Reflect on This
This is the podcast version of short email devotionals I send to my family and friends, where I am sharing the things I am learning about the ways and nature of God, through applying my study of the Scriptures to life, in practical, intentional, and meaningful ways.
Reflect on This
Studying the Scriptures (Part 3)
Season 2 Episode 38 - In this episode, we explore the concept that reading, studying, and meditating on the Scriptures are not the end, but the means to the end. And what is that end? Listen and find out!
Link to the song “Mrs. Phillip’s Prayer” by Chuck Sugar (mentioned in today's episode): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVjON76K0i0
"Reflect on This" is a once-weekly, short devotional podcast. In these devotionals, I share the things I am learning about the ways and nature of God, through applying my study of the Scriptures to life, in practical and fulfilling ways.
If you like the podcast, please tell your friends and family about it, and subscribe/follow it, because it helps others to find the podcast more easily.
Resources that inspired some episodes:
"The Language of Rivers and Stars" by Seth Lewis
“Dream Small: The Secret Power of the Ordinary Christian Life” by Seth Lewis
Seth Lewis blog: https://sethlewis.ie/
35 Bible Verses About Listening To Others (Explained) - Bible Repository
"Restoration Year: Devotions to Transform Your Relationships, Spirit, and Faith" by John Eldredge
"Boundaries" by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
"The Pleasure of His Company" by Dutch Sheets
"Fresh Air" by Chris Hodges
“The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts” by Gary Chapman
"The Lies We Believe: Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life" by Dr. Chris Thurman
Featured ministries and resources:
“Agape Puppets” (ministry)
This is an amazing world-wide ministry that uses puppet shows to reach children (and their parents) for Christ, in cultures that are generally not very open to the Gospel. To learn more, go to: https://theagapepuppets.org/
"Manufacture Good" (ministry)
Manufacture Good is a Christian ministry that offers paid apprenticeships to men who need a second chance. These apprentices learn biblical principles, character, and valuable woodworking and metalworking skills which lead to employment opportunities. You can shop their catalog of fine home and office products, order a standard or custom piece of furniture, make a donation, and learn more about this amazing ministry, at: https://manufacturegood.org/.
"The World and Everything in It" (podcast)
This is a weekday 35-minute podcast that presents headline news, in-depth news articles, media reviews, and opinion pieces from a Christian world view. Their stated mission is "biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires."
“Crazy Little Thing Called Marriage” (podcast)
This is a once a week 30-minute podcast hosted by Greg and Erin Smalley, who head up the marriage team at Focus on the Family. Each episode addresses a different aspect of marriage, using biblical principles, featured guests, practical advice, and a mixture of humor and candidness.
"e-Sword" (Bible study software)
This study tool includes many free (and low-cost) resources, including Bibles, dictionaries, commentaries, and devotionals. It allows you to simultaneously view verses and their corresponding cross-references, lexicon entries, commentaries, and more.
On your computer, go to e-sword.net
On your mobile device, go to your app store and search for “e-sword.”
Music credits:
Beauty by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all
In previous episodes, we discussed the purpose of studying the Scriptures: not merely to accumulate Bible knowledge, but to lead us into the very presence of the triune Godhead. Certainly, we are to apply our mind (our intellect) to read, study, and meditate on the Scriptures. Yet these activities are not the end – they are the means to the end, which is a divine encounter with Jesus. These times of being in His presence are what renews our minds, and changes our lives.
Today I want us to explore more about how this changes our lives, and what our lives as children of God should be like. As in previous episodes, I will quote some excerpts from an article by Bill Johnson on this topic:
“It is important, then, to understand the learning process involved in studying Scripture. Our spirit is where the Holy Spirit dwells. No matter what our minds happen to believe, our spirits are ready to receive great things from God. Our spirits were created to embrace things that our heads cannot, and lead us where our logic would never dare to go. [For example,] no one ever attributes the traits of courage and valor to intellect or the strength of human reasoning. Courage rises up from within and exerts influence over the mind, sometimes against apparent logic. In the same way, true faith rises from within and exerts influence over the mind. Faith does not come from our understanding. We do not believe because we understand; we understand because we believe.”
Johnson then goes on to say that, when our study of Scripture leads us to times in the presence of Jesus, we begin to experience true kingdom living:
“Reading about miracles in the Bible can be inspiring; seeing and [being a part of] miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit is life-changing. This is the essence of Jesus’ desire, that we seek Him and pray, ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ (Matthew 6:10).
“Studying Scripture in this way changes everything – our expectations for the future, the way we see the Father, the way we see people, the way we see our destiny, the way we approach problems, the way we celebrate and worship. Nothing will drive you deeper into the written Word of God than the hunger to know Him and His magnificent lifestyle available to all believers.”
“The inheritance [of the believer] is living by the presence of God, not just principles. To live by kingdom principles only is to desire a kingdom without a king. Yet we are invited to know the Author of the Book, not just concepts and teachings… Jesus told His followers, ‘Lift up your eyes” (John 4:35). Why? Because when we see things from His vantage point, we operate from a superior reality, a superior world – the one God operates from. The renewed mind elevates us, from being people who are married to concepts, to being people who embrace the experience of the gospel. The renewed mind enables us to prove, to put on display, to ‘approve the things that are excellent’ (Philemon 1:10). We can’t approve of a movie we have not seen or a meal we have not eaten. Through our personal experience, we help bring others into the same experience. It is called kingdom living.”
I would add here that I devoted all of Episode 23 in Season 1 to this process of renewing the mind. I used a personal experience as a word picture for the renovation and metamorphosis that God does of our minds and hearts, as described in Romans 12:2. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to listen to Season 1 Episode 23.
Johnson concludes with an encouraging word about studying the Scriptures:
“[The biblical way of studying Scripture] is life-transforming and never dull. We are always learning more through “Aha!” moments in study and subsequent experiences. If the phrase Bible study has ever struck boredom in your heart, it never should again, because it’s not just reading stories confined to a page. It’s a story we are invited to join and live, supernaturally… Ultimately, that is the goal of studying Scripture.”
This brings to mind a song by Chuck Sugar entitled “Mrs. Phillip’s Prayer” that we often sang at Young Life meetings when I was in high school. There is a link in the show notes for the song. These are the words of the chorus:
Our life is a Bible for some folks to see,
I wonder just what they are reading in me.
Are they reading God’s mercy and love in my life?
Or do they read pain and jealousy, envy, and strife?
Oh, I wonder just what they are reading in me.
The apostle Paul, in writing to the church in Corinth, had a similar message. He commended the believers there for living in such a way that their lives were a reflection of Christ – a letter from Christ to be read by the unbelievers around them:
2 Corinthians 3:2-3 NIV You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. (3) You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
I am challenging myself to live in this way – that, as I study the Scriptures, my heart (not just my head) will be transformed, as I spend time with Jesus. And that I will have the living message of hope in Christ written on my heart, and displayed in my thoughts, words, and deeds, for everyone to see. Will you join me in this challenge?
Today, I encourage you to “Reflect on This.”
Link to the song “Mrs. Phillip’s Prayer” by Chuck Sugar: