Flawed Reflection
Be FOUND Bible Study Method - Part 12
We, who are made in His image, can become so self-focused that we distort the divine likeness to the point where He becomes unrecognizable. We have somehow taken theology and created a “me-ology” version of spirituality that comes from within ourselves, as we spend less and less time pondering life from God’s perspective and more and more time pondering life from our own limited view of reality.
Have you ever stopped to consider what other people actually see were they to look beneath the layer of life that you have so carefully crafted for yourself? Seriously though- What if your life were the only Jesus some people ever see? What would the view from their perspective be? What if your life were the only bible some people ever read? How would Jesus be perceived?
Now, imagine with me, living a life full to overflowing with God’s Word. He would be the person that everyone would see. His heart, His hands, His voice whispering His love for mankind with every breath.
Let’s lean in and breath in the breath of God, as “all scripture is God breathed.” We can inhale and exhale through the guidance of the Holy Spirit with this bible study method, Found.
As we dig into the holy Word of God, our lives can’t help but be redefined as He sees us. Be assured if we don’t allow God to define us, the enemy will be ready and willing to offer a counterfeit identity. He is the ultimate identity thief and the only true protection we have is the ultimate authenticity of God’s Word.
Lining up everything we hear with what God says about us is key to solidifying our identity.
Follow me into being found…
F.O.U.N.D.
Frame of Reference
God chose His human hands on purpose: who was it, where was he when he wrote it, and who was the target audience?
Observe: WHO, WHAT, WHEN.
Who will hold you accountable?
Let’s face it. It is human nature to not want to be accountable for anything. Look no further than the Garden of Eden for proof. “The woman you gave me, the serpent you made...” Lack of accountability leads to the blame game. Accountability is key! It is very difficult to catch yourself when you fall.
What level are you at?
Give yourself an honest assessment of the investment that you are willing to put in today, from a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the least amount of investment and 10 being the most. Now, take that number and multiply it by 3. That should give you a good gauge in minutes of how long you are prepared to sit at the table with the Word specifically for bible study. So, if you are at a 5, then you are looking at 15 minutes.
When you drive keep this in mind: C.A.R.S
Contrast (use two colors to high light the contrasts and then
use an arched arrow to connect them)
Action (highlight all action phrases and then make 3 columns: God/Man/Enemy
Place the highlighted verbs from the passage within the column it best fits. We need to be sure to identify the enemy at every turn or he will most certainly try to identify/define us.
Repetition (use one color to encircle each specific word or phrase that is repeated- use a different color for each word repeated)
Seeing God: to taste and see that the Lord is good, B.I.T.E.
By God
In God
Through or To God
Every explanation of God
(Underline in pencil, everywhere you see any variation of these phrases)
Understand what this would have meant to the original audience. It can never mean what it never meant.
Now what does it mean to me? In light of all that you have observed and in-spite of the pre-understanding baggage you bring to the table, now what does it mean to me?
Dwell “Meno” to be continually held. "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Colossians 3:16
Being found then is as simple as holding and being held by the Word of God.
I wanted to pause here to unearth one of our newest tools from the acrostic CARS, the “S”- Seeing God.
Because all scripture is God breathed, wouldn’t I see and smell the very essence of God throughout each and every word ever uttered on the pages of scripture? Seeing and recognizing God takes practice and familiarity, which unfortunately most of us do not have.
The same familiarity I would experience if I have my back turned to the door and a good friend walked in behind me. I identify them simply because of my familiarity with their particular smell and voice before I ever set eyes on them. This type of instant recognition can only come through an intimate knowledge of that person from an intentional effort over a period of time.
It is not an accidental or coincidental happening. It is deliberate action brought forth from a desire to know and be known by someone.
This is what I long to show you about seeing God. You can use the acrostic B.I.T.E to begin to train your eyes and the eyes of your heart to see God. In this step you will simply use a pencil to underline any phrase that has the words “By God” (or “Before God” or “Be God”) “In God” “Through God” (or “to God”) and every explanation of God (for example from Ephesians 2:4 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us.”)
To illuminate this tool, we will be in Ephesians chapter 1
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Underlining everywhere you see God will help you to see God everywhere!
When you look at scripture, and are underlining all the places you see God, when you look up from scripture you can’t help but continue to see God all over the place, as you have allowed God’s Word to retrain your brain to see God in and through all things all the time!
Combining this simple tool with the other tools mentioned above will really help you to uncover some incredible truths in scripture that God has placed there for you to find and be found in.
Identity soul-idified.
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