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A Prayer about Panting for God’s Word

A Prayer about Panting for God’s Word

Righteous and Holy God,

We want the words of the Psalmist 

to be true of us: 

we want to long desperately for your commandments 

as dogs drool over their morning meal. 

We want to sing with the Psalmist: 

“Your testimonies are wonderful; 

therefore my soul keeps them” (Psalm 119:129). 

In our hearts, as we read your Word, 

we see your holiness and justice and your mercy and grace. 

And yet, we are often blinded by the darkness of our own sin, 

vision clouded by cataracts of fallen world living. 

Then we are like fools, 

stumbling around in darkness, 

forgetting to ask Alexa to turn on the lights. 

Then we desperately need “the unfolding of your words” 

to give us “light,” 

to “impart understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130).  

We sing with the Psalmist, 

“Turn to me and be gracious to me, 

as is your way with those who love your name” (Psalm 119: 132). 

In the name of our merciful Savior we ask. Amen.

Read Psalm 119:129-136.

Want to read more about thanking God while we live in the “already” and “not yet”? I’ve begun two new newsletters on Substack, one on living in hope in the already and not yet, and the other on aging, caregiving, and the end of life. Please check them both out!

Bible Study: Six Steps to Learning the Language

Bible Study: Six Steps to Learning the Language

Learning a new language brings freedom to travel.

Last year, our twenty-four-year old son traveled to Europe, first to Barcelona, then to France, where he participated in a music festival. Unlike me, he can navigate these foreign lands freely, because he is fluent in Spanish and highly proficient in French. Although he has a natural affinity and love for languages, his fluency is hard-fought; he trained rigorously to acquire it. One summer when he was around eleven, he decided he wanted to learn Spanish. He made a plan and set up a program for himself. He prioritized this work, setting aside around four to six hours a day (yes, he always was an unusual child!) for study. To prepare, he bought books on grammar and vocabulary; as part of the process, he made flashcards and listened to recordings. As he gained knowledge, he spent time speaking the language with his piano teacher, who is originally from Colombia. The next summer he attended an immersion program in Costa Rica and eventually began teaching adults the language. A year or so later, he followed a similar process to learn French.

Growing a passion for the language gives us more freedom in Christ.

Why, you ask, am I telling you all this? (Am I just bragging, as my son-in-law would say?). Although I do enjoy bragging on my kids, what I really want is to facilitate a passion for and proficiency in the Christian’s language, the Word of God. Now that we are citizens of Christ’s kingdom, how do we gain the freedom and joy to journey in it, to live in it? We do so by becoming more like Christ and by coming closer to Christ. One of the best ways to do that is to read and study the Word of God that tells the story of how we first became citizens and how we are to live in his land. Although studying God’s Word does not require all of the following steps, I’m going to list some that might help. Once you’ve used this process for a while, you probably won’t need to think about it; you’ll just go through it automatically. But if you’re getting started or trying to re-ignite a dwindling fire, these six P’s may help.

1. Pray

I don’t know that our son prayed about learning Spanish, but we can certainly ask God for the discipline to read and study the Bible. That’s what I call extra help!

2. Purpose

Our purpose in reading and studying the Bible is always to grow in godliness, which is to become more like Christ and to come closer to Christ.

3. Prioritize

We know this. New habits require new neurons to fire. We will have to set aside time, even make a reminder on our phone or put an appointment in our calendar if we are going to develop a healthy habit of Bible study.

4. Prepare

Just as our son gathered resources, you may need to gather some tools:

5. Plan

Whether you want to read the whole Bible over a period of time or to spend more time in-depth in a particular book of the Bible, it’s good to have a plan.

  • Think about how long it takes to read a chapter of a book, and plan how many chapters you will read a day.
  • Keep a record of which books you’ve read, so you can make sure to cover all of the Bible at some point. (For more on the question of whether you really need to read the whole Bible, see this post.)
  • For reading the whole Bible, you can find some good plans here:

6. Process

When our son sat down to study Spanish and French, he went through a process to help him learn.

Here is a suggested process for Bible study with seven steps:

1. Pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to instruct and engage your whole being with whatever you are about to read.

2. Read the passage once.

Read it aloud if you can, or listen with one of the great apps made for this purpose.

3. Read (or listen) again.

Ask, “What does this literally say?” Try to paraphrase in your own words.

4. Interpret

  • Consider the literary genre, the historical context (study Bibles and commentaries may be helpful for this).
  • Consider the story elements like character, plot, setting, metaphor, etc.: What comparisons are being made? Ask questions like “Who are the characters, and how did they respond?” “What would the original characters in the story have felt, thought?”
  • Ask, “What is the deeper meaning?”

5. Apply

Tim Challies and Josh Byers, in their book, Visual Theology Guide to the Bible, suggest considering three categories for application: “The head, the heart, and the hands.” Try these questions for each type of application:

  • The head:
    • What does the passage say about God, yourself, living the gospel, Christian doctrine?
    • How does the passage fit in with the overall story of the Bible?
  • The heart:
    • How do I feel reading this passage? Does the passage suggest certain emotional responses?
    • Is there something in this that makes me feel uncomfortable? Why?
  • The hands:
    • Ask, “How can I live this out wherever I’m going, whatever I’m doing today?
    • What does it tell/show me about loving God and loving others? Do I need to pray about something? Do I need to confess something?

Remember: The purpose of application is to connect it to your living story, how you will become more like Christ and be drawn nearer to Christ.

6. Pray

Use some of the words you read to pray back to God.

  • For example: “Lord, help me train myself for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7).
  • “Lord, I don’t know what it means that Paul handed these guys over to Satan (1 Tim. 1: 20), but that sounds scary. Please help me to continue to grow in faith and not fall away.”
  • “God, it says you are the ‘eternal, immortal, invisible King…’ (1 Tim. 1:17). I adore you. I yield to your rule over my life.”

7. Meditate/Memorize

Write down one verse or even a phrase from your reading to meditate on or memorize during the day or over the course of a week.

That’s it! Are you ready? Go!

Practice this process once a day, five days a week, for three weeks. (If you’re a Living Story subscriber, I’ve even provided free Bible study pages to guide you).  If you do this for three weeks, chances are you’ll have a new habit for Bible study. At the very least, you’ll gain a new appreciation for the beauty of the language and the story God has given us to help us know and enjoy him. At the most, you’ll acquire proficiency in the language you need to live in the only country where true freedom exists.

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From Recovery to Restoration cover

Get Hope for Troubling Times

Advance Review for From Recovery to Restoration

"When the storms of life crash into our lives, the devastation left behind is often overwhelming. Recovery and healing is slow and arduous. Elizabeth Turnage's devotional is for all those laboring toward recovery. From Recovery to Restoration is a hope-filled, gospel-laced, and Christ-exalting book which invites us into God's story of redemption and helps us see how he is at work to redeem and restore all things, even the aftermath of our personal losses, heartaches, and trials."

Christina Fox

Writer, Counselor, Speaker

author of A Heart Set Free: A Journey to Hope Through the Psalms of Lament.

Bible Study: 14 Ways to Whet Your Appetite

Bible Study: 14 Ways to Whet Your Appetite

 

“Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” Deut. 8:3

Most of us know we can’t live by bread alone; some of us are even counseled by our doctors not to eat bread at all. But do we know that we can’t live by work alone or family alone or approval alone or achievement alone or whatever it is that we try to fill our hearts up with alone? Do we know that we are desperate—desperate for every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord?

I have to admit, a lot of the time I act as if I’m just fine without the words that come from the mouth of the Lord. I mean, I may read my Bible every morning, but I don’t read it as if my life depended on it. And that’s what Moses is saying here. God actually let the Israelites go hungry in the wilderness then fed them with manna.

You may know what happened. At first they thought this lovely frosted flaky looking stuff was delicious. But they soon tired of it and complained to Moses that they wanted to get back to their old familiar lives (where they were slaves in Egypt!). (Note: something else I love about the Bible—it is hilarious in places! (Until you realize that you act just as foolishly as the Israelites sometimes)).

In today’s enCourage blog, I asked, “Do we really need to read the whole Bible?” Today, I’m going to suggest fourteen ways to read the Bible. These are not so much strategies as they are attitudes and approaches. Next week we’ll talk strategy.

1. Read it as if your life depended on it.

Because it does. At least, that’s what Jesus told Satan (Matthew 4: 4). Everything we need for life and breath and even death is right here in this beloved book.

3. Read it as if it is a love letter written to you by God…

…the most holy, most perfect, most just, most loving, most merciful Being—God, your Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer (1 John 4:7-12). Because it is.

2. Read it as if you don’t know everything.

As if you don’t know everything about the Bible and as if you don’t know everything, period. In other words, read with humility (James 4:6).

4. Read it to develop a relationship with the Author…

that same God who is holy, perfect, just, loving, and merciful. (The Psalms, all of them). As you read, ask “Who is this God? What is he like?”

5. Read it as if all of it points to Jesus God’s Son, your Savior (Luke 24:27).

Because it does. Read it to learn how Jesus lived, and ask him to help you live that way too.

7. Read it as if you are going to—hard word alert—submit to it…

surrender to it, obey it, live it out (Psalm 119:4, 5, 7, 11, 33-34, etc.). (And as if you actually can, because of the power of the Holy Spirit (see number six above)).

6. Read it to learn more about the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit…

who not only raises the dead (Titus 3:4-7), but who also mysteriously and remarkably transforms (sanctifies) all who have trusted in Christ as Savior (Romans 15:15).

8. Read it as if it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Aramaic.

Because it was. This means that you will sometimes need help understanding the words, the concepts, and the culture. Seek out good translations, commentaries and teachers to help you.

9. Read it to find out how you are relevant to it.

We often ask, “How is the Bible relevant to me?” But the whole point is, that we don’t fold the Bible into our story; it folds us into its story (Psalm 119:154, 156, and 159).

11. Read it to learn how to pray. 

In fact, do this, too: pray to learn how to read it (Matthew 6:7-13).

10. Sometime, in some seasons of your life, read all of it…

because you really need to know the whole story to understand its individual parts.

12. Read it to make sense of suffering—

yours, the world’s, Christ’s (2 Cor. 4: 16-18).

13. Read it as if it will bring you great joy, delight, and hope…

yes, even, or especially, when you are suffering. (Psalm 119:14).

14. Read it as if it was the best news you’ve ever heard!

The Bible tells the whole and true story of the God who created the cosmos…

how his created people destroyed that cosmos by rebelling against him; how God restored, redeemed and reconciled his people and his creation by sending his very own sinless Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross for their sins; and how, one day, this same Jesus, who was resurrected from the dead, will return to establish his heavenly kingdom here on earth, reuniting forever the holy Creator God with his beloved creation, and there will be glory, glory, glory and lots of hallelujahs!

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A Good Read for Hard Times: The Waiting Room Devotional

A Prayer about the Very Near Word

A Prayer about the Very Near Word

Oh Father,

What a promise you have given us in this lovely word from your Word.

Many of us are facing things that seem way too difficult—

finding a new job, having kids quarantined yet again, 

healing from illness or surgery, grieving the loss of loved ones, 

overcoming lifelong temptations.

You promise that your help is not out of our reach (Deuteronomy 30:11).

You have empowered us to live in your love, 

even in the most impossible circumstances,

through Jesus Christ, the Word who came near to us, 

who stretched his arms across the great divide 

between our sin and your holiness. 

May we draw near to you in your Word 

as you have drawn near to us, today and everyday.

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen. 

Read Deuteronomy 30:11-20.

A Prayer about the Day of Perfect Peace

A Prayer about the Day of Perfect Peace

Lord of hosts,

You know that this year has been anything but peaceful.

As Christmas approaches, keep our minds fixed

on our Prince of Peace

who brought us perfect peace with you.

Remind us that he will one day

restore perfect peace on this earth

when he renews all things.

Fill our minds with visions not merely of “sugarplum dancing in our heads”

but of “a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine”

that you will serve on that day

when you “swallow up death forever,”

when you “wipe away tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:6-8).

Today and every day, fix our minds on this peace-yielding truth:

“This is the Lord; we have waited for him;

let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isaiah 25:9).

In Jesus’ peace-full name. Amen.

Read Isaiah 25:6-9; Isaiah 26:1-3.

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