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KNOWING GOD

*One of the keys to understanding the Bible is knowing how to ask the right questions.

My challenge is to help all of us to use the Bible to know God better.

However, if you don't understand what you are reading, you will do a few things:
  • You won't read the Bible
  • You will only listen to it being read to you
  • You will count on others to interpret it for you
  • Read out of habit but get nothing out of it
Here are some fundamentals:
  1. Are you reading God's word daily?
  2. What is your purpose in reading the Word? (II Timothy 3:16-17)
  3. What have you done with the clear instructions of God's Word?
  4. Do you know what version of the Bible you are reading?
What is a translation? Word for word (New American Standard, Amplified)
What is a version? NIV, NLT, New Revised
What is a paraphrase? Living Bible, Contemporary English, Message

Best Translations: New American Standard, Amplified, English Standard, King James, New King James

3 Ultimate Goals in Studying the Bible
  1. Know what it says
  2. Know what it means
  3. Know how to apply it

Bible reading should be a life changing experience.

Application has purpose:
  • Personal change in your life
  • Now you have the right to share it with others
  • The ultimate goal of all Bible study is application and not interpretation

What is the purpose of the Bible again? To show how to have a relationship with God and how we are to live in this world. (II Timothy 3:16-17)

Why is APPLICATION necessary?
  1. You cannot really get to know God without applying it to your life (Matthew 23)
  2. Studying is of no value (I Corinthians 8:1)
Application is hard work because:
  1. Takes serious thinking
  2. Distractions
  3. Resist change

Application ~ is an act of will

Rejection ~ of the word of God is rebellion