About This Project

it’s not always easy

Knowing God is not always immediate or easy. Sometimes it takes time and energy to uncover God’s will and purposes, and to grow in understanding of who He is. I think this is why Jesus said that “the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.” (Matthew 13:44) But like digging for treasure with a spade, spending time and effort to enter into the mind and heart of God is always greatly rewarding, for ever deepening intimacy with God Himself is our reward.

Something that takes time and effort is accurately understanding what God is saying as I read. I may come to a conclusion about what God means, but is that really what God intended me to know? One of the things that helps us avoid the pitfall of misinterpreting the Bible is to use a simple exercise Dick Lucas calls “travelling to Corinth”.

Below you will see a two-sided triangle which explains how God communicates biblical truth. The Bible was not written directly to me. It was first written to people living in Bible times, in this example, the books of Corinthians were written to the people in Corinth.

So if I am reading I & II Corinthians, I must first “travel” to Corinth to understand what the original readers understood God to be saying to them through Paul. Once I do that, I can apply the Bible accurately to my culture and myself.

using your journal

To apply this idea to Bible study, we can follow the following steps:

1. Make four columns in your journal. You may find it easiest to use a double page.
2. Label the top of column 1 “verse”. In this column you will write the Bible verse or reference you are going to study.
3. Label the top of column 2 “original meaning”. In this column you will write what you think the original readers understood. You can also use Bible commentaries to help with this.
4. Label the top of column 3 “application today”. This is the first level of application. What do you think the verse means to our world today— the Church and the culture around you.
5. Label the top of column 4 “reflecting God’s heart and mind”. This is where you will apply the verse to yourself. How will this passage help you to reflect the heart and mind of Jesus?
6. As always, before you open your Bible, pray that the Holy Spirit will teach you. For example, claim God’s promise in James 1:5.
7. Prayerfully choose a passage to study. Some good places to start might be the letters of John, Peter, James, or Philippians, where you can focus on one verse at a time, but you can choose longer passages also.
8. Taking the first verse in your passage, follow the instructions at the top of each column in the example.