What to blog, what to blog?

I don't always know what to write when I go to blog. Sometimes something will hit me and I will start to type, other times I leave the window open until something comes to me or I will just start making something up that has no relevance whatsoever.

Today is one of those days. I don't have a lot to say because I have pretty much said it. Lots of stuff going on in my life right now but nothing I haven't already blogged about. Beth and I are getting ready to head to Baltimore, MD to spend some time with friends and family and look around. We are looking forward to the time away from the kids (all of them) and I know this is a much needed break for Beth.

I guess I can talk about what I am going to talk to my students about tonight and the next couple weeks. I am committing 3 weeks of Wednesday nights on how to study the Bible. We are going to talk tonight about the actual Bible, its history, translations, authority plus I will show them some other tools that they can use to study, ie commentaries, dictionaries, lexicons, concordances, etc. Next week we will look at doing some exegesis on a particular verse. I will give them ways to study the Bible and how to look up information to help them get into the word, and then the 14th of March we will do some practical stuff like actually doing a Bible study where the students put the stuff together. I am hoping that they take away a basic understanding of how to study the Bible, how to really into God's word and go beyond the surface translation and see how it fits into their life.

As a new Christian I never got the right tools to do this. I wasn't told how to actually study the Bible, how to get into the words and break down author, location, culture, etc to determine why it was written and then to try to interpret it in todays setting. God's word is fascinating to get into, mainly because you can never get enough. There is no end to what you can get out of it. I read a blog last week that talked about the Bible being badly written because it could be interpreted in different ways by different people reading the same section of verses, but to me, that is the genius of the Bible. The Bible is filled with such mystery, if we could ever get everything out of it, then it would be just another book, but God didn't set it up that way. Instead he gave us a puzzle to undo as we grow closer to Him. The words change as we apply them to our lives, first as new Christians learning what it all means, then as wholly sanctified believers who are studying to continue living in God's will.

One thing I regret is not listening like I should when I was younger. Not studying or memorizing scripture like I know others have. But God continues to work through me and help me to grow closer to Him and more interested in the Bible...

Leave me some comments on your particular method of studying God's word?