphasis mine)
Now, I am not trying to say that deductive Bible study is a corrupt way of studying the Bible, so long as it is done in the correct way and within context. Now to define inductive Bible study; it is basically the opposite of deductive Bible study, so it is you reading the Bible and accumulating information, followed by making conclusions based off of what you just studied.
Steve also gave us examples of how he studies, and that is pretty much verse by verse, but before that, he acquires background knowledge of what he is reading. This background knowledge involves the culture, the author, the setting, and basically anything else that is relevant to the passage. The importance of this is that with background knowledge comes a deeper understanding and appreciation for the message being presented, and you feel like you have a new-found and deeper understanding of what was written. For even more background information, concordances are used to read and attempt to understand the original words used in the books of the Bible; some very interesting and cool discoveries have been made from this studying.
Steve then showed us how he will read small passages and draw observations and ask questions about things he read, very specific things, followed by attempting to answer those questions. He emphasized how it is more than alright to ask questions that you cannot answer at that time, because perhaps later on you will come upon some new information you've studied that can answer that question. He then said that after you make these observations of what the text literally says, he makes interpretations as to what it means. The final step then is finding out how to make what you studied applicable to your life. This part he told us time and time again is perhaps the most crucial because it is the point of the study. It is not mere knowledge that you are trying to achieve. You are trying to achieve a totally changed life from that knowledge. He gave the following passage to emphasize his point:
"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."
- John 5:39,40 (NIV)
John speaks of how the Scriptures all point to Jesus, yet we do not go to Jesus even though we study these very Scriptures. I found this lesson to be very applicable to my life and it has made me be very diligent on asking the Holy Spirit to anoint the time I spend studying the Bible and for Him to reveal to me what He has for me to learn. Now onto the emotional portion.
Last Friday, the 16th, I went with some others to help some local food banks receive financial and food donations, and on the way back we passed a hospital. For some reason, looking at that hospital got me thinking of how I had really wanted to be a doctor and was looking forward to pursuing it after YWAM, until God told me of his other plans for me to be a Pastor. I was filled with anger as I thought about the whole series of events that had caused this change, and I then did the thing that guarantees a bad time and started comparing my predicament to others'. I looked at some people whose desires matched those of God's and were able to pursue careers they really wanted to while still falling in line with the will of God, and I was livid at the apparent unfairness of the entire situation.
This past Monday, the 19th, we had our morning worship at 8:30, but for some reason I was really not in the mood and could not get myself to join in. I discovered I had been battling a change God was bringing to my life, a change that involved me letting go of the material things I had a bond to. For me, these material things involved video games, particular movies, particular TV shows, particular music, and various other habits I had. God had been bringing up this material issue to me within the past few days, it's hard for me to pinpoint when this conviction originated, and it had been eating at me more and more, which brought me to the Monday morning worship. I was angry again and felt defeated and stuck. God brought it to my attention just how strong this bond really was, and it was far stronger than I had thought. During the worship time I got my journal and wrote down all that was in my head. I ended the journal writing about how I needed a new heart of flesh because my current heart was one of stone. I truly felt that way, and I still do. I am praying continually for this new heart, because I can't live the rest of my life wrestling with these material desires.
Finally, on Wednesday, the 21st, we concluded our last class session with Steve by looking at the end of the book of John at the conversation between Jesus and Peter. Peter had denied Jesus three times earlier in the book, and now Jesus was asking Peter if he loved him three times. By looking at this conversation, you cannot really see the significance of what is being said, but by looking at the Greek words used originally, it becomes visible. Jesus asks Peter the first two times if he loved him in the sense of a self-sacrificial love ("agape" is the Greek word used), and Peter replies by saying he loves him in the sense of a brother or a friend ("phileo" is used here). On the third time, Jesus comes down to Peter's level and asks him if he even loves him as a friend (using "phileo"), where Peter replies that yes, he does love him that way. Jesus had been wanting Peter to love him and he loved Peter, but Peter was not at that level yet. The passage continues:
"'I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.' Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, 'Follow me!' Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them... When Peter saw him, he asked, 'Lord, what about him?' Jesus answered, 'If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.'"
- John 21:18-20a,21,22 (NIV) (emphasis mine)
When Steve read this aloud in class, I was struck. I saw clear as day that this passage was about what I was doing. Jesus told Peter that as he grew older and more mature, he would be lead down a path he did not want to go and do things he didn't necessarily want to do. This is like me in how I'm being lead down a path I have not ever particularly desired to follow as God is maturing me more and more. Peter replies by comparing himself to others, specifically John. I did just this as well by looking at others who didn't have to change their particular career choice to follow God's will. Jesus then replies with pretty much a smack in the face to Peter asking, "What is that to you?" I take these words spoken by Jesus to be parallel with the passage I quoted in the beginning of this post from Romans, where we are the clay and God is the potter, and we have no right in questioning the potter as to what he is doing. From reading this passage I realized how similar Peter and I were, and I realized that by getting mad at God for the predicament he had been putting me in, I had not been self-sacrificially loving Him just as Peter said he wasn't as well. As you can see, God opened by eyes wide and showed me just what I had been doing. From this, I now feel convicted to inductively study the books of I and II Peter as well as other passages talking about Peter, just to see what he did with his life after this conversation with God to look for what I am to do as well. I'm quite excited about it, and I am also expecting to be enlightened and humbled in the process.
After the class on Wednesday we were dismissed for Thanksgiving break, which has been fantastic. I have yet to start my study of Peter, but I am looking forward to it, and I ask for prayer as I dive into it and wait on the Holy Spirit to teach me and give me a new heart so I may better serve and glorify Him.
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