studying the Bible

The cozy living room was filled with the sound of cheerful conversation as people began to congregate in the quaint home.  I found a seat near the piano and observed the eclectic mix of believers who had come together for this weekly time of worship, Scripture reading, fellowship, and prayer.

The path was well worn. And while not an intense hike, I did have to watch my step. As the back of my neck felt red with the beginning of a sunburn, I paused to grab a sip of water. That’s when I gasped.The view was incredible. How had I missed it?A friend and I had climbed a popular mountain but being slightly out of shape, my focus was on footfalls and not dying from a lack of oxygen.

I was three days behind and I could feel the pressure mounting.As I sat in my overstuffed recliner and turned to the correct entry, I knew today would be the day I would catch up and stay on track.

The water was crystal clear and perfectly cool against the blazing Caribbean sun. I had gone down to Barbados with a group to help build a church, and midweek found an afternoon to cool off in the water.A few of us hopped on a boat and went out to a coral reef. We splashed into the water, fixed our snorkel gear, and put our faces in the ocean. The colors were vibrant.

My friends' eyes were wide with disbelief as they stared back at me.I sat slightly embarrassed at the admission of a secret I feared to make public. But there it was, out in the open. Exposed for all to hear.It may sound trite to you, but I confessed what few guys would be willing to declare out loud — I like Pride and Prejudice and Anne of Green Gables. A lot.

I love the concept of baking. Growing up, my mom was a fantastic cook for the family and weekly would bake bread and other goodies that we could hardly wait to gobble up. And nothing, in my mind, was better than a piece of warm bread, pulled from the oven, dripping with real butter and honey.

I grew up in church. Week after week I heard how important the Bible was to the Christian life, the problem was no one taught me how to study it. During my teen years, I read it through a few times, hoping that would suffice. I asked people around me how they studied, but it was little more than reading.

I recently heard a wise, older pastor make a very helpful statement. He was remarking on the tension between loving God with our hearts and loving God with our mind and how they often seem at odds with each other.

God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?