Articles

Book or Books?

The Holy Bible is a compilation of 66 books, originally written in Hebrew & Greek from 40 different authors over the span of 1,500 years with over 63,000 cross references. Yet most struggle to pass Genesis; feel no shame. God is the only one who can translate his word into every human speaking language and it STILL not be enough to understand what’s all being conveyed. We are going to navigate how the Power of God is required to encounter the Word of God so we can stop being victims to the arrows Satan throws such as: frustration, discouragement, confusion & laziness.

The Bible is Active & Alive.

What does it mean that the Bible is active & alive such as referenced in Hebrews 4:12. Like a vegetable or fruit? No, more so like a Spirit manifested into ink on paper; The Holy Spirit. The Bible contains the breath of God (2 Tim. 3:16) which was the same breath that entered into Adam from God that made Adam an active & living being. (Gen 2:7) Which leads to this conclusion on the foundation of biblical literacy:

Invite The Holy Spirit Before EVERY Read

It is impossible to fully understand a Holy scripture without the Holy Spirit. Holiness is its language and humans can only be made Holy from God (Eze. 36:27) who is Holy therefore requires us to be in Holiness to fulfill anything Holy such as reading (or shall I say receiving) the Bible. (1 Peter 1:15) The Holy Spirit is our Helper (John 15:26) & by inviting Him it makes us have to humble ourselves to his sovereignty. Reason being is because there is a spiritual veil that stops the world from being able to discern the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:16) therefore approaching the bible with a mind of Flesh will result in a knowledge of Flesh. Inviting the Holy Spirit in Jesus name lifts that veil and protects you from arrows of the enemy that hates you for reading the Word of God. Arrows such as: anxiousness from insecurities while reading, discouragement that leads to doubt and even laziness that makes us think we are incompetent to the word of God or worse, a liar from building our faith from human understanding!

Spiritual & Biblical Context

To brag more on God’s sovereignty, there is another language God speaks that requires his Spirit to comprehend and that is “Prophetic”. God has the ability to say something yesterday-for tomorrow-to you, today. Meaning, Though the bible was written to a real & present audience during specific life events and time periods it was also meant for unborn generations outside of those cultural ethnic groups. (Psalm 22:30-31)This is where you’ll begin to see cross references as you read, motifs, foreshadows and imagery that surpasses poetry because every word was intentional and genuine from the Heart & Mind of a person but orchestrated by the Spirit of God. Every book bears a witness that you can historically track down from Kings, to Governors, Priestly bloodlines and even geographic locations. Which brings me to this important point that everyone should ask and have answered by the end of a chapter: Ask who’s writing, Who’s their target audience? What is God telling me through this text?

Dialogue with the Holy Spirit

Remember God, the Spirit, is invited to your reading. You will be fellowshipping with God during this time so acknowledge him after a few paragraphs or chapters. Notes are valid and necessary but the important part is having the Bible tattooed on your heart. This happens when you soak in what God reveals to you and begin to speak out loud digesting what he is saying back to him. Doing this will posturate your heart to an intimate place with God because you’ll be responding to what God will be presently saying to you in real time! You’ll also be likely to break out in a praise break from feeling the tangible presence of God after digesting what was revealed. (Mat 6:6)

Don’t Overeat!

It is written, “man shall not live off bread alone but by every word that comes from God.” (Mat 4:4) This shows that not only are we ought to be reading everyday but we should also not try to overindulge in the Word. No, I am not saying you can get “too much God” no such thing; I’m saying God chooses what he wants to reveal to whom he wants to reveal when he wants to reveal it. (Rom 16:26) God will notify you when he is finished serving you through the Spirit of Knowledge, Wisdom & Revelation. If we try to override this in our free will then we will experience frustration as if our brains suddenly turned off. We’ll be entering the flesh that will result in us understanding what we’ve read with a human mind. The Church age was hidden from Prophets in the Old Testament showing God’s sovereignty. Daniel was gifted to interpret dreams but still needed to go to God for his. Evidently what I’m saying is ultimately Jesus is Lord and God is sovereign and approaching the word of God with our studies requires humility of a child to receive our Father’s command. (Matt 11:25)

Prayer for the Hungry

Father God, rich in Mercy and Grace, we come to you in Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to give us ears to hear, eyes to see and hearts to love. We thank you for your word and your light that shines through darkness. Thank you for not leaving us in the darkness so that we will not be deceived. Let this literature ignite the hearts and encourage the minds to have powerful studies before your Holy word. Bless those who receive your word like the child you called us to be. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Author: Jacob Poole