​I continue this week with the act of piety referred to as studying the scriptures and offer the following advice as found at www.biblestudytools.com in an article entitled: “3 Simple Steps for Studying the Bible” (edited to fit format).

   “One of the noblest pursuits a child of God can embark upon is to get to know and understand God better. The best way we can accomplish this is to look carefully at the book He has written, the Bible, which communicates who He is and His plan for mankind. There are a number of ways we can study the Bible, but one of the most effective and simple approaches to reading and understanding God’s Word involves three simple steps:

    Step 1: Observation—What does the passage say?
    Step 2: Interpretation—What does the passage mean?
    Step 3: Application—What am I going to do about what the passage says and means? “

   This week, let’s look at just the OBSERVATION portion of these steps:

   “Observation is the first and most important step in how to study the Bible. As you read the Bible text, you need to look carefully at what is said, and how it is said. Look for:

● Terms, not words. Words can have many meanings, but terms are words used in a specific way in a specific context. (For instance, the word trunk could apply to a tree, a car, or a storage box. However, when you read, “That tree has a very large trunk,” you know exactly what the word means, which makes it a term.)

● Structure. If you look at your Bible, you will see that the text has units called paragraphs. A paragraph is a complete unit of thought. You can discover the content of the author’s message by noting and understanding each paragraph unit.

● Emphasis. The amount of space or the number of chapters or verses devoted to a specific topic will reveal the importance of that topic. ● Repetition. This is another way an author demonstrates that something is important. One reading of 1 Corinthians 13, where the author uses the word “love” nine times in only 13 verses, communicates to us that love is the focal point of these 13 verses.

● Relationships between ideas. Pay close attention, for example, to certain relationships that appear in the text:
     —Cause-and-effect: (Matthew 25:21).
     —Ifs and thens: (2 Chronicles 7:14).
     —Questions and answers:  (Psalms 24:8).

● Comparisons and contrasts. (Matthew 5:21).

● Literary form. The Bible is literature, and the three main types of literature in the Bible are discourse (the epistles), prose (Old Testament history), and poetry (the Psalms). Considering the type of literature makes a great deal of difference when you read and interpret the Scriptures.

● Atmosphere. The author had a particular reason or burden for writing each passage, chapter, and book. Be sure you notice the mood or tone or urgency of the writing.

    After you have considered these things, you then are ready to ask the “Wh” questions Who? What? Where? When?

Who are the people in this passage? What is happening in this passage? Where is this story taking place? When in time (of day, of the year, in history) is it?

​    Asking those additional questions for understanding will help to build a bridge between observation (the first step) and interpretation (the second step) of the Bible study process.”

  Let’s continue this week  with what are referred to as individual acts of piety. These are things that we are able to do without the presence or assistance of anyone else. We don’t have to be in a certain place. We don’t have to be with a group of people. We can practice them any where and any time of the day or night.

   This week I want us to consider a specific way that we can read the Bible to help us better understand its implications for our lives. I am not talking about a simple cursory reading as I suggested last week. This week I want us to consider a form of Bible Reading called lectio divina.

  Linda Douty, writing  a daily reflection for the Upper Room (Aug 24, 2013), says the following about Lectio Divina:

“THE ANCIENT BENEDICTINE PRACTICE OF lectio divina (literally, “spiritual reading”) can breath new life into our reading of scripture. In the context of this practice the Bible is not fixed set of words and images but the living Word of God, which enters our prayer as something dynamic and alive. In her class book on the spiritual disciplines, Marjorie Thompson’s simple translation of thee Latin words is helpful.

There are four basic phrases in the classic practice of spiritual reading, termed in Latin lectio, meditatio,  oratio, and contemplatio. For a basic English equivalent, add the letter n to each. The ordering of these four phrases represents a general and often neural sequence of progression, not to be understood rigidly. In practice we can experience great fluidity between them, weaving back and forth as the Sprit moves us.

Several years ago, The Upper Room produced reminder cards that simplified the method:
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1. READ a biblical passage, savoring key words.

2. REFLECT on what God may be saying to you as you read the passage again.

3. RESPOND by offering your reflection to God in prayer.

4. REST in God’s presence, being open to God’s word for you.

This time tested way of reading the Bible encourages us to move toward transformation, rather than just information, in our encounter with holy scripture. Rather than trying to capture scripture, this method allows scripture to capture us.”
 

Let me begin with what are referred to as individual acts of piety. These are things that we are able to do without the presence or assistance of anyone else. We don’t have to be in a certain place. We don’t have to be with a group of people. We can practice them any where and any time of the day or night.

   Specifically, I want us to look at the role that the Scriptures have in making us a more holy people. We assert that the Bible is God’s inspired Word that is given to us. We assert that it is the manual by which we will live our lives. We assert that it contains everything that we need to know about God and God’s actions in this universe and in our lives.

   We assert these things. To assert means to “state a fact or belief confidently and forcefully .” (Google dictionary) Just how confident and forceful are we when it comes to our interaction with the Scriptures. It is one thing to stand up and say, “The Bible is the Word of God.” It is quite another thing to actually internalize it by interacting with it.

    In the next couple of weeks, I will talk about ways for us to interact with the Bible. This week. I simply want us to consider whether or not we read it.

   Have you read a good book lately? Perhaps some of your friends might ask you that question. Could you truthfully respond by saying “I have not read a good book, but I am reading the Good Book.” In this age where we can get our books in printed formats or electronically, there is really no excuse for us to say that we do not have access to the Bible. Any lack of access comes not from availability of the text, but rather from non-interest on our part.

    Last year, I completed a read through the entire Bible. It took me about 18 months. It wasn’t a daily read, but I tried to read at least 5-6 days per week. I was amazed at all the little stories, especially in the Old Testament, that I had forgotten over the years. Of course we all know the big stories...wait a minute...researchers are telling us that we don’t. It is now suggested that preacher no longer simply reference the story of Jonah, but rather explain it whenever it is referenced. More and more people don’t read the Bible and are clueless as to the plots of the various stories contained within it. They don’t know what we preachers often refer to in a passing manner when we try to make our point. Thus, we often fail to communicate.
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   So. At the very least we need to just read the Bible. Don’t worry about studying it or trying to figure it all out. First, learn to read it and let it simply speak to you and more importantly, pray that God would speak through the words of Scripture to enlighten your spirit.
 

   This week I want to continue the explanation of Acts of Piety. According to the Wikipedia article “Works of Piety”: “John Wesley insisted that the Works of Piety were important because they "further ensconced believers in a spiritual world of conflict in which humans needed to pursue holiness with the same vigor with which they sought their justification.””

   We don’t often think that we are in a spiritual world. We are too easily caught up with the reality of this physical world in which we live. However, it is incumbent upon us to not only acknowledge the spiritual aspect of our existence, but to vigorously engage it. For Wesley, this was a daily-minute by minute kind of encounter. For the people called Methodist, there was the assumption that once one was justified, then he or she was then moving on to perfection (i.e. sanctification). For Wesley, this was done through the pursuit of holiness and a holy living in this world. The way in which this sanctification could happen was through the transforming of our souls and spirits that occurred through acts of piety.

   In other words, as we read the Bible, we are transformed by allowing God to speak to us through the Word. As we engage in prayer, we allow ourselves to come closer to God and enter into that intimate conversation that we need between us and our creator. As we partake of the sacrament of Holy Communion, we allow God’s grace to flow into our lives and transform us more an more into God’s image. As we fast, we learn to deny our earthly desires and open ourselves to God’s heavenly presence. As we engage in Christian community and come together to worship and to fellowship with one another, then we learn to be more and more at home in each other’s presence so that we are, in effect, practicing for that day we all gather as the Bride of Christ in heaven.

    Acts of Piety seek to bring us closer to God and, as we come closer to God, we find that God is able change us and transform us more and more into the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. This is what the process of discipleship is all about. We must learn to put aside our own desires and replace them with God’s desires for our lives. We cannot do this if we do not engage in activities that allow God the opportunity to change us.

    So. Practicing Acts of Piety is something that is not optional for the Christian. In the quote at the beginning of this article, Wesley asserts that we need to pursue holiness in our lives in just as strong a manner as we pursued salvation.

​   Are you glad that you have been saved? If so, are you equally striving to now become Holy?