The Bible says “there is no God” . . . did you know that?  It does, I’m not kidding.  I will tell you where to find it . . . right now.  It’s right there in Psalm 53:1 “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’  . . .”  It also says in  Deuteronomy 32:39  “See now that I, even I, am he, and ‘there is no god’ beside me . . .”  There are several other places that say the same thing.

I know, I know . . . I tricked you . . . you might be saying.  But you have to admit – I was right . . . technically . . . but not in essence.   Why?  Because I took the words out of context.  This is a mistake that many people make when reading scripture.  They pick out certain parts and build a whole teaching out of something not emphasized.

We must look at the Bible “in context” when we study it.

We cannot – we must not take our favorite little verses or teachings as the entirety of what we believe while disregarding the rest of scripture.  Tomas Jefferson is famous for this.  He cut out all the parts of the Bible he didn’t agree with and just read the rest.  It is one thing to say “love your neighbor” and live by that standard.  It is another thing entirely to “love your enemy”  . . . wow, that’s difficult.

All major Bible teachings will have many references and will be found consistently throughout scripture.

What we want is a “whole Bible theology.”  A correct understanding, interpretation, and application of the teachings of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  Sadly, many folks today haven’t read or studied the Bible.  It is confusing to them and they “just don’t get it.”  If our culture is becoming less and less “Biblically literate” – how can we expect them to know (or do) what the Bible says?

I have a few suggestions for those who find the Bible difficult to understand:

1.  Start somewhere.

• begin today
• read or listen to the Bible
• even if it’s just a few verses every day
• start in the Gospels – the eyewitness accounts of Christ’s life and words
• move on to the rest of the New Testament. Genesis and eventually the whole Bible

2.  Ask God to help you understand what you’re reading or listening to.

3.  Make sure you gather with other believers often to hear the Bible taught by someone competently and in a way you can understand it, grow in your learning, and apply it to your daily life.

4.  Talk about it.

• with trusted friends
• in a Bible Study
• in a home group
• ask for help every time you come across something you don’t understand

5.  If reading is difficult for you (as it is with many people) get a good “readable” version to begin with.

• The New Living Translation (NLT) is faithful to the original writings and is written at a level most folks can grasp
• Others prefer the New International Version (NIV)
• Both of these are good translations and very readable
• The New Believer’s Bible has some very good and easy to understand explanations almost all of the basics of our faith

6.  Meditate on it.

• think about what you read
• ask God how you can apply it to your life
• the Awesome God, the Creator of the universe is talking to you!
• walk out the things you’re learning

7.  Enjoy it!

• Psalm 119 gives us many benefits regarding the Word of God:
  • it is a light for our path
  • it will sustain us in tough times
  • it will keep us from sin
  • it will lead us to truth
  • etc. etc. etc.

At Westside Church, we will soon embark on a great Bible adventure.  All of us: adults, youth, children, small groups and Bible Studies will be learning about God’s story . . . The Story.  Beginning on September 23^rd we will begin 31 weeks of an awesome overview of the entire storyline of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.  I warmly invite you to join with us on this adventure and plan on involving your whole family from beginning to end.  You’ll love it!

Love you guys,

Steve 🙂

To read more about The Story please see our web page explanation:  http://tinyurl.com/Westside-TheStory    -or go to our home page: Events and click on more information for The Story.