Bible study recommendation

I caught a glimpse of Kathleen Nielson's name one day as I was browsing the Gospel Coalition website in search of tools to use for women's Bible study.  After reading much of her book, Following the Ways of the Word, I wanted to post it here as another resource for use in planning and leading Bible studies, as well as for personal study.  This book is a gem in learning how to interpret God's word according to the big picture of how it points to Christ, as well as examining and interpreting the Bible through the lens of a literary work.  The Lord has revealed Himself to us through stories, poetry, prophecy...and as we understand more of each genre, the message He is communicating becomes more clear.

 

I would also recommend Nielson's Bible studies, which seek to point the studier to the word itself rather than reliance on outside sources.  She has written and published several that can be seen and purchased on the CBD website.  One of our church's Bible study leaders just finished leading 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and it sounds like it was a powerful and transforming study. 

 

It may be good to bear in mind that Nielson comes from a reformed view of scripture.  I may differ with her on a few things and have enjoyed being challenged in my thinking.  Either way, there is much here to glean.

By faith...

It has been an incredibly busy week, but I was able to sneak off to work on the first lesson of Into the Word a couple of different times.  Hebrews 11 is a fairly familiar passage, but in every new reading the Lord allows me to glean something new.  How encouraging it is to glimpse into each life of faith and realize that though these saints knew less of the revelation of Scripture than we do, they often acted with such great courage based on what they knew of the character of God! 

Digging into hindrances and entanglements was enlightening as well.  By the time I was done, I felt weighed down by the nuances of sin and the ways I saw them unearthed in my own heart.  How is it that anger alone can be expressed in so many different ways with so many different words, not to mention greed, selfishness, sexual impurity...and am I really so sure that some of those things don't apply to me?  "No more drive by reading, Lord, please let these words penetrate the truth of what lies within."

Churning over the things I had learned and what is asked of a believer, not to mention that I am only halfway through this study after spending considerable time, I felt overwhelmed, frustrated, and hopeless.  And isn't that precisely where I should be in my own strength?  Crying out to God for help, my eyes land on Hebrews 12:2 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus..."

In Him lies our hope.  He is the object of our faith.  He was the object of the faith of the saints.  Who of them would have taken one faltering, timid step without some assurance of the reality and trustworthiness of the God who was there?  We know Him so much better than they did, at least in terms of revelation.  Oh to know Him as they did in action and experience!  To fix our eyes on Him, to find full confidence there.  This is not about the life I can live, but the life He lives through me.

As I pick up my pen to complete the rest of the study, may it be with my eyes of faith fixed fully on the Savior.  He is not a standard to look up to, for that is living by the law.  He is the One who has accomplished all He said He would do, and He is faith's reward.  He will complete what He started in me, because He started it long before me and has accomplished it in others. 

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see... and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith..." Hebrews 11:1, 12:1-2 (NLT)