Bible Nerds Who Love God and Others
What does the Greatest Commandment have to do with reading the Bible and understanding it in the right way? When is the last time you read the Bible to be transformed into a person who loves God and others well (and not just to teach a text, prep a devotional or complete a ministry task?)
Join Alli as she describes two familiar New Testament passages and how they should impact not only our hermeneutics , but also our approach to loving God and others well.
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Be Thou My Vision - As church leaders, it can be tempting to misuse the Bible as a tool to cloak our insecurities. We may find ourselves deep in exegesis or finding something innovative to say from the text so that we can impress people, win them over, or even prove something to ourselves. Knowing that this may be a temptation, helpful songs like Be Thou My Vision draw us back to a place of humility and dependence as we seek God to love him. Concepts like:
“Thou my best thought, by day or by night”
“Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise”
help remind us that our best vision in life and in Bible study is communion with God.
Psalm 1 by Poor Bishop Hooper - When is the last time that you felt joy, absolute delight, in meditating on God’s word? If God truly does reveal how to love him and love others in his scripture, Bible study should ultimately be filled with joy in the story of God. What has it felt like to you recently?
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Deuteronomy 33:3 is a verse that captured my attention the past few years as I contemplated the connection between love and Bible-reading. In this verse, the Bible is actually seen as God’s love revealed toward us.
I am encouraged by how the NET version puts it: “Surely he loves the people; all your holy ones are in your power. And they sit at your feet, each receiving your words.”
Read the story surrounding this verse to learn more, and share your insights and reflections in the comments so we can learn together!
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As I’ve been in seminary, I realized quickly that I wanted more devotional-style reading (in smaller chunks) that would help focus my heart and mind more relationally toward God. While my seminary professors have always encouraged this growth and have prayed for me specifically in this area, I still found it formational at times to set my own Bible-reading habits in motion.
One habit that I’ve picked up (and I encourage you to try if you’re in need of a daily time of devotion) is to read through the gospels, one story at time. Even if the story is just a few verses, try to write down 10 observations. These observations only need to be 1 sentence long, brief enough to all fit on 1 page of a pocket-size notebook. Connect the observations to Jesus as much as possible, focusing heavily on getting to know him.
Then, out of your 10 observations, guide yourself through 4 steps. (I like to journal my steps, but you can just meditate on them internally if that works better for you.) I borrow the 4 steps from Martin Luther’s 4 Strands of Prayer: Instruction (based on your observations), Thanksgiving, Confession and Prayer.
This framework gives you a structured devotional time outside of your regular ministry studies, and it facilitates an opportunity to grow in your love for Jesus.
If you try it out or try a riff off this habit, share below and let me know how it’s going!
