Episode 21 Dr Elaine Heath: Contemplative Spirituality, Sanctification, and the Healing of Trauma

In this week’s episode, Dr. Elaine Heath takes us deep into contemplative spirituality, entire sanctification, and the healing of trauma. Dr. Heath draws on her expertise in Scripture, spiritual formation (rooted in contemplative spirituality), mission and the theology of Phoebe Palmer. We have a rich conversation about inner healing and holiness. 

Books by Dr. Elaine Heath:

The Healing Practice of Celebration, (Nashville: Abingdon, 2020). https://amzn.to/3iWxSuB   

Healing the Wounds of Sexual Abuse: Reading the Bible with Survivors (A revised and retitled new edition of We Were the Least of These: Reading the Bible with Survivors of Sexual Abuse) (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2019). https://amzn.to/3hdOSvY 

The Mystic Way of Evangelism: A Contemplative Vision for Christian Outreach, Revised and Updated 2nd Edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017). https://amzn.to/3aD90oC  

Five Means of Grace: Experiencing God’s Love the Wesleyan Way. Nashville: Abingdon, 2017. https://amzn.to/3j0jstv 

God Unbound: Wisdom from Galatians for the Anxious Church. Nashville: Upper Room, May 2016. https://amzn.to/3kZXRDf  

Missional.Monastic.Mainline. A Guide to Starting Missional Micro-Communities in Historically Mainline Traditions. Eugene: Cascade, 2014. https://amzn.to/3kWBjTQ  

The Gospel According to Twilight: Women, Sex and God. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2011. https://amzn.to/3iOi90C 

We Were the Least of These: Reading the Bible with Survivors of Sexual Abuse. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2011. https://amzn.to/3hdOSvY 

Longing for Spring: A New Vision for Wesleyan Community, co-authored with Scott Kisker. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2010. https://amzn.to/3iWylNn 

Naked Faith: The Mystical Theology of Phoebe Palmer, Princeton Theological Monograph Series. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2010. https://amzn.to/34dMJwq

The Mystic Way of Evangelism: A Contemplative Vision for Christian Outreach. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008. https://amzn.to/3aD90oC 

More Light on the Path: Daily Scripture Readings in Hebrew and Greek, co-authored with David Baker, with a Foreword by Eugene Peterson. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1999; electronic version published by Logos Bible Software, 2006.

Books Recommended by Dr. Elaine Heath:

Besser van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma https://amzn.to/3gdqB7G  

Morton Kelsey, Psychology, Medicine, and Christian Healing

Andrew Sung Park, The Wounded Heart of God: The Asian Concept of Han and the Christian Doctrine of Sin https://amzn.to/2EdhNS9  

Julian of Norwich, Showings https://amzn.to/328qy8d   

Ann Taves, Fits, Trances, and Visions: experiencing religion and explaining experience from Wesley to James https://amzn.to/34e5q3h 

Full Bio:

Elaine Heath is an author, retreat leader, speaker and consultant. Her work is interdisciplinary, weaving together the study of Scripture, theology, and Christian spirituality with the practices of ministry in ways that help the church to reach beyond its walls and into the community. She is the former Dean of Duke Divinity School as well as the former McCreless Professor of Evangelism at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. She is co-founder of Missional Wisdom Foundation, President of Neighborhood Seminary, and an Elder in the United Methodist Church. She currently lives in intentional community at Spring Forest, a farm in North Carolina, where she serve as Abbess.

Connect with Dr. Heath:

Her website is www.elaineaheath.org 

The website for Spring Forest, the intentional community, farm, and decentralized mission church that I help to lead is www.springforest.org. 

The website for Neighborhood Seminary is www.neighborhoodseminary.org. 

Links to Amazon are affiliate links. Deep Dive Spirituality Conversations gets a small fee if you purchases products through the links. This does not affect the price you pay. Thank you for supporting my podcast by ordering some of the suggested resources.

The Danger of Scripture as an Object for Study

As we engage Scripture we must constantly be on guard against the subtle temptation to reduce the Bible to an object of study. The iconic temptation scene in the Garden illustrates this danger. In Gen 3:1, the Serpent begins by asking, “Did God really say….?” Bonhoeffer called this the “first conversation about God.”[1] In the previous chapter, God had enjoyed unfettered fellowship with the first humans and conversed with them. Now at a pivotal moment, God’s previous command becomes the object of study and reflection rather than a natural part of a subjective ongoing relationship with humanity. Imagine how this story would have turned out if the woman had said, “Great question. Let’s invite God into this discussion.” 
 
The distinction between subjective and objective in the study of Scripture flows from first family’s objectification of God. Philosopher and writer Peter Rollins tells the story of an infantry unit preparing to launch an attack during World War One. As the battle opened, the men hunched down sheltered by a trench. As the moment arrived for them to join in the assault, their commander yelled out the order, “All right lads. Over the top!” The men failed to follow the order. A second time he bellowed, “Lads, over the top!” Still there was no movement by the troops. Finally, a third time the commanders yelled out in a deep guttural tone, “All right lads. Over the top!” The men looked at each other, looked at the commander, and said, “What a wonderful voice he has! What a wonderful voice!”[2] Clearly the commander expected a response to his order rather than commentary on its delivery.
 
This comical anecdote reminds us that the interpretation of Scripture for the Church can never remain merely an objective or descriptive task. Action by the reader is required. The goal of interpretation is to understand the message of the Bible and respond to its teaching and the expectations it has for our lives. In short, Scripture desires to convert us in every encounter that it has with us. In his classic Eat This Book, Peterson wrote, “Exegesis is simply noticing and responding adequately (which is not simple) to the demand that the words make on us, that language makes on us.”[3]
 
As interpreters, we must use all of the skills and techniques honed throughout the history of biblical interpretation. This means learning to define terms, navigate ancient cultures and customs, and understand classical genres and rhetoric. But observing, translating and transmitting this information is never enough for the nourishment of God’s people. Pastors and commentators must avoid merely teaching their audiences interesting facts about the Bible. Scripture desires to shape us by molding our thinking, changing what we care about most deeply, and driving us to action in God’s mission. Of course, our subjective response to Scripture must be rooted in our objective study. But Scripture desires to craft and unleash God’s holy people as a missional movement to share good news across our planet.
 
How do we achieve a robust conversation with the Bible that is both objective and subjective?
 
First, as interpreters we must remain open to astonishment. Thomas Merton wrote, “There is, in a word, nothing comfortable about the Bible–until we manage to get so used to it that we make it comfortable for ourselves. But then we are perhaps too used to it and too at home in it. Let us not be too sure we know the Bible just because we have learned not to be astonished at it, just because we have learned not to  have problems with it.”[4] I’ve found it helpful to begin by praying, “Lord, astonish me anew with the riches of your word. Speak to me I am listening. Amen.”
 
Second, let us remember that the goal of interpretation is not to master the text but to open ourselves to the text mastering us. We must be the first convert to each text before we share its demands and message with others. If we remain only engaged objectively with the text, our attempts to share its subjective demands with others will lack bite.
 
Last, take delight in the work Scripture does in our lives and share it with the world. Psalm 19 ends memorably with a prayer, “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer” (v. 14). How does this prayer relate to the rest of the psalm? It flows from the psalmist’s recognition of the profound prescriptive power of the Scriptures in vv. 7–13. Unlike the witness of the heavens (vv. 1–6), Scripture alone contains the Instructions of the Lord and is capable of bringing about transformation in its hearers. This transformation leads the psalmist to join in God’s mission by speaking the good news to others. This mission remains ours as modern readers of the Bible.



[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall: A Theological Exposition of Genesis 1–3 (Translated by Douglas Stephen Bax; Ed. By John W. de Gruchy; Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, 3; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004), 111.
[2] http://robbell.podbean.com/e/peter-rollins-an-introduction-to-love-part-1/ accessed August 2, 2017.
[3] Eugene Peterson, Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 20060, 51.
[4] Thomas Merton, Opening the Bible. With an Introduction by Rob Stone (Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1986), 37.

Preparing our Hearts and Minds to Read Scripture

Preparing our Hearts and Minds: Conversations with Scripture (Intro)

We must learn to read the Bible for transformation. As we seek to follow Jesus into the world on mission, Scripture serves as our interactive guide for the journey. We may think of it as a map to the life of God’s dreams. Yet unlike directions that seek to guide us to a particular geographical location, the Bible's goal is to shape us into the kind of persons that God created us to be. The journey of faith involves growth in our missional activity, personal holiness, and community. The Bible desires to convert us to its perspective and propel us into the world as witnesses to New Creation.

To read and study Scripture in this manner involves learning to adopt and practice a set of postures before it:

1) Be open to hearing the voice of God and being astonished. When we read Scripture, we are engaging a sacred set of writings that the Church affirms as inspired by God and foundational for our faith and practice. It is not enough to lift up Scripture as an authoritative artifact from the past. We need to approach our reading and reflection with an expectation of astonishment in the present moment. When Scripture astonishes us personally, we are ready to live and move in ways that will astonish the world with the love and grace of Jesus Christ. I find that prayer helps me to enter into a space where I’m ready to receive all that God has for me. Here is one that I’ve found helpful: “Lord, astonish me anew with the riches and good news of your Word. Amen.”

2) Take the stance of a learner rather than expert. There is an irony in our lifelong reading of Scripture. Over time, texts become so familiar that we speed through them assuming that we already know their message. This is dangerous to our spiritual formation. It is therefore vital that we consciously avoid treating the text as an object that we gain control over via study. The moment that we reckon ourselves experts will mark the time when our voice becomes the authority rather than God’s. Don’t pray, “Lord, help me to master this text.” Instead assume the posture of a learner and say, “Lord, I open myself to hear all that you have for me. Master me through my conversation with your Word.”

3) Embrace listening over demanding. Our conversation with Scripture requires patient and persistent listening. We cannot control the speed of illumination and insight. Some passages will release their riches quickly and easily. Others will only do so slowly and with difficulty. In either case, we must be willing to be fully present with God and the text in a spirit of humility and dogged resilience. We cannot demand a word from God; we can only receive one gratefully with open hands, hearts, and minds. Remember the mark of the happy person in Psalm 1: “He or she meditates on the Law of the LORD day and night” (1:3).

4) Align with the Text and Take Action. To listen to Scripture involves realigning with its message continually. Our conversation with Scripture must lead to tangible change and action. As James reminds us, “But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like” (James 1:22–24).

How do we become “doers”? We become “doers” by taking action based on our reading. Here are some questions that help me (this is not meant as an exhaustive list):

How does this text challenge my current way of life as well as that of my community of faith?

How does this passage stand in tension with my current thinking or understanding of the Gospel? Who or what is this text calling me to care about?

What kind of person do I need to become to live out this text?

How does my community need to shift to embody this text?

We cannot treat this stage as merely rhetorical. We need to write down or journal the key actions that we need to take. Then, go out and live the Gospel for the world.

Thank you God for the gift of Scripture. Give us the hearts and minds to listen and meditate on it so that we may encounter you the Living Lord of the Text. Grant us the courage to dare to realign with its message and live it out before a world that desperately needs its good news. In Jesus’ name: Amen

© 2016 Brian D. Russell

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Faithfulness to Scripture and Church Renewal

 The Scriptures mark out a path that guides and leads us to God’s future. In our day, as we sense acutely the new challenges presented to the work of the Gospel, followers of Jesus must hold to the practice faithfulness to God’s word as a key habit to cultivate and embody. Such a way of life will serve as the fuel for revitalizing existing communities of faith and for the launching of new ones.

The Trust Issue

Most of us resonate with a high view of Scripture. We are committed to biblical authority. Yet faithfulness to Scripture is more than a doctrinal confession. It is a way of life marked by a deep trust in God’s Word. Trust is the fundamental starting point for living into God’s future. Trust is lived out in faithful obedience to the guiding vision of the Bible.

Faithfulness to God’s word means trusting at a deep level that God has our best interests at heart so that we are willing to realign our lives with Scripture daily. Reading the Scripture faithfully keeps God as the constant subject of our lives.

In Genesis 3:1, the serpent opens his dialogue with Eve in the garden by asking, “Did God really say…?” Dietrich Bonhoeffer makes the sublime observation that this discussion was the first conversation about God.[1] With a subtle turn of a phrase, the serpent shifts God from being the subject to being the object. When God becomes an object, we run the risk of substituting God-talk, some naïve theology, a political ideology (of the left or right), or even the work of church renewal for a vital moment-by-moment relationship with God. When we remain open to a daily encounter with our Living Lord, the Scriptures will continually astonish us and draw up deeper into the world that God desires to create. Thus, before moving forward in any work of God, we must settle the trust issue.

GPS

A continual realignment with Scripture is necessary because God’s mission is a movement rather than some static entity or institution. Jesus’ call was to follow him into the world to make disciples and to serve as visible witnesses to different kind of world—the Kingdom of God.

As soon as we commit to movement, we run the risk of getting off course. As long as we remain faithfully rooted in Scripture, we have access to God’s cosmic GPS navigational system. Scripture serves as the guiding voice to keep us aligned and on course. In times when we find ourselves off course, the Scriptures will call us to realign ourselves with the values and message of the Cross.

The work of church renewal and the planting of new communities is challenging and often leads us into uncharted waters. As disciples of Jesus, we must learn to rely on and trust the Scriptures to lead us to our destination just as much as we rely on GPS equipment for our treks to unknown places in our daily lives. Apart from the Scriptures as our eternal GPS navigational system, we are left only with the folly of self-reliance or trust in the collective wisdom of the very lost world that God desires to send us into for the work of his mission.

Lived Out in a Believing Community

The message of Scripture is lived out in community. Faithfulness to God’s Word involves serving as a missional community. As we seek renewal and revitalization in our day by reengaging the Scripture, we will find ourselves shaped as individuals but drawn together into communities formed by the Scriptures.

Newbigin writes,

How is it possible that the gospel should be credible, that people should come to believe that the power which has the last word in human affairs is represented by a man hanging on a cross? I am suggesting that the only answer, the only hermeneutic of the gospel, is a congregation of men and women who believe it and live by it.[2]

Paul describes the purpose of such a community in Philippians 2:15-16, “so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

Communities that are soaked in and shaped by Scripture serve as clues. They shine brightly as the stars painted on the sky on the blackest night. Paul’s simile is an apt one for our day. We are called to be stars, but resist our tendencies to see this as some individual call. Since ancient times stars have naturally been grouped into clusters and constellations that tell of deep mysteries. When we as Christ’s Church live faithfully in accordance with the Scriptures in the work of church renewal and planting, we will collectively speak to the world the Gospel story in all of its abundance.

© 2015 Brian D. Russell

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[1]Creation and Fall, 111.

[2]Lesslie Newbigin, Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Eerdmans, 1989), 227.

Reading Scripture Wisely and Well (Part 3): Steps to Achieving a Close Reading of a Passage in Its Scriptural Context

This is the final set of steps for reading a text closely. Read Part 1 and Part 2.

7. Read each passage in its broader book context. We have used two metaphors for talking about reading the Scripture at different levels. We’ve emphasized the necessity of both an eagle’s eye view of the Scriptures and a ground level analysis of individual passages. Individual books serve as the middle ground.[1] This involves more work for the interpreter, but the payoff is immense. First, look for connections. Take time to look for other places in the same book where the author deploys the same words and phrases (or close synonyms). Such repetitions or recurrences are often purposeful and can lead to substantive insights. For example, in Philippians 3:1-16 Paul offers his own life as an example for the Philippian believers to emulate (3:17). When he is describing the zeal of his pre-Christ following life in 3:6, he boast that he was a “persecutor of the church.”[2] In 3:7-11 Paul recounts the dramatic transformation that he experienced through knowing Christ. This transformation moved Paul from a person rooted and secure in a righteousness derived from his own credentials and accomplishments to a person rooted in a righteousness through Jesus the Messiah.  In 3:16 Paul articulates a moment-by-moment orientation to life through Jesus by writing, “I am pressing on continually toward the goal to win the prize of the upward calling of God in Messiah Jesus.” The phrase “pressing on” is the same Greek word typically translated “persecute” in 3:6. Observing this connect offers a real insight into the transformation of Paul. Paul, as a Christ follower is no less zealous in his faith than he was as a Pharisee. But Paul has undergone a radical reorientation. His compass point has shifted to the Risen Jesus. Paul surrendered his pre-Christian rubric of a righteousness rooted in his own abilities and accomplishments for the ultimate prize—knowing Messiah Jesus. When knowing Jesus became Paul’s primary focus, Paul’s gifts and graces became a means of glorifying and honoring Jesus rather than a means of boasting of himself to others. Second, it is vital to make sure that we understand a discrete text’s function within the broader book. What contribution does our text play in the wider contours of the book? What would be lost or gained without it? How does it relate to the passages that precede and follow it? For example, Matthew 4:17 begins a major section of Matthew’s Gospel.[3] Jesus begins his public ministry by announcing the in-breaking new age of God’s saving reign, and by exhorting his hearers to realign themselves continually in light of the Kingdom. This verse serves as a general programmatic statement for understanding 4:17—16:20. To understand fully every discrete section requires that the reader reflect on how it informs a way of life in line with the Kingdom of heaven and that one realign one’s life in conformity to the vision of the text. In 8:1–17 Jesus models boundary-breaking acts of ministry with outsiders. This is no mere report of Jesus’ historical acts. It serves as a paradigm for shaping present and future followers of Jesus to live out the ethos of the kingdom of heaven. 

8. Read each passage within its broader canonical context. Texts do not exist in isolation from other texts. There are often multiple conversations taking place within the Bible between texts. In particular, it is vital to recognize and explore the ways in which the texts that we are studying stand in dialogue with other texts written before or after. For example, in its majestic praise of God, Psalm 8 looks back on the creation of humanity and God’s granting of dominion in Genesis 1:26–31 as a profound basis for worshiping God. As we interpret Psalm 8 it is vital to catch its connection back to Genesis and reflect on the way that Genesis informs our understanding of Psalm 8 (and vice versa). But there is more to Psalm 8. The writer to the Hebrews in chapter 2 verses 5–9 quotes Psalm 8:4–6 in part of his proclamation of the person and work of Jesus the Messiah. Thus, in understanding the meaning of Psalm 8 within its canonical context it is important to read it in conversation with both Genesis 1 and Hebrews 2. Likewise, this is also the case with a reading of Genesis 1 or Hebrews 2. However, not every biblical text will have explicit links to other passages as is the case with Psalm 

9. Establish a research agenda to engage secondary resources. Thus far, we have described the process of engaging a biblical text first hand through the practice of close reading. The best close readings do not provide the final word on a text. As suggested, many of our best observations raise additional questions. Some questions can be answered through the close reading process, but others will require the use of the fruits of biblical scholarship. After you have pondered over the text using your own observation skills, ask yourself: What are the key questions that remain unanswered that I need to resolve in order to understand this passage of Scripture? At this point, the wise interpreter will turn to resources such as Bible dictionaries, atlases, theological word books, grammar and syntax texts, journal articles, and commentaries. 

Use the best resources at your disposal. In the age of information, Internet search engines can quickly inundate an interpreter with more data than one could process in a lifetime. Biblical interpreters must learn to read all reference material critically. We must also eschew the tyranny of the available and commit ourselves to using the finest resources so that we are engaging the finest exegetical minds and not merely dialoging with those resources that make it onto the first screen pages of web searches. In general, such a commitment involves resisting popular authors and the latest fads for the commentaries and articles written by biblical scholars and for works by the classic interpreters of the past (early Church Fathers, the Reformers, John Wesley among others). It is critically important to use up-to-date Bible dictionaries and atlases so that one has access to the most recent discoveries as our understanding of the socio-historical background of the world of the Bible grows annually. Given the missional reality in which we find ourselves, we need to deploy the best and most penetrating resources in order to engage the text at the level that we need in our day. I'll post some suggested resources in future blogs.

Let me know if you have any questions.

© 2015 Brian D. Russell  

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[1]There is another intermediate level as well: corpus context. Books written by the same authors or redacted by the same community function in a way similar to book context in terms of helping to understand smaller passages and themes. For example, a passage in Galatians serves a role in the book of Galatians, but it also contributes to our understanding of Paul’s other letters. The same would be true of passages in Luke-Acts, John and John’s Letters, Ezra-Nehemiah, the Pentateuch, and the Deuteronomistic History.

[2]Grk dioko

[3]David R. Bauer, The Structure of Matthew’s Gospel: A Study in Literary Design (Library of New Testament Studies: 31; Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 1989).

The Bible tells Me So: Why I Study and Trust the Scriptures

1) The Bible Tells a Compelling Story:

a) Scripture Witnesses to the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

The Old and New Testaments are the earliest and the only comprehensive sources for understanding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If we are interested in following Jesus, we read his story by reading the Gospels.

b) Scripture Offers an authentic portrait of humanity:

The Scriptures are able to account for both the grandeur and tragedy of human beings.  God created people in God’s own image (Genesis 1:26-31). God created women and men as the climax of God’s work of creation. God crafted men and women to participate in God’s mission as stewards of creation, to reflect God’s character to the rest of Creation, and to live in authentic community with God and with one another. God designed people to live as God’s hands, feet, and mouthpieces for the world.

Reflecting on this profound reality, the Psalmist wrote:

NIV Psalm 8:3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Yet, the Scriptures recognize and describe the fundamental flaw of every person:

Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The Scriptures trace this tragic fact back to the first humans who turned away from God (Genesis 3:1-9).  Sin then infected and infested every subsequent person (Gen 3-11 cf Romans 5:12ff).  From Genesis 3 onwards, God acts to deliver humanity from its own alienation and lostness.

Thus, the Scriptures can account for the “good” that humans are capable of doing, and they account for the flaws and a capacity for evil that is in all people. They point to our need for the salvation that only God our creator can provide.

c) Narrates the Mission of God

The Bible tells us a story that begins with the Creation of World (Gen 1-2) and ends with the description of God’s recreation of a New Heaven and a New Earth (Rev 21). In other words, the biblical narrative moves from Creation to New Creation. In between, the Scriptures tell of humanity’s turning away from God. Humanity’s turning from God fractured humanity’s relationship with God and fractured Creation itself. The Scriptures then narrate God’s mission to bring reconciliation, hope, and restoration to a lost humanity and to a fractured creation. This mission starts with the calling of Abram to serve as the beginning of a missional community through whom God will bless all people (Gen 12:3). The pinnacle of God’s saving activities was the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The New Testament witnesses to what God the Father has done through God the Son. After the Father raised Jesus the Son from the dead, God pours out the Holy Spirit onto all who believed the good news about Jesus in order to redeem, restore, and unleash a New Humanity to serve in God’s mission.

The story of the Bible invites its readers to find themselves in the story as God writes the future.

2) The Scriptures are Generative

Beyond the reality of the Bible’s compelling story, the Scriptures themselves are generative because they profoundly and poignantly serve as God’s Word to humanity.

NIV 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This above passage is often used as proof-text for the authority of Scripture.  What is often missed in the functionality of Scripture that Paul has in mind.  The Word of God is powerful to bring about God’s purposes.

a) Power to Transform Lives

The Scriptures open up and describe the salvation that God seeks to bring into our lives. They provide us with a guide to transformation and a road map for living the life God created for us to live.

b) Power to Create and Shape Community

The Scriptures describe and empower communities of faith to embody a God-centered, Christ-formed ethos. The power of a small group Bible study is a testimony to this feature.  When we study the Scriptures together, we are shaped corporately into a community of God’s dreams.

c) Mediate the Presence of God

Studying the Bible is not merely about learning information or reading old books. Through the Holy Spirit, readers of the Scriptures encounter God.

Challenge:

If you are interested in encountering God, I want to encourage you to offer this simple pray:

God, I want to know you. If you are real, reveal yourself to me as I read the Scriptures. Astonish me through the riches of your Word. Amen.

© 2015 Brian D. Russell