It's Biblical: How do I read Scripture?

Introduction

Remember our quote.... divine revelation that is soteriological. Salvation for the world.

is where we begin for devotional today. All that has gone into this moment. Wilderness and preparation. Failures, and covenants. Making them a people and now solidifying that by giving them a home again....

Joshua 1:7–9 NIV

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:7-

The Torah was always meant to define the relationship, for salvation of their people. God says, this is the one thing you need to remember....keep it. Don’t just casually read it....Eugene Peterson says of this text, God says eat it. Eat this book. Have it form you and shape you.

Pray over the Bible

It is important to invite God into the Bible reading experience. Asking God to illuminate the text for you...

In her book God the Spirit , Beth Felker Jones wrote that the term illumination refers to “the way in which the Spirit continues to work in and with God’s people, as readers of Scripture, to help us understand and be faithful to what we read there.” 3 The term inspiration , she says, refers to God’s work in and through the biblical writers in the past. Inspiration and illumination, then, come from the same source, but they serve different purposes. God inspired the biblical writers to create works that would guide first Israel and then the church. God illuminates our readings so that we can grasp more deeply the meaning of the inspired writings.

It is not as important how you pray over the text but that you pray

David F. Watson. Scripture and the Life of God (Kindle Locations 573-578).

Examples:

It could be something simple like....

“God, guide my thoughts and fill my heart through this reading. Help me become the person you want me to be.”

Or something historic like this prayer from John Chrysostom...

O Lord Jesus Christ, open Thou the eyes of my heart, that I may hear Thy word and understand and do Thy will, for I am a sojourner upon the earth. Hide not Thy commandments from me, but open mine eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of Thy law. Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of Thy wisdom. On Thee do I set my hope, O my God, that Thou shalt enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of Thy knowledge, not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them; that in reading the lives and sayings of the saints I may not sin, but that such may serve for my restoration, enlightenment and sanctification, for the salvation of my soul, and the inheritance of life everlasting. For Thou art the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from Thee cometh every good deed and every gift. Amen.

Wording is a little old but the words have power and there is something to a prayer that has been preserved and passed down through centuries.

John Wesley believed that it is crucial to end a time of scripture reading with a prayer, “that what we read may be written on our hearts.”

All of this should be prayed over because we hope that in our reading God will change us!

Do you have a practice like this?

Praying the Bible

Can anyone think of parts of the Bible that are good for praying?

Psalms exactly:

Psalm 51 NIV

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Or a psalm of praise:

Psalm 46:1–3 NIV

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Psalm 46:10–11 NIV

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Or a psalm of lament:

,

Psalm 22:1–2 NIV

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.

It could be at a certain time when you feel these emotions and turn to these texts. And listen if it means googling a psalm of praise or lament or good psalm for suffering…DO IT.

The Bible Project, again is a good recommendation to you. In their Read Scripture App there is a reading a psalm every day. It goes numerically so some days it lands on a psalm of praise and I do not feel like praising....but it is work for me or a prayer to pray.

Or I am having a good day and I get to the lament days. It is worship for me to consider that I am in a place of blessing because God has answered…or remembering a time when I was in that scenario.

Meditating Upon the Text

Richard Foster wrote, “What happens in meditation is that we create the emotional and spiritual space which allows Christ to construct an inner sanctuary in the heart.”

Meditating is about removing the many distractions from our hearts and the world around us. This is very different from what we have discussed before, though they can be complimentary.

Foster continues by saying, Meditation on Scripture “centers on internalizing and personalizing the passage. The written word becomes a living word addressed to you.”

There is no right way to do this, probably some weird or possibly wrong ways....but no magic formula. We should all participate in this type of study.

Memorization

From the very beginning Israelities memorized and allowed the words of God to take hold of their hearts. It continued with monastic practices throughout history. Recitation done out loud in the monasteries allowed for God’s work to become alive and powerful. But we live in a different time and jumping into something like this might be more difficult.

Example: Mike Wilson in seminary memorizing whole books of the Bible.

Start:

2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

All throughout the day consider this verse

carry it with you

whenever it comes to mind repeat it

ponder each word at different times

consider if this is how you live your life

Do you experience fear or timidity, or do you experience power, love, and self-discipline.

And slowly grow this practice. I am working on memorization of the book of Ephesians.

David F. Watson. Scripture and the Life of God (Kindle Locations 557-563).

Ok another form of mediation....

Read a passage slowly

Focus on the words....

Revelation 1:13–18 NIV

and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

We don’t just want to read Scripture....we want to internalize it.

Lectio Divina

This dates back to the middle ages and is roughly translated as “the divine reading”

There are many different forms or practices of this you can find more online but here is a basic practice:

Find a quiet place

Identify a passage of Bible you want to read; Psalms or something from Gospel

Read slowly through text, maybe out loud

listen to the sounds of the words as you read them

If something stands out to you, you may want to focus on that word

You have found the centerpiece of your meditation. Note: If this does not happen every time, you should not be concerned. This is not task-oriented activity, “It is a way of resting in God’s Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you.

6. Once you have read the text, meditate on the text. What words jump out at you? What images are in your mind? What feelings did this evoke within you? If there is a phrase that catches your attention continue to meditate on it…you may be surprised about what comes to you.

7. Gradually meditation will become prayer.

8. Finally, rest in the Spirit

Let’s take a few minutes to try one together:

Example:

Psalm 23 NIV

A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Mark 4:35–41 NIV

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Practice.

Then of course what we have done as a student of Scripture. I enjoy spending time doing all of these practices.

Whatever you do, just open the Bible!

Repetition is critical

Consistency

Persistence

Suggestions for Bible Reading now:

Daily Text (DiscipleshipBands)

Read Scripture app (Bible project)

Daily Office

What practices work for you?!

Homework:

Matthew 14:26 NIV

When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

Matthew 16:24 NIV

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Matthew

Come:

Work from notes:

Was this difficult?

1. Start with verse and finding most important parts to understand. Verbs are important as well.

2. Evidence that you found to help answer this verse’s meaning

3. Draw some conclusions

4. What did you think of commentaries?

5. In the end what are you walking away with after studying this?

For me on Word document:

Start with narrowing to Follow,

show some evidence,

skip commentaries,

go to conclusion and interpretation.