Latest / The Grove Church / Bible Reading Tips with Melanie Alexander

Transcript

Bible Reading Tips with Melanie Alexander · The Grove Church

0:13
Everyone, welcome to the cultivate podcast through the group Church. I'm Charlie Lofton, the
0:17
lead pastor there. Thank you so much for joining us
0:20
as we are still in the middle of a series kinda talking about
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the Bible. Spent a few weeks kinda talking about more of the academic side of
0:28
it, really understanding where truth comes from, how we
0:32
got the Bible, those kinds of things. Did a q and a with
0:35
some questions. And for the last couple of episodes, been here
0:39
with Melanie Alexander, local expert. What's up?
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Hello. So what's your bigger pet peeve, Melanie
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Alexander? That someone accidentally calls you Melody?
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Or they just, like, give you some other nickname like
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Mel or Melon? Like, what are, like, what what's what's the
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bigger pet peeve? It's probably Melodi. I do get called
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Melodi Mhmm. From time to time. Or really
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misspelling it, like, m e l o n I e,
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Melonie. Melonie. Okay. Okay. Which, you know,
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I get it. It's it's not a super common name. But you've got an easily
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spelled last name, so that makes up for it. I do. But it winds up
1:20
being really long. When I have to actually, like, sign a check or write it
1:22
all out, there there's a lot that goes in there. But I moved up. I
1:26
was a p, and now I'm an a. Like, you're fur you're first.
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Yeah. Yeah. I've always been an l, so I'm just right in the middle. Right.
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My kids are always, like, why are we always the first ones to go?
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Like, you can thank your dad.
1:40
So we have been talking over the last couple of episodes about the Bible.
1:44
We spent some time first just kinda talking about why people don't
1:48
wanna read the Bible. We kinda summarize it into 2
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things. It is can feel confusing, intimidating,
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overwhelming, and maybe some people have done damage to
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us with the Bible. And then we spent some time talking about
2:02
why they should read the bible. And it seemed like we ended up spending just
2:06
a lot of our time just about around the idea of being
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grounded in a world that does how do we make sense of a world that
2:12
doesn't make sense? And how do I know who I'm supposed to be and
2:16
who God is in all of this, and it just can really kind of
2:20
ground us in truth when can feel completely
2:24
overwhelmed. Yes. And there towards the end,
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you know, it it felt like it got really big. Like, if
2:31
you, you know, use your the counterfeit money
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illustration. If you really wanna see what's counterfeit, you need to really
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know and study, and you know the truth and the
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true dollar bill so well that you recognize
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counterfeit everywhere. And and in my mind, I was
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thinking if I were a noob,
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Mhmm. Familiar with gamer lingo? Yeah. If you were if I
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was new to all of this, or just
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a novice in some way and really kind of knowing and studying
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the bible myself, to get to the point to where I was a counterfeit
3:08
bill expert, that's that's that's not something I solve
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next week. Yeah. So it can feel a little bit overwhelming. So let's
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pretend that we're all at square 1 or close to it.
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K. What are some tips that you would get give us in our
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journey to become counterfeit bill experts? Yeah.
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Well, the first thing that just immediately came to my mind as you were saying
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that would be, like, feel okay
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with asking someone that you trust,
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someone at the Grove, someone who is,
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you know, a small group leader or a bible study leader. I
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read this, and I didn't understand what it meant. Or does it
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mean this? I just recalled a
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situation back when I was working with this college
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ministry, and there was a a young lady that I was discipling. And I
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remember her coming to me and saying, is the Holy Spirit
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real? Like, growing up, that was a big is the holy
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like, is that real? Like, is that in the Bible? And I was like, yeah.
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Let's go look at it. And so that can be
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maybe feel a little humbling. Right. You know? But there's a lot of people
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that's part of what we do in the body is we help each
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other, learn what we need to learn and
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we bounce things off of each other. And so asking questions if you
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come across something that you don't understand. Or, you know, what does the
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bible say about x y z? Pick your topic. Right.
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And, and ask someone that that you trust, you know, for
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some help in that. I think that's a a great place to start. So somebody
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not I mean, level might be the the wrong word,
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but we'll just use it anyway. Not someone who's on my level, but maybe someone
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who's just a little bit further down the road in understanding. Hey. Help
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me understand. So I'm not asking, hey, just teach. Not necessarily saying teach me, but
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hey, but I'm reading this. And as you're reading it, if you've got questions.
5:03
Right. Ask just ask somebody. Right. I mean, that can also go
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into getting into a Bible study with some people. Right?
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Whether that's a formal thing that you sign up for or that's you and a
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couple of friends. You know? But, again,
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people that are really looking for truth and not just looking
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to confirm their own preconceived notions. Oh, that's good. Right? Mhmm.
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Because, I mean, we can just go on the Internet and do that. Right? Right.
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I met people that are like, hey. Let's really kind of figure this out and
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look for some truth together. It can be a community activity. So one
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one thing that you said in a previous episode that I was kinda
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mentally bookmark in the back of my head, which I think could be helpful, and
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maybe it ties into this a little bit, Which is every now and then,
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I'm gonna come across something not that I don't understand.
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Because if I don't understand it, I can ask. Hey. Hey, Melanie. I don't understand
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this. Can you explain to me what this means and you can help me understand?
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Mhmm. What do I do if I read something I don't like it? Because
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you you talked about that. Like, sometimes I read this and I it's not that
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I'm confused about what it means, but
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I don't it's very clear what it means, and and I and I don't like
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it. What what do you recommend in that situation?
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So this is gonna be, the answer that may
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sound a little harsh Oh. To Come on now. To
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some people, but I'm gonna apply the same harshness to
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myself Okay. Just to make it fair. Right.
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I think we we can't go wrong
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or we will go less wrong if we give God the
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benefit of the doubt over ourselves. That wasn't harsh. Are are we
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working our way towards harsh? Well, you know, that maybe that was a soft lead
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into it. Like, I
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am broken. Right. I'm fallen.
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I have a sin nature. I don't think
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right. My heart doesn't interpret things right.
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It's getting better, and it's in the process of being redeemed.
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But there's a lot that doesn't
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doesn't work right. Is that right? For sure. Right? And,
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you know, what I don't know what, like, the scientific percentages of, like, actually how
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much of our brain we use, but it's some, like, little tiny percent, right, of,
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like, how much of our brain that we use. And here
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here's something that I say all the time, like because, again, we're
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living in a current culture where we have information in our
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fingertips. We can know whatever we want. And so, therefore, there is
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an illusion that we do know everything. Right. But you know
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what happens, like, when it rains outside?
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There's water falling on your head from the sky, and the only thing you
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can do about it is hold a plastic umbrella over your head.
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Like, to me, that says, like, we're still not really that big of a deal,
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and we're still not really that smart. I can't keep water from falling on my
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head. If I wanna go to a picnic and it rains,
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there's nothing I can do. I haven't figured out. We have not figured out
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how to control weather. We're not that smart. Right?
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We're not that smart. And but we think we are.
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So I just, I defer to, I am
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probably misunderstanding something. That's good. Right?
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God is truth. He is the
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creator. He is the one who put together this whole
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thing. Why would I go, well, I
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think I've I think I know better. I don't know better.
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Right. I don't. Like, I just don't. So that
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maybe that's where it gets a little bit more harsh. I think we our
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opinion of God can diminish in our opinion of selves. You know, we
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can inflate our opinion of our own selves, and I
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try to to push against that because I'm just I'm not really that
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smart. Yeah. I mentioned this
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a few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning that I've
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that I've started doing puzzles. And, like, I think
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about like, the analogy that I use is I've got all these
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pieces, and I'm putting them together based on what I
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think the picture is supposed to be. Mhmm. And then I get this piece, and
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it doesn't fit it doesn't fit with what I'm doing.
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Am I going to throw that piece out or am I gonna recognize that
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perhaps I'm not working with the right picture? Right. Like, I
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like, what I'm what I'm doing is the problem. I need to probably disassemble
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a little bit what I'm doing and make room for this new piece of information.
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Yes. Or am I just gonna toss it? I mean, the the only
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other thing I would suggest is that, like, I've got this thing that I'm building.
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This is who God is. This is how life works, and I've got this thing.
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I don't know what to do. Sometimes, like, if if you need to just kinda
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set it right there for a hot minute Sure. But don't
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don't throw it out. Right. You've got we've gotta let
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we've gotta let what God says shape who we think he
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is, not let who we think he is shape who he is.
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Yes. I've heard I appreciate the phrase,
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like, domesticating God, that
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we make him look just like us. Right.
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What a coincidence. Because that makes so much sense. I learned everything there is
10:22
about God, and he agrees with me about everything. That was great. And so
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we, but he is not us. No. He is
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other and above and all and
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the source. And, yeah, and, you know,
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I'm 43 now. I thought I
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knew a lot when I was 26. Right?
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And I did know some things. Right. But there's some things that I've realized now,
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like, oh, I didn't really know that, or I was wrong, or that
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didn't make much sense then. It makes a lot more sense
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now. Like, God is not done with us.
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Right? Until we're in glory, he's not done with us. And there may be some
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things that that we don't that just don't make sense until
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we're in his presence. Okay. Right? Like, in Corinthians talks about that. Like,
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we look dimly through a mirror, but
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then we will see face to face. Okay. Right? So,
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yeah, being okay with the puzzle piece that maybe we don't quite get, I think
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it is okay to kind of table it. Like, I don't know what
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my kid is constantly asking me about the dinosaurs. Like, I don't know what
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the answer to that is. I really don't. I don't
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know. And there was a season where that really
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bothered me, and it felt like because I didn't know that, I needed to throw
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everything out. And now I'm kind of like, well, I just don't know.
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I don't know. But I know enough of everything else that
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I need to know. That's good. So that's okay. Alright.
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So let's get let's dial it back a little bit and just start to
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very like, so I wanna read the bible
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where does does it matter what version I get?
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Does it matter where I start? I mean, seem like most people are like, well,
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I'm just gonna yeah. I'm gonna start with the beginning, I guess. I'm gonna start
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with Genesis. Or some people like, I'm gonna start with Jesus. Or
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some people say, I'm just I don't know. I don't know what I'm gonna do.
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Yeah. Where like, this version, where to start where where do I where do I
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start? There's a lot of versions
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out there. I I would encourage someone to pick,
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one that is a more modern translation, maybe not an original King
12:29
James with the v's and the vow's and because that can just feel confusing.
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I I don't have a problem with, like, the message
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Bibles and those, like, there's nothing wrong with them. Just kinda more
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paraphrased. Right. There's nothing wrong with them, but that's not
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those are not kind of direct translations. Right. That is
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another person who read the Bible and then put it in their own words. And
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so I wouldn't have that necessarily as a place to start. Okay.
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I would try to have, you know, a version that is
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that has been carefully translated from the
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original languages because that does matter, I think. So The 2 of the
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biggest ones I hear the most, I feel like, are NIV Yeah. And
13:13
ESV right now. It was different when when I was, you know,
13:17
20 years ago, it was NAS. NAS. Right? That's that's that's how you and I
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grew up. Yeah. But it seems like ESV, and that's a little I would say
13:23
it's a little more academic. Yeah. And NIV is a little more user friendly. I
13:27
mean, this is I'm an NIV gal. This is the one that I have as
13:30
an NIV, but Can put can't you just put that in front of the camera?
13:33
It is, like, legit falling apart. Is that the original cover?
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It is. Cover is not the right word because it's not really It is the
13:40
orig no. It's no long it's no longer attached. I need
13:43
to get it sent. Surely, somebody somewhere could put it back together for me. You
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already said you're not an app person, so I guess you're just not you're not
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a bible app. No. I'm not. You're not. Because I I circle and I
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write and I, you know, exclamation point things and I write
13:58
down everything and I can't do that on my own. If you get a new
13:59
bible, I want you to take the new cover off and put that cover on
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it. Okay. This makes me look like I'm really spiritual too.
14:07
Very spiritual. I'm very it's very impressive. Very impressive. Okay. So
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translation, I don't really the word did I start at Genesis 1? Start
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reading? I I probably would not. I mean, Genesis Genesis is
14:18
great. You get start getting past Genesis, and we talked about getting into the weeds
14:22
of Leviticus and early on. I mean, I, have
14:25
often recommended, you know, to pick a gospel.
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John, you know, I think is a great place to start. Those are the first
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books in the New Testament. Testament. Right. The first books in the New Testament, Matthew,
14:34
Mark, Luke, and John. Pick one of those, like, starting with Jesus is a good
14:37
place to start or to pick a New Testament letter. I
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think it it's it can be really helpful to pick something to read in a
14:44
sitting. So a book that is short enough
14:48
that, you can read it because, again, then, like,
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Timothy and Colossians and Galatians and all those, those were letters written to the
14:56
church. So they were intended to be read just like we don't get many
15:00
letters anymore. But if you got a letter in the mail, you'd read the whole
15:03
letter. Right? You wouldn't read Just at a time. Right. You just read the whole
15:07
letter. So those are pretty short, and you can read 1 in 15
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minutes. And so picking probably something in
15:14
the New Testament. The gospels are a little longer, and they, you know, you can
15:17
read them in a sitting, but they're typically a little longer. But I love,
15:21
like, especially for someone who all you've ever heard of the Bible are little
15:24
snippets to try to find a book that you can read as a whole. That's
15:28
good. Because I I think you'll you'll have a very different experience with
15:32
it. I really like the idea too of starting with
15:36
the gospels too because it's a little bit like and we've been using a lot
15:39
of pop culture metaphors here. It's a little bit like, in what order do you
15:43
watch the Star Wars movies? Right. Right? The first one that came out was
15:46
episode 4, and then they made the prequels. Yeah. But,
15:51
like, starting with Jesus, even though he's technically kind of in the middle of
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the story, is really kinda who the story centers on. He is the main
15:58
event. Yeah. And so, I understand that first.
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And then going into Paul's letters helps me understand
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it was written to Christians after
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Jesus died and rose from the dead on how to process that
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and how to live it out. So, I understand who Jesus is, and then I
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read a couple of these letters, and it helps me
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process who I'm supposed to be based on that. Right.
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I get grounded there, then I can go to the prequel. Yeah. How did we
16:28
how did we get here? Right. And
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so I I I really I really like that. Yeah. Looks like
16:35
you've, you you're holding on to some props there. What do what do what have
16:39
we got here? I do. I have a couple, just resources to share that have
16:42
really helped to me. This is a book and this it
16:46
doesn't look like this is an early 2000's cover. You could tell by the
16:50
the graphic. You know? The the graphics on it. But it's by
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Max Anders. It's called 30 days to understanding the Bible in 15 minutes
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a day. Okay. So, man, if you are a, you know, short practical
17:00
person, you know, here here's a great place to start. Right. But it
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it kind of goes through, I don't know if we can see this on
17:08
the camera, but there's like an arch. You know, it kinda puts the bible in
17:11
these kind of movements, and and
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kind of in order. And and all the books aren't necessarily and especially the old
17:19
testament, they're not necessarily in chronological order. But it kind of helps you
17:22
understand, like, here's here's the arc of the story.
17:26
Right. God starts with this, and then these people come along, and
17:30
he uses them to do this. He gives them this. It doesn't
17:33
work. He brings this, And this is just a great resource.
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I've kind of gone through it with group with groups of people before.
17:41
It's very accessible and it just helps give,
17:45
again, understanding that little bit more of the framework. Especially, like
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like, if we can understand more about who the Jews were,
17:53
why they mattered, because Jesus was a Jew. Most of
17:56
us aren't. Right? Like, there may be a couple people listening,
18:00
but most of us are not Jewish. I mean, most of
18:04
the Bible is about Jewish people or written to Jewish people. There's some in the
18:08
New Testament written to none, but majority of it is. And
18:12
understanding a little bit more about who those people are, that
18:15
history Right. Really can help us figure
18:19
out better, you know, what what the story is
18:22
telling. I I love that. I start with Jesus,
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read a little bit of Paul. I can read it in a in a sitting.
18:29
Help me help me get grounded there. Then find a resource of
18:33
some kind to kind of help me understand the big picture
18:37
of the story. Right. Then I can maybe
18:40
get on one of these devotional plans or whatever that works my way Sure.
18:44
Through the whole bible. But I've got I've got this
18:48
I've got a road map of some kind. A road that's a great word for
18:51
it. A road map. Right. Yeah. Because like I said, they're they're
18:55
the the books of the old testament are arranged not chronologically
18:59
No. By genre. Right. And so you'll find
19:02
yourself a few different times reading
19:06
something in one book and then coming to the next book or a later
19:10
book, and you're reading the exact same thing like Chronicles and
19:14
Right. The 2 Chronicles books and the 2 Kings books, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
19:17
It's like you you read like, I don't I don't I'll get and then you
19:21
get to the prophets and, like, how does that
19:24
connect? Where are we? Where are we right now? It doesn't it doesn't
19:28
necessarily help you. Right. So that's really good.
19:32
I love that. Yeah. So, do you are you a Bible
19:35
plan person? Were you kind of, like, working through some sort of
19:39
Bible reading plan? Are you a Dude, I will be more of a randomizer?
19:43
I will be honest. Like, I have read through it
19:47
before with a plan, I think, 2 or 3 times. I mean,
19:51
here's the one that I started and you can see what am I? Did I
19:54
get I get to week 4 and I have no more x's on here?
19:58
So I am just as much as a give up on the Bible reading
20:02
plan as I am a and I wanna be
20:06
honest about that. Like, I mean, I'm in a little bit of a slump myself
20:09
right now. I've found other things that are kind of
20:12
interesting, and I I haven't been reading my Bible much lately.
20:16
And, you know, like, even just sitting here preparing for this time
20:20
together as I sat down and made myself read some things,
20:24
Like, it changed me. And I'm like, why am I not doing this?
20:28
That's good. Like, why why do I not? And it it's
20:31
just I'm just a human that's busy and there's lots of other stuff.
20:35
And it's a discipline that I have to put into my life. So
20:39
I I, you know, I the Bible project is a good app, you know, that
20:43
I would recommend that has been helpful for people.
20:47
And there are, you know, read through the Bible apps that you can
20:50
download that I have done before. Some it's a structure like that that's gonna be
20:54
helpful to you, then I think that those are great resources.
20:58
Yeah. I I found when I get into a I get into a slump,
21:02
and we all do, and I think it's good to say that and to not
21:06
feel like that somehow that that I've lost all the points and God's mad
21:09
at me and all those things, That finding one of those
21:13
plans, whether it's reading through the whole Bible or just the New Testament or whatever,
21:18
can kind of help get the ball rolling. Yeah. And one thing I enjoy, this
21:21
is just a my own little practical tip. Like, if you if
21:25
you find yourself you're having to commute, you find yourself in the car lot, they
21:28
will they will read it to you. Yes. And I and I love that. So
21:32
that's what I'm doing right now. I've got a plan that's and I just
21:36
when I'm in the car, I make I make him read it to me for
21:39
that day. And I can't listen to Spotify Right. Or sports talk or
21:43
anything until I have made it all the way till he has read whatever
21:47
section of the bible we're reading today. Get through that reading. And it
21:51
again, you can, also hot tip, you can adjust the
21:54
speed. Yeah. Dude dude because dude reads slow. Right. I'm not
21:58
gonna tell you what what speed I read it at because I did tell my
22:01
one of my small groups what I did, and then they thought I was a
22:04
huge nerd. Yeah. There's no way you can listen that fast, but I I do.
22:07
Yeah. Absolutely. You can. And I you know, with
22:11
the advent of, the podcast world, I mean,
22:15
there's so much out there, and that is another thing
22:19
in my journey of learning what I have learned. Like,
22:23
I have been listening to the same bible
22:26
teacher teach through books, like, just solidly
22:30
through books of the bible since 2008. I got one of those
22:34
original white iPods, you know, that had, like,
22:38
the big circles that you still have it? No. I don't. That's what I'm on
22:42
your mind. And I still listen to the podcast. No. I don't. But 2,008
22:46
and, figured out that I could connect to a podcast of a a
22:50
church in Denton, Texas with a guy that teaches there that
22:54
Tommy Nelson. Tommy Nelson. Yes. One of my personal life heroes, and,
22:59
I did whatever I did to connect to that and
23:02
downloaded the first one, and it was he started the book of
23:06
Romans. And I just listened to it, and it took him,
23:10
like, a year. He went all the way through it. And I've listened
23:14
through 1st and second Samuel, Jonah,
23:18
Hosea, Matthew, Revelation,
23:22
Corinthians. I don't remember if it was 1 or 2. Okay.
23:26
But I just would listen like, I'd be exercising. I'd listen to
23:30
that. I'd be painting furniture, and I'd be listening to that. I'd be cleaning the
23:32
house, and I'd be there is so much that we can listen to. And that's
23:36
not just the Bible being read, but it was
23:39
someone kind of working through a book.
23:43
And, you know, some people think that sounds unbelievably
23:47
boring, and that's okay. But So what would
23:51
you say? Like, that I learned a lot. That's kinda like some people would call
23:55
that, like, a secondary source. Like, I'm not I'm not reading the Bible. I'm listening
23:58
to somebody else talk about the Bible. Right. Do you do you recommend one
24:02
over the other? Do you recommend a blend of both? I think you need both.
24:05
Okay. I think you need both. Because,
24:10
even though I have, you know, I find him to be
24:13
a very trusted source, he's still a human. Right.
24:17
Right? And so I need to be able to
24:23
go and look myself also and not
24:27
just take secondhand what's being told to me, but make
24:31
sure that I'm reading it for myself too and that my spirit
24:34
is really confirming. God's confirming in me. I'm coming to the same conclusions
24:39
as, you know, what's been taught, because that's part of the problem
24:43
is that we just listen to what people tell
24:47
us. Right? Right. So but, again, I don't wanna
24:50
say that I mean, there's a 1,000,000 books in the bookstore
24:54
and a million. I don't wanna say that stuff isn't is wrong or unhelpful
24:58
because it can be a really confusing book. For sure. Right? For
25:02
sure. So if you can find some some resources,
25:05
secondary things that you really trust that seem
25:10
orthodox, that seem to be, hitting, you
25:13
know, the big points that we're agreeing on, that the
25:17
Bible is true and authoritative and Jesus is the one and only son of God
25:20
and, you know, the big things, the hills we need to die on Mhmm. That
25:24
I don't I don't see any problems with with having that to
25:28
help you learn, you know, more about,
25:31
again, the culture of these places and the history and the background.
25:36
And then you can go and and then you can look at that passage for
25:39
yourself and read through it yourself as well. To me to me, I a 100%
25:42
agree with what you're saying because there are some things about like
25:46
you said, we've talked about the way that that culture work, the places, the
25:50
people. There's some things that are out there that you're just not gonna
25:54
be able to find out any other way. Right. And so it is good to
25:57
have somebody who has kind of done all the scholarly work to help you understand
26:01
it, to listen to them. But I never want that to be at the
26:04
expense of somebody believing that they can't sit down with the Bible
26:08
themselves Absolutely. And hear from God in a real way. Absolutely.
26:12
And this is as somebody who is wanting people to come to church
26:15
every Sunday and hear him talk about the Bible. Right. I want you
26:19
to Given the choice, I mean, if I had to
26:23
choose, learn how to read and study the Bible yourself.
26:27
Absolutely. I mean, I think I think it is both. I think we wanna do
26:30
it together. We wanna do it with people. We want to hear people who
26:34
are experts explain things to us that maybe we can't
26:37
understand. But don't ever get it in your head
26:41
that you can't get to a place where you can read and
26:45
understand the Bible. I think that is that's so important. Like, I I
26:50
this is one of my big deals. I just hate
26:53
it when when Bible teachers such as me
26:57
or you teach or talk about the bible in
27:01
such a way that makes it feel inaccessible. Right. Well, I
27:05
mean, that was really if you look back at the
27:08
worst points of church history, that's what
27:12
was going on. Is the Bible itself
27:16
was not being made accessible. It was only to the
27:19
professional professional Christians. Right? That's good. It
27:22
wasn't translated even into the common language. Right.
27:26
And that that gave us the middle ages and some pretty terrible stuff.
27:31
We we we talked about that in we talked about that very recently in a
27:34
staff meeting, how the the invention of the printing press Mhmm. And
27:38
the translation of bible into local languages kinda turned the world upside down.
27:42
It did. It did. And, yeah, we we you have
27:45
to, like, and that goes back to the that
27:49
metaphor of, you know, studying for to find the counterfeit
27:53
money. Right? Like, we've gotta Right. Be in it,
27:57
recognize it. And because it is also, like, they're
28:02
I I I'm hesitant to use this word because I don't want people to take
28:06
it wrong way. But Do it. I have said, like, to me, the
28:09
Bible is magical. Right?
28:13
And I don't Harry Potter. Believe I don't believe in magic.
28:17
But, like, seriously, like, I Mystical.
28:22
It changes me. Like,
28:25
it changes who I am. I can read something in
28:29
here, and I'm a different person. I don't know
28:33
what else does that. It is in Hebrews, it says it's living
28:36
and active. It divides. Like, God uses
28:40
it in conjunction with the Holy Spirit
28:43
to to continually make us new.
28:47
Right. That's about as close to magic as we're
28:51
gonna get, I think. Right? For sure, for sure. That's about as close as we're
28:55
gonna get. Is there a difference
28:58
between I'm just reading the Bible and I'm studying the Bible?
29:03
Sure. Yeah. I think there can be.
29:07
I do really love the inductive bible study method.
29:11
That sounds really nerdy and fancy. Right. And it doesn't it's
29:15
not really that nerdy and I mean, you can make it as nerdy and fancy
29:18
as you want it to be. But it is a way of
29:22
you know, I mean, it's it's it's a difference. Anybody who's been, you know, through
29:25
a college class, like, you study. Right?
29:29
And then sometimes you're just reading. For sure. Right?
29:33
So studying is looking more, like,
29:37
breaking down some of the words, making sure you understand what the words mean, making
29:40
sure you understand the metaphors that are being used, making sure
29:44
you have, gotten the tone of voice right, like, that you're
29:48
seeing things that are being repeated over and over again
29:52
because those things are there for emphasis. So learning some simple
29:55
bible study tools like that. And then, you know, and
29:59
then reading is I do love reading, you know, again,
30:03
just reading in a big chunk, reading a whole book. I think both of
30:07
those approaches are helpful when you're trying to
30:11
learn and grow. And if you're a part of the Grove, there are quite a
30:13
few people around here who could teach you the inductive bible study method. But it's,
30:17
at its simplest, it's kind of a 3 part process where I'm
30:21
really kinda slowing down. What is this really saying? Yeah.
30:25
What does it mean? Mhmm. And what do I need to do about it?
30:28
Yes. Observe it. I'm observing what it says. I'm interpreting what it
30:32
means, and I'm applying what it's applying the meaning. Right? Yes. So
30:36
if you have interested in that, there again, there ask ask ask somebody everybody
30:40
in the church knows somebody who knows somebody who can teach you how to do
30:42
that. So That's right. There's enough of us scattered around. Alright. So I got I
30:45
got I got one more for you. So somebody somebody's
30:48
starting to read the Bible. They're trying to sit trying to understand or whatever.
30:53
And they say, you know, I was reading this passage today. Let me tell you
30:56
what it meant to me. You just
31:00
said, so maybe I don't even have to ask the question. What I
31:04
what what what do you what do you what what came to your mind as
31:08
I used that phrase? Hey, I read this passage, and here's what it means to
31:11
me. I think that that can
31:15
be a fine thing to say. Right. Like,
31:19
that can be meant in a way like, I've
31:23
I can say that. Like, I've there are certain passages
31:26
in scripture that mean
31:30
to me in a very significant
31:34
way. It hit me in a very personal way. Hit me in a very personal
31:37
and significant way. So
31:41
that phrase, you know, here's what it means to me, I that doesn't
31:45
doesn't necessarily mean bad or wrong. It's just
31:49
something in my heart. God used that to
31:53
connect straight into something in my heart.
31:57
And then another way that it's can be used is, well,
32:01
here's what I think it's saying
32:05
or, you know, I'm gonna take my
32:08
framework Right. And I'm gonna fit, excuse me,
32:12
the scripture into my framework. And, again, that's kind of going back to
32:16
what we talked about before of where
32:19
are we starting with? Are we starting with
32:23
this is true and this is of God, and if there's
32:27
something I don't understand, like, it it's because I need to learn
32:31
and grow. Or is it I'm gonna make this
32:34
fit into what I already think about the architecture.
32:38
Right? Excuse me. So I do think we need to
32:42
be careful. Like, we need to to come to scripture
32:46
with an attitude of humility and with, you
32:49
know, the the mindset of
32:53
it it is the source. I am the one who needs to
32:57
be changed by it, And
33:01
it can be deeply personal and personally
33:05
significant. And there are
33:09
plenty of things in scripture that you could have different
33:13
interpretations of. Mhmm. There are some things that we all don't agree
33:17
on, and that's okay. Right. Right? Brad
33:20
calls those in seminary thick ice and thin ice. Right?
33:24
There's places in the scripture where the ice is kinda thin
33:28
and you don't wanna it's not worth splitting a church over. You
33:31
know? Like, you may get in danger if you dance around on it too much.
33:35
I mean, it's it's there, but it's not you're not gonna build a
33:38
house on it. Right. Right? And so there there are places you can go, well,
33:42
I think it means this. Well, well, okay. We can, you know, some stuff in
33:45
Revelation. We're not all exactly sure, you know, what all that means.
33:49
There's other places where the ice is really thick, and
33:53
it's solid and it's referenced over and over and over and over
33:57
again in scripture and that ice is not gonna break. And those are
34:01
places where I don't think we need to give ourselves as much leeway
34:05
Mhmm. It's good. You know, to to adapt what it says,
34:09
to try and fit it into our more modern interpretation
34:12
because I it's really thick and strong. Right. Yeah. So to
34:16
stay grounded in what the Bible actually
34:19
means. Right? There's what I felt when I read it.
34:23
Mhmm. And then there's what it means as it
34:27
is written. Yes. And I think it I think it's an important distinction as we
34:30
are studying the Bible, reading the Bible, maybe for the first time or getting into
34:34
it, to kind of understand the difference between those things. There's some things that God
34:38
may bring to your mind as you're reading it. There may be some things that
34:41
you are feeling as you read it, and those things can very well be legitimate.
34:45
Right. But then what that passage says is something and what that
34:49
passage means is something different. I think we need to again,
34:52
like you said, it's not that one of them is bad. But we just
34:56
kinda need to make sure we got them in their proper proper place.
35:00
Right. Because we don't want to accidentally become the next person who
35:03
is taking verses out of context and having them mean something. That's
35:07
right. Right. I don't I don't wanna do to myself what other people have been
35:10
doing. Right. Right. Alright. So I wanna make sure. If
35:14
you've got any other great tips, I wanna make we've we've exhausted your
35:18
expertise here. Is there anything else that you kinda wanted to share with us
35:22
about helping us get motivated to study the word?
35:26
I I just really hope that, you know, those of you that have stuck around,
35:30
listened to all 3 of these or or even just this one, like,
35:33
I'm I I do think that the Bible
35:37
can change your life in only good
35:41
ways. You know? That's what it's intended for. Right? It
35:45
is intended to change your life in only good ways. Now
35:49
that doesn't mean that there may not be some hurt involved in that because sometimes
35:52
it's it's weeding stuff out. Right. That doesn't need to be there. Right?
35:56
Sometimes it's showing us things. I've read some things before that I'm like,
36:00
oh, that is a major problem that I have. Surgeons
36:04
are kind, but they also hurt you sometimes. That's
36:07
right. So, I mean, but just it it has it has
36:11
changed my family. It's changed the direction of my family
36:15
tree. It's changed the way I look at the world, the way I
36:19
look at myself, and I just I want
36:22
to pass along the hope of that to as many people as possible
36:27
and to to give it the benefit of the doubt. Right? To not
36:30
look at it as this scary, confusing, out of
36:34
date thing, but to maybe give it the
36:38
benefit of the doubt. And and that this thing, maybe it can change my
36:41
life too. That's awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that and
36:45
for this episode, all your tips, and just being with us
36:49
for the last few episodes. Thank you so much, Melanie. You're welcome.
36:52
So and thank you for being a part of it. And if you are part
36:56
of The Grove, I encourage you to come up to Melanie and tell her thanks
36:58
for being here because it's been a privilege to be able to just kind of
37:02
glean from her wisdom and hear how God has used, his
37:06
word in her life and how she wants it to be
37:09
powerful on ours as well. And so I I hope that you are motivated,
37:13
to take a journey in God's word yourself. And if you need
37:17
more help on that, feel free to come talk to Melanie or me or just
37:20
about anybody you know at the church. We would love to help you
37:24
get oriented in a way to help you study and and learn and
37:27
appreciate God's word at a deeper level. And if you are newish or
37:31
new to The Grove and haven't gotten well connected, encourage you to go to the
37:34
grovechurch.org/connect. Learn more about our Sunday services, all the things
37:38
we've got going on. Either way, we'd love to know who you are, how we
37:42
can help you. Again, I'm Charlie, this is Melanie, and thanks for joining us.