Office Supplies and Scripture
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I love school supplies. Although by the time you're my age, they should probably be called "office supplies." But this lifelong student tries to find some excuse to buy at least a new binder or a pack of pens at the beginning of each semester. I only wish graduate school professors assigned more posters and artistic work so that I could justify a brand new pack of magic markers.
Bible study requires office supplies too. Sometimes we need a pen, a notebook, and maybe a highlighter. But unfortunately we can bring some other supplies to our study that may actually prohibit us from learning all that we can. What's worse, these extra supplies are all in our heads! Here are three office supplies that you'll want to leave behind when you sit down to study the Bible.
Glue
I've mentally taken a bottle of glue to my Bible on several occasions. Perhaps you've done it too. We find a section of the Bible that seems uninteresting or difficult, and we mentally glue the pages together so we can skip over them to get to the "good parts."
Not long ago, I found one section of my Bible that I'd mentally glued shut—the Minor Prophets. Maybe you've heard of them: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. They live in between the Major Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel and the New Testament. I really never read them because I didn't understand them. To me they were short yet cryptic.
In never attempting to understand those books, I was missing out on major pieces and themes of the biblical story. I wasn't allowing those parts of God's Word to shape and form my life. After all, 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." "All Scripture" includes the Minor Prophets and any other section of the Bible we've mentally glued together.
When we skip over difficult or seemingly uninteresting passages, it's as though we're studying for a test and only reviewing part of the notes. Instead of passing onto easier, more familiar passages, why not attempt to study those places we haven't ventured to go on our own before? Study Bibles have excellent summaries, notes, and guides for reading, and a book like How to Read the Bible Book by Book can help us understand the context of what we're studying.
What sections of the Bible have you mentally glued together? Why? Are you ready to tackle them with some help and uncover what God has for you in their pages?
Scissors
I've also been guilty of using a pair of sharp mental scissors on the pages of my Bible.
When I was in high school and early in college, I was guilty of bringing scissors to my Bible study. I'd cut out and keep the verses that I liked. Some of my favorites were John 3:16, Romans 8:28, Philippians 4:13, and Jeremiah 29:11.
Related Topics:
Assumptions, Bible Study, Bible, Truth of, Scripture, Seeking God
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Melissa
I too am guilty of all of the above. It's good to have a reminder that God wants us to come to His Word with an honest and humble spirit that's not afraid to say "Lord, I don't understand or like this part, but I know that it is the Bread of Life....so, teach me." And He always will! All in all a great article! Is this author a regular contributer to Kyria? I would love to read more of her writing.
T. M. Pease
I'm also guilty of taking those scissors & cutting out parts I don't like, such as "wives, submit to your husbands." I've always struggled with that particular one... "I don't want to be told what to do!" But by cutting it out of context, I'm missing what it really means to be submissive. I'm learning what it means to be in biblical submission to my husband & finding life so much richer (and more satisfying!) as a result!
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