Keeping the Bible in Context

studying the bible in context

The Importance of Keeping the Bible in Context

Has anyone ever put words in your mouth?

You know, when they take something you’ve said, and twist it into an entirely different meaning than what you intended.

Frustrating, right?

I can only imagine that our Sovereign God isn’t pleased when we do the same thing to Him.

The last thing we want to do as Christians is misuse His words in the Bible.

That’s why keeping the Bible in context is so important.

“Context, context, context,” as they say.

The Bible in Context

the bible in context

When I first started reading the Bible from cover to cover this year, it was a bit of a struggle in the OT portion.

The many ruling kings (some good, mostly bad), the countless geographical references, expansive genealogies, and cringe-worthy barbaric cults were overwhelming to read about at times.

I needed help, and was fortunate enough to find it.

I’d like to share with you a resource I found for studying the Bible in context.

It’s an option you might want to consider, especially when reading through the Old Testament.

A Method for Understanding the Bible in Context

Here’s some simple steps that worked for me:

  1. Maps and photos
  2. Timelines
  3. Context source

Step #1: Visual Guides, Such as Maps and Photos

On your search engine, (I use duck duck go), search for a map of the Bible region or topic you’re studying (the Exodus route, for example).

I saved several colorful maps on my desktop so I can pull them out for easy reference. As a visual person by nature, the maps and photos are extremely helpful.

Step #2: A Kingly Timeline

As you read through the Old Testament, you’ll learn about the many kings of Israel and Judah, as well as other regions. It can be hard to track who’s who in the kingly successions so conduct a computer search for a timeline of the succession of OT kings to help you.  

Step #3: Check Out The Following Website

The following resource is my favorite place for studying the Bible in historical context. You can find it here at https://enduringword.com/.

Go all the way down to the bottom of their landing page.

There, you’ll find a description for almost every verse in the Old Testament, and all of the New Testament.

understanding the bible in context

I started out just using the pastor’s notes which you can find simply by clicking on the name of the Bible book you’re studying.

But, even better:

Click on a green audio icon that you see in the photo above. That click leads you to an engaging expository sermon for at least two Bible chapters a day. Pastor David Guzik’s engaging teaching style brings the biblical events alive as you follow along with him and take notes.

keeping the bible in context

Reading the Bible from cover to cover this year has been an enriching experience.

Every day, I look forward to discovering what God is saying to us through His Word. If you think these steps may be helpful to someone else, please don’t hesitate to pass them on.

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* Enduring Word website – personal computer photo. Courtesy of The Enduring Word Bible commentary, Pastor David Guzik. © Copyright – Enduring Word. Retrieved from https://enduringword.com/

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Sight And Sound Theater Jesus

Sight and Sound Theaters Jesus

Sight and Sound Theater Jesus: Perfect for the Entire Family

Would you like to hear some good news?

Encore! Encore!

The amazing Sight and Sound Theater Jesus event is coming back for an encore performance this Wednesday, May 13th at 8 p.m., CST.

Your entire family can watch this captivating stage production at home, for free, exclusively on the TBN network.

Trust me, you don’t want to miss this!

It’s like being at a Broadway play, but right in your own living room.

You’ll be enchanted as the larger-than-life cast presents a beautiful retelling of some of the remarkable events in the life of Jesus.

I felt truly blessed after seeing it.

Sight and Sound Theater Jesus Reviews

The Sight and Sound Theater Jesus broadcast debuted this past Easter to rave reviews.

Upwards of 3 million people tuned in.

I was so captivated by the show that, afterwards, I started searching on how I could buy the DVD for our personal video library.

Amazing Cast

Sight and Sound Theaters “Jesus” is a grand scale production, featuring large sets, beautiful music, over 40 actors, and all kinds of interesting animals, large and small.

Live animals!

Which begs a question, I had to find out how they pulled this off.

How did they get all of those animals to behave during live performances with a crowd of 2000 people in the audience?

Here’s your answer – a fascinating behind-the-scenes look.

On a personal note, I’ve seen several musical productions, Broadway and otherwise, but this one really captured my heart.

I even have a favorite scene and there’s no hiding it, I cried.

Many voices rising up in praise when Jesus was resurrected still gives me chills.

Felt like Heaven!

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The Lord Is My Shepherd Forever

Why The Lord Is My Shepherd Forever

The Lord is my shepherd forever

My defender, my protector, the Lord is my shepherd forever

Psalm 23 has always been dear to my heart.

The entire psalm talks about trusting our Savior – as an illustration that we can rest in Him, no matter what life brings.

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”– Psalm 23, (NASB).1

In fact, history tells us that a shepherd will do anything to protect his sheep, even lay down his life against a predator.

The Lord is my shepherd

The Lord Is My Shepherd Song

With the comforting picture of Jesus as our Savior in mind, I recently found a beautiful Christian song to share that I have literally listened to over and over.

Turn it up if you can.

The song is from Nashville Life Music and it’s called, “Shepherd.”

It really blessed me, and I hope you find it as uplifting as I do for the days ahead.

Make sure you check out their new album, “Here For Jesus” that will release May 15, 2020. In addition, the Nashville Life Music group is nominated for a GMA Dove Award for their song, “My God.”

Furthermore, here’s a fun fact you may not know: The group started out nine years ago in gospel legend, CeCe Winan’s living room.

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*Opening Shepherd photo is free to use, licensed under under a Creative Commons CC0 License.

1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. 

2 Quotation from M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, Web. Accessed 29, April, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/shepherd/. Sheep photo is free to use, licensed under a Creative Commons CC0 License.

 

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Seeing 20/20 In 2020

The Eyes of Faith – Seeing 20/20 In The Year 2020

having clear vision 20/20 in 2020

We used to love watching hawks fly around at our old house.

Have you ever seen a hawk up close?

They are truly fascinating birds of prey.

Fascinating, but take it from me, they don’t pick up after themselves.

Seriously.

Once we saw a hawk with a snake in its mouth land directly on our back fence.

We quickly grabbed our binoculars to see what cool thing it would do next.

It didn’t take long.

It dropped the snake in our yard, and then flew off.

Hey, not cool.

You can see one of our frequent hawk visitors in the center of the picture below.

seeing clearly in 2020

Did you know that hawks can see eight times better than we can? That works out to about a 20/2 on the vision chart.

That’s pretty amazing.

My 20/20 pales in comparison.

I want to always see the world around me through the eyes of faith.

Seeing 20/20 in 2020

The other day, I came across the following verse in my Bible reading, located in 1 Samuel 16:7.

God is with the prophet Samuel in Bethlehem. God had a clear message for what Samuel was to look for in the search for a new king over Israel.

Check this out.

through God's eyes

The Lord looks at the heart

He sees us, not just for what we are on the outside, but more importantly, who we are on the inside.

Have you ever noticed in your Bible readings whom God chooses to use for His glory?

Did He always choose the most attractive, richest, strongest, and powerful people?

God often chooses unlikely people to do His work, so that all know the work is God’s work, not man’s work. He wants to work in a way so that people regard His servants as they regarded Samson: they wondered at the secret of his strength. (Judges 16:5). – David Guzik, Christian pastor and author. 2

Don’t you love that?

The Eyes of Faith

Delight yourself in the Lord, take shelter in Him, and see everything going on in the world with a Godly perspective.

Things may appear impossible right now, but through the eyes of faith, we know that, in God’s timing, everything will fall into place.

And then it will all start to make sense.

As hard as it can be sometimes, we have to try and look beyond our circumstances.

Choose to view life through God’s eyes. This will not be easy because it doesn’t come naturally to us. We cannot do this on our own. We have to allow God to elevate our vantage point. Start by reading His Word, the Bible…Pray and ask God to transform your thinking. Let Him do what you cannot. Ask Him to give you an eternal, divine perspective. – Chuck Swindoll, Christian pastor and author.3

Amen!

If you feel any of my posts would be helpful to someone else, please feel free to use the sharing buttons.

God bless.

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1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. 

2 Quotation from Christian pastor David Guzik. “1 Samuel 16. God Chooses David.” n.d., Web. Accessed 26 April, 2020. Retrieved from https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/1-samuel-16/

3 Chuck Swindoll, influential Christian pastor and author. Swindoll quotation, courtesy of AZquotes.com. 

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Testing “Positive” For Faith

There’s Power On Our Knees

faith testing

There’s something so powerful about getting on our knees to pray.

As COVID-19 continues to dominate the headlines, urgent prayer requests for God’s mercy and healing continue to ring out across America.

 Lord, please stop this virus in its tracks

Keep my loved ones safe and healthy

Have mercy on America, Lord

I am so thankful that we have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Aren’t you?

“For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears attend to their prayer,
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” – 1 Peter 3:12, (NASB).1

Testing Positive For Faith

If we’re going to test “positive” for anything, may it be our unwavering faith.

By His grace and providential will, I believe there will be an end to COVID-19.

An arrogant governor and other pompous politicians know nothing about the power of our faith and our God who hears us.

The real power over all of this lies at the feet of Jesus.

As we pray, and I’m including myself in this gentle reminder, we can’t forget to be thankful – as odd as that may sound during a time like this pandemic.

testing positive for faith

While the future may seem hopeless, God is faithful. Psalm 77:11-12

Knowing Him, we can face tomorrow with the confidence that He will work everything for our good.

So I want to leave us all with a Matt Maher song, covered beautifully by the West Baptist College Choir.

Remember: We, not the politicians, know Who holds the future.

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1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. 

2 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
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