I’ve been awake early, but because I have been getting to bed early it evens out – and I plan a nap later if I don’t go back to sleep this morning. Plus the dreams I was having were so unrealistic I had to reassure myself that they were impossible (and yet the reality of the news is not that much better). 

Instead I will search scriptures easily – by listening… 

SO – it is much better to take the time to focus on truth and true history and lessons – so bible reading and simply listening to bible readings in the bible gateway app – or catching up on sermons. Yes, in the early morning, or at any time, you can catch up on your scriptures, and specifically for me this morning, it is finishing last week’s sermon by Pastor Joe which I can listen to online. I really appreciate and love Pastor Joe’s delivery and his wealth of knowledge. It is both a deep dive into the scriptures as well as an alive sense of how they pertain today and in our lives. And trust me this is a deep dive – we have been listening to Genesis for 2 whole years – I am not kidding – it takes Pastor Joe about a dozen years to go through the whole bible – and he has done that 4 times by now – and he is never boring and the scripture is never boring. The resource online is worth perusing no matter what your non-conservative or conservative or liberal or non-liberal take is on the bible – because the text itself is clear for you to just understand. Pastor Joe can make the text understandable to a easy level. No matter what one’s own church is doing or where your personal reading is – there is always something more to be gained or be fed by listening and “reading ahead” as Pastor Joe urges – “read ahead and that way you can know whether I am making it up…” 

I have another bible class on Sunday night – and it is truly a deep dive into the gospel of John “bread of life” scriptures – and that lesson brings the scriptures up to the highest intellectual derivation of all the translations and especially the greek translations – and even though it is teasing apart the text, it still concludes to mostly the same interpretation that simple interpretations make: Jesus is our Bread of Life.

The Study of the bible – includes understanding some history and some framing as well as a big picture approach. There are so many tools and I have purchased some for my friends, including whole overviews and timelines. The best advice is not to overwhelm yourself with “having to know this stuff” but taking the opportunity to “peruse this stuff”.

Really – we will never not have something to learn when perusing the bible or studying the message in it for us. One crucial scripture that always comes back to me is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord…” and just yesterday was able to speak to that a couple times as a bookmark that sits in my car…  well, I buy those bookmarks now for others to have too – a 25 pack is only $3.75

There there are bible bracelets (so inexpensive on amazon) – and prayer cards – I even bought some in spanish to share with a trip I am taking to equador and the galapogos islands later this summer – I figured it can’t hurt – it is a nice way to share in unobtrusive ways… They are items to share and it is up to someone else to pick them up…

Anyway – the sharing of the bible is a blessing – the study of the bible is a blessing as well as a necessity – and the teasing apart the scriptures (not to torture them but to understand) is the best pastime of all because it is present time as well as past time and future time for strengthening… TIme well spent… (money well spent on sharing too…)

AMEN

Here is one way how to listen to the bible:

https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/?recording=nivuk-suchet

And Here is the whole series of teachings from CC Philly Pastor Joe as well as others is here: https://resources.ccphilly.org/current.asp  where you can listen or watch – and get the whole service or just the message.

I recommend many of the pamphlets from rose publishing – great resources to have while reading or listening to the bible:

https://www.christianbook.com/page/church/rose-publishing