Welcome to Day 1454 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Bible Study - Getting it Right Through Action – Meditation Monday

Wisdom - the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek! Where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1454 of our Trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday. Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy. For you, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. You may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life, Meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word and in prayer. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and making sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body. As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope and prayer that you, too, will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind.

We are continuing our series this week on Meditation Monday as we focus on Mastering Bible Study through a series of brief insights from Hebrew Scholar, Dr. Michael S. Heiser. Our first few insights will focus on study habits to build a strong foundation. Today let us meditate on:

Bible Study – Getting it Right Through Action

·      Insight Eleven: Bible Study Is Not Like Marriage

Every reader who is married knows that marriage is an adjustment. Although Paula and I have had very few issues in our marriage, the honeymoon phase does indeed end. Couples may love each other, but conflict eventually surfaces. One piece of sage advice for handling conflicts that I have read at various times is offered in the form of a question: Do you want to be happy, or do you want to be right? I suspect that you catch the meaning. Winning a debate and making your spouse happy aren’t interchangeable ideas.

While this advice works well for marital bliss, it doesn’t work for Bible study. When it comes to interpreting Scripture, you want to be right. Flawed analysis and poorly formed conclusions about what the Bible says aren’t going to produce Bible study bliss. In the long run of our spiritual lives, getting warm and fuzzy feelings from a misunderstood passage is far less desirable than grasping the text accurately without a wave of emotion sweeping over us.

The same can be said about having your own theological comfort zone as your goal for Bible study. If we believe the text is inspired, we need to be subservient to what it says, even when our efforts produce results that conflict with what we’ve been taught to believe. If we’re teaching others, our goal cannot be keeping people happy with what we discover are flawed beliefs and interpretations. Bible study is meaningless if we aren’t striving to understand God’s Word correctly.

So remember that you aren’t practicing marital diplomacy when you study Scripture. Think critically. Be tenacious. Demand clarity. Giving in isn’t going to make God happy. He wants you to wrestle with his Word and get it right.

·      Insight Twelve: “Study” is a Verb

Dr. Heiser shares that before he decided to go to graduate school, he spent some time in seminary. One of his professors was known for his memorable phrases. One of his off-the-cuff quips has stuck with Dr. Heiser for decades: “If you don’t think the ministry is hard work, you aren’t in it.” As with most professional careers, they are hard work. While I never went into the pastorate, this phrase rings through the corridors of my mind whenever I think about Bible study. It lends itself to a suitable adaptation: If you don’t think Bible study is work, you aren’t doing it.

Bible study is work. The word “study” implies activity and effort. I know from experience that this truism is foreign to many. There are reasons for that.

Some people never graduate from Bible reading to Bible study. Reading doesn’t require much effort, especially if you aren’t thinking while doing it. Running your eyes over words on a page is one of the easiest things an adult does at any given point of their day. Remember, Bible reading isn’t Bible study. Others associate Bible study with “getting a blessing.” In doing so you confuse devotional Bible reading with Bible study. The goal of Bible study isn’t a spiritual buzz. Bible study isn’t in search of a feeling. It’s in search of understanding what the biblical text says and what it means. That isn’t to suggest personal application is irrelevant or ought to be avoided. Instead, it’s to suggest that “applying” anything in the Bible without knowing what it means is at best useless and at worst dangerous.

Most of what we consider as small group Bible studies are usually passive. There is very little actual study that occurs, at least for anyone other than the person tasked with leading the group. While the leader may have put serious work into the effort, everyone else is usually just a listener. True, the material may stimulate questions, but asking a question isn’t Bible study. It’s where Bible study often begins.

Most of us know that “study” is a verb. You know that if you went to college, prepared for your driver’s license exam, wanted to research a pending medical procedure, or are serious about fantasy sports. A better synonym for Bible study than “reading” would be “research.” You quickly realize that research isn’t easy. It takes tools, tenacity, and time.

Joshua 1:8

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

That is a wrap for today’s Meditation, next week; we will continue our trek on Meditation Monday as we take time to reflect on what is most important in creating our living legacy. On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise each day. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’  If you would like to listen to any of the past 1453 daily treks or read the daily Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and Journal.

As we take this Trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to ’Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday’! See you tomorrow!