Excerpts
Chapter 1: BIBLE READING
This
project began to take shape in 2005, with my own call to draw even
closer in my walk with the Lord. With the guiding of the Holy
Spirit, the ongoing practice of yielding to His direction developed
into a deeper adoration accompanied by a stronger commitment to a
balanced life of denial. It is the type of submission that does not
renounce life; it provides new life, the kind of life that is
depicted in the Matthean discourse where Jesus cautioned His
disciples: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24–26). The
caution can also be understood as an invitation that contains
covenantal implications which rests on the sacrificial and
transformative power and work of the Triune God.
Chapter 2 THE POWER OF THE WORD
It has been said that “many perceive the Bible to
be merely a mosaic of little bits—theological bits, moral bits,
historical bits, sermon bits, and devotional bits. Yet when we read
the Bible in such fragmented ways, we can miss or ignore the divine
author’s intention of making Himself known to His image bearers,
thus obstructing the hallowed encounter with Yahweh.”3 This
minimizes the divine appointment to an individualistic approach to
Christian life, thereby impeding intimacy with the Triune God, the
communality of the church as pertaining to one Catholic community
and act of spiritual transformation. An indication of fragmentary
Bible reading is captured in a study by The Huffington Post. It was
determined that the number one reason given for reading was
personal prayer and devotion.
Other motivations include:
- To learn about religion
- To make personal relationship decisions
- To learn about health and healing
- To learn about the future
- To learn about poverty or war
- To learn about obtaining wealth
- To learn
about what the Bible says about homosexuality,
transsexuality, or abortion. While these are good reasons for
reading...