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Everyone, welcome to the cultivate podcast through the group Church. I'm Charlie Lofton, the

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lead pastor there. Thank you so much for joining us

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as we are still in the middle of a series kinda talking about

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the Bible. Spent a few weeks kinda talking about more of the academic side of

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it, really understanding where truth comes from, how we

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got the Bible, those kinds of things. Did a q and a with

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some questions. And for the last couple of episodes, been here

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with Melanie Alexander, local expert. What's up?

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Hello. So what's your bigger pet peeve, Melanie

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Alexander? That someone accidentally calls you Melody?

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Or they just, like, give you some other nickname like

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Mel or Melon? Like, what are, like, what what's what's the

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bigger pet peeve? It's probably Melodi. I do get called

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Melodi Mhmm. From time to time. Or really

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misspelling it, like, m e l o n I e,

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Melonie. Melonie. Okay. Okay. Which, you know,

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I get it. It's it's not a super common name. But you've got an easily

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spelled last name, so that makes up for it. I do. But it winds up

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being really long. When I have to actually, like, sign a check or write it

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all out, there there's a lot that goes in there. But I moved up. I

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was a p, and now I'm an a. Like, you're fur you're first.

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Yeah. Yeah. I've always been an l, so I'm just right in the middle. Right.

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My kids are always, like, why are we always the first ones to go?

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Like, you can thank your dad.

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So we have been talking over the last couple of episodes about the Bible.

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We spent some time first just kinda talking about why people don't

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wanna read the Bible. We kinda summarize it into 2

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things. It is can feel confusing, intimidating,

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overwhelming, and maybe some people have done damage to

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us with the Bible. And then we spent some time talking about

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why they should read the bible. And it seemed like we ended up spending just

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a lot of our time just about around the idea of being

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grounded in a world that does how do we make sense of a world that

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doesn't make sense? And how do I know who I'm supposed to be and

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who God is in all of this, and it just can really kind of

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ground us in truth when can feel completely

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overwhelmed. Yes. And there towards the end,

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you know, it it felt like it got really big. Like, if

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you, you know, use your the counterfeit money

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illustration. If you really wanna see what's counterfeit, you need to really

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know and study, and you know the truth and the

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true dollar bill so well that you recognize

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counterfeit everywhere. And and in my mind, I was

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thinking if I were a noob,

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Mhmm. Familiar with gamer lingo? Yeah. If you were if I

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was new to all of this, or just

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a novice in some way and really kind of knowing and studying

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the bible myself, to get to the point to where I was a counterfeit

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bill expert, that's that's that's not something I solve

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next week. Yeah. So it can feel a little bit overwhelming. So let's

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pretend that we're all at square 1 or close to it.

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K. What are some tips that you would get give us in our

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journey to become counterfeit bill experts? Yeah.

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Well, the first thing that just immediately came to my mind as you were saying

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that would be, like, feel okay

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with asking someone that you trust,

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someone at the Grove, someone who is,

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you know, a small group leader or a bible study leader. I

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read this, and I didn't understand what it meant. Or does it

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mean this? I just recalled a

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situation back when I was working with this college

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ministry, and there was a a young lady that I was discipling. And I

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remember her coming to me and saying, is the Holy Spirit

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real? Like, growing up, that was a big is the holy

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like, is that real? Like, is that in the Bible? And I was like, yeah.

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Let's go look at it. And so that can be

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maybe feel a little humbling. Right. You know? But there's a lot of people

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that's part of what we do in the body is we help each

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other, learn what we need to learn and

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we bounce things off of each other. And so asking questions if you

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come across something that you don't understand. Or, you know, what does the

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bible say about x y z? Pick your topic. Right.

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And, and ask someone that that you trust, you know, for

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some help in that. I think that's a a great place to start. So somebody

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not I mean, level might be the the wrong word,

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but we'll just use it anyway. Not someone who's on my level, but maybe someone

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who's just a little bit further down the road in understanding. Hey. Help

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me understand. So I'm not asking, hey, just teach. Not necessarily saying teach me, but

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hey, but I'm reading this. And as you're reading it, if you've got questions.

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Right. Ask just ask somebody. Right. I mean, that can also go

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into getting into a Bible study with some people. Right?

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Whether that's a formal thing that you sign up for or that's you and a

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couple of friends. You know? But, again,

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people that are really looking for truth and not just looking

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to confirm their own preconceived notions. Oh, that's good. Right? Mhmm.

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Because, I mean, we can just go on the Internet and do that. Right? Right.

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I met people that are like, hey. Let's really kind of figure this out and

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look for some truth together. It can be a community activity. So one

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one thing that you said in a previous episode that I was kinda

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mentally bookmark in the back of my head, which I think could be helpful, and

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maybe it ties into this a little bit, Which is every now and then,

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I'm gonna come across something not that I don't understand.

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Because if I don't understand it, I can ask. Hey. Hey, Melanie. I don't understand

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this. Can you explain to me what this means and you can help me understand?

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Mhmm. What do I do if I read something I don't like it? Because

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you you talked about that. Like, sometimes I read this and I it's not that

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I'm confused about what it means, but

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I don't it's very clear what it means, and and I and I don't like

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it. What what do you recommend in that situation?

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So this is gonna be, the answer that may

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sound a little harsh Oh. To Come on now. To

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some people, but I'm gonna apply the same harshness to

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myself Okay. Just to make it fair. Right.

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I think we we can't go wrong

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or we will go less wrong if we give God the

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benefit of the doubt over ourselves. That wasn't harsh. Are are we

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working our way towards harsh? Well, you know, that maybe that was a soft lead

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into it. Like, I

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am broken. Right. I'm fallen.

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I have a sin nature. I don't think

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right. My heart doesn't interpret things right.

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It's getting better, and it's in the process of being redeemed.

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But there's a lot that doesn't

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doesn't work right. Is that right? For sure. Right? And,

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you know, what I don't know what, like, the scientific percentages of, like, actually how

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much of our brain we use, but it's some, like, little tiny percent, right, of,

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like, how much of our brain that we use. And here

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here's something that I say all the time, like because, again, we're

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living in a current culture where we have information in our

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fingertips. We can know whatever we want. And so, therefore, there is

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an illusion that we do know everything. Right. But you know

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what happens, like, when it rains outside?

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There's water falling on your head from the sky, and the only thing you

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can do about it is hold a plastic umbrella over your head.

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Like, to me, that says, like, we're still not really that big of a deal,

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and we're still not really that smart. I can't keep water from falling on my

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head. If I wanna go to a picnic and it rains,

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there's nothing I can do. I haven't figured out. We have not figured out

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how to control weather. We're not that smart. Right?

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We're not that smart. And but we think we are.

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So I just, I defer to, I am

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probably misunderstanding something. That's good. Right?

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God is truth. He is the

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creator. He is the one who put together this whole

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thing. Why would I go, well, I

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think I've I think I know better. I don't know better.

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Right. I don't. Like, I just don't. So that

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maybe that's where it gets a little bit more harsh. I think we our

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opinion of God can diminish in our opinion of selves. You know, we

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can inflate our opinion of our own selves, and I

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try to to push against that because I'm just I'm not really that

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smart. Yeah. I mentioned this

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a few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning that I've

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that I've started doing puzzles. And, like, I think

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about like, the analogy that I use is I've got all these

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pieces, and I'm putting them together based on what I

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think the picture is supposed to be. Mhmm. And then I get this piece, and

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it doesn't fit it doesn't fit with what I'm doing.

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Am I going to throw that piece out or am I gonna recognize that

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perhaps I'm not working with the right picture? Right. Like, I

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like, what I'm what I'm doing is the problem. I need to probably disassemble

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a little bit what I'm doing and make room for this new piece of information.

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Yes. Or am I just gonna toss it? I mean, the the only

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other thing I would suggest is that, like, I've got this thing that I'm building.

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This is who God is. This is how life works, and I've got this thing.

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I don't know what to do. Sometimes, like, if if you need to just kinda

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set it right there for a hot minute Sure. But don't

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don't throw it out. Right. You've got we've gotta let

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we've gotta let what God says shape who we think he

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is, not let who we think he is shape who he is.

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Yes. I've heard I appreciate the phrase,

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like, domesticating God, that

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we make him look just like us. Right.

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What a coincidence. Because that makes so much sense. I learned everything there is

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about God, and he agrees with me about everything. That was great. And so

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we, but he is not us. No. He is

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other and above and all and

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the source. And, yeah, and, you know,

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I'm 43 now. I thought I

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knew a lot when I was 26. Right?

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And I did know some things. Right. But there's some things that I've realized now,

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like, oh, I didn't really know that, or I was wrong, or that

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didn't make much sense then. It makes a lot more sense

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now. Like, God is not done with us.

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Right? Until we're in glory, he's not done with us. And there may be some

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things that that we don't that just don't make sense until

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we're in his presence. Okay. Right? Like, in Corinthians talks about that. Like,

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we look dimly through a mirror, but

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then we will see face to face. Okay. Right? So,

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yeah, being okay with the puzzle piece that maybe we don't quite get, I think

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it is okay to kind of table it. Like, I don't know what

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my kid is constantly asking me about the dinosaurs. Like, I don't know what

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the answer to that is. I really don't. I don't

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know. And there was a season where that really

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bothered me, and it felt like because I didn't know that, I needed to throw

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everything out. And now I'm kind of like, well, I just don't know.

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I don't know. But I know enough of everything else that

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I need to know. That's good. So that's okay. Alright.

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So let's get let's dial it back a little bit and just start to

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very like, so I wanna read the bible

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where does does it matter what version I get?

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Does it matter where I start? I mean, seem like most people are like, well,

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I'm just gonna yeah. I'm gonna start with the beginning, I guess. I'm gonna start

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with Genesis. Or some people like, I'm gonna start with Jesus. Or

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some people say, I'm just I don't know. I don't know what I'm gonna do.

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Yeah. Where like, this version, where to start where where do I where do I

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start? There's a lot of versions

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out there. I I would encourage someone to pick,

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one that is a more modern translation, maybe not an original King

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James with the v's and the vow's and because that can just feel confusing.

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I I don't have a problem with, like, the message

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Bibles and those, like, there's nothing wrong with them. Just kinda more

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paraphrased. Right. There's nothing wrong with them, but that's not

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those are not kind of direct translations. Right. That is

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another person who read the Bible and then put it in their own words. And

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so I wouldn't have that necessarily as a place to start. Okay.

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I would try to have, you know, a version that is

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that has been carefully translated from the

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original languages because that does matter, I think. So The 2 of the

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biggest ones I hear the most, I feel like, are NIV Yeah. And

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ESV right now. It was different when when I was, you know,

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20 years ago, it was NAS. NAS. Right? That's that's that's how you and I

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grew up. Yeah. But it seems like ESV, and that's a little I would say

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it's a little more academic. Yeah. And NIV is a little more user friendly. I

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mean, this is I'm an NIV gal. This is the one that I have as

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an NIV, but Can put can't you just put that in front of the camera?

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It is, like, legit falling apart. Is that the original cover?

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It is. Cover is not the right word because it's not really It is the

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orig no. It's no long it's no longer attached. I need

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to get it sent. Surely, somebody somewhere could put it back together for me. You

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already said you're not an app person, so I guess you're just not you're not

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a bible app. No. I'm not. You're not. Because I I circle and I

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write and I, you know, exclamation point things and I write

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down everything and I can't do that on my own. If you get a new

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bible, I want you to take the new cover off and put that cover on

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it. Okay. This makes me look like I'm really spiritual too.

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Very spiritual. I'm very it's very impressive. Very impressive. Okay. So

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translation, I don't really the word did I start at Genesis 1? Start

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reading? I I probably would not. I mean, Genesis Genesis is

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great. You get start getting past Genesis, and we talked about getting into the weeds

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of Leviticus and early on. I mean, I, have

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often recommended, you know, to pick a gospel.

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John, you know, I think is a great place to start. Those are the first

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books in the New Testament. Testament. Right. The first books in the New Testament, Matthew,

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Mark, Luke, and John. Pick one of those, like, starting with Jesus is a good

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place to start or to pick a New Testament letter. I

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think it it's it can be really helpful to pick something to read in a

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sitting. So a book that is short enough

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that, you can read it because, again, then, like,

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Timothy and Colossians and Galatians and all those, those were letters written to the

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church. So they were intended to be read just like we don't get many

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letters anymore. But if you got a letter in the mail, you'd read the whole

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letter. Right? You wouldn't read Just at a time. Right. You just read the whole

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letter. So those are pretty short, and you can read 1 in 15

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minutes. And so picking probably something in

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the New Testament. The gospels are a little longer, and they, you know, you can

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read them in a sitting, but they're typically a little longer. But I love,

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like, especially for someone who all you've ever heard of the Bible are little

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snippets to try to find a book that you can read as a whole. That's

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good. Because I I think you'll you'll have a very different experience with

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it. I really like the idea too of starting with

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the gospels too because it's a little bit like and we've been using a lot

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of pop culture metaphors here. It's a little bit like, in what order do you

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watch the Star Wars movies? Right. Right? The first one that came out was

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episode 4, and then they made the prequels. Yeah. But,

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like, starting with Jesus, even though he's technically kind of in the middle of

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the story, is really kinda who the story centers on. He is the main

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event. Yeah. And so, I understand that first.

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And then going into Paul's letters helps me understand

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it was written to Christians after

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Jesus died and rose from the dead on how to process that

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and how to live it out. So, I understand who Jesus is, and then I

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read a couple of these letters, and it helps me

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process who I'm supposed to be based on that. Right.

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I get grounded there, then I can go to the prequel. Yeah. How did we

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how did we get here? Right. And

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so I I I really I really like that. Yeah. Looks like

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you've, you you're holding on to some props there. What do what do what have

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we got here? I do. I have a couple, just resources to share that have

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really helped to me. This is a book and this it

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doesn't look like this is an early 2000's cover. You could tell by the

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the graphic. You know? The the graphics on it. But it's by

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Max Anders. It's called 30 days to understanding the Bible in 15 minutes

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a day. Okay. So, man, if you are a, you know, short practical

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person, you know, here here's a great place to start. Right. But it

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it kind of goes through, I don't know if we can see this on

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the camera, but there's like an arch. You know, it kinda puts the bible in

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these kind of movements, and and

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kind of in order. And and all the books aren't necessarily and especially the old

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testament, they're not necessarily in chronological order. But it kind of helps you

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understand, like, here's here's the arc of the story.

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Right. God starts with this, and then these people come along, and

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he uses them to do this. He gives them this. It doesn't

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work. He brings this, And this is just a great resource.

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I've kind of gone through it with group with groups of people before.

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It's very accessible and it just helps give,

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again, understanding that little bit more of the framework. Especially, like

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like, if we can understand more about who the Jews were,

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why they mattered, because Jesus was a Jew. Most of

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us aren't. Right? Like, there may be a couple people listening,

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but most of us are not Jewish. I mean, most of

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the Bible is about Jewish people or written to Jewish people. There's some in the

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New Testament written to none, but majority of it is. And

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understanding a little bit more about who those people are, that

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history Right. Really can help us figure

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out better, you know, what what the story is

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telling. I I love that. I start with Jesus,

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read a little bit of Paul. I can read it in a in a sitting.

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Help me help me get grounded there. Then find a resource of

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some kind to kind of help me understand the big picture

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of the story. Right. Then I can maybe

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get on one of these devotional plans or whatever that works my way Sure.

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Through the whole bible. But I've got I've got this

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I've got a road map of some kind. A road that's a great word for

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it. A road map. Right. Yeah. Because like I said, they're they're

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the the books of the old testament are arranged not chronologically

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No. By genre. Right. And so you'll find

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yourself a few different times reading

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something in one book and then coming to the next book or a later

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book, and you're reading the exact same thing like Chronicles and

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Right. The 2 Chronicles books and the 2 Kings books, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

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It's like you you read like, I don't I don't I'll get and then you

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get to the prophets and, like, how does that

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connect? Where are we? Where are we right now? It doesn't it doesn't

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necessarily help you. Right. So that's really good.

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I love that. Yeah. So, do you are you a Bible

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plan person? Were you kind of, like, working through some sort of

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Bible reading plan? Are you a Dude, I will be more of a randomizer?

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I will be honest. Like, I have read through it

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before with a plan, I think, 2 or 3 times. I mean,

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here's the one that I started and you can see what am I? Did I

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get I get to week 4 and I have no more x's on here?

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So I am just as much as a give up on the Bible reading

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plan as I am a and I wanna be

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honest about that. Like, I mean, I'm in a little bit of a slump myself

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right now. I've found other things that are kind of

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interesting, and I I haven't been reading my Bible much lately.

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And, you know, like, even just sitting here preparing for this time

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together as I sat down and made myself read some things,

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Like, it changed me. And I'm like, why am I not doing this?

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That's good. Like, why why do I not? And it it's

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just I'm just a human that's busy and there's lots of other stuff.

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And it's a discipline that I have to put into my life. So

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I I, you know, I the Bible project is a good app, you know, that

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I would recommend that has been helpful for people.

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And there are, you know, read through the Bible apps that you can

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download that I have done before. Some it's a structure like that that's gonna be

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helpful to you, then I think that those are great resources.

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Yeah. I I found when I get into a I get into a slump,

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and we all do, and I think it's good to say that and to not

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feel like that somehow that that I've lost all the points and God's mad

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at me and all those things, That finding one of those

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plans, whether it's reading through the whole Bible or just the New Testament or whatever,

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can kind of help get the ball rolling. Yeah. And one thing I enjoy, this

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is just a my own little practical tip. Like, if you if

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you find yourself you're having to commute, you find yourself in the car lot, they

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will they will read it to you. Yes. And I and I love that. So

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that's what I'm doing right now. I've got a plan that's and I just

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when I'm in the car, I make I make him read it to me for

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that day. And I can't listen to Spotify Right. Or sports talk or

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anything until I have made it all the way till he has read whatever

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section of the bible we're reading today. Get through that reading. And it

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again, you can, also hot tip, you can adjust the

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speed. Yeah. Dude dude because dude reads slow. Right. I'm not

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gonna tell you what what speed I read it at because I did tell my

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one of my small groups what I did, and then they thought I was a

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huge nerd. Yeah. There's no way you can listen that fast, but I I do.

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Yeah. Absolutely. You can. And I you know, with

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the advent of, the podcast world, I mean,

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there's so much out there, and that is another thing

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in my journey of learning what I have learned. Like,

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I have been listening to the same bible

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teacher teach through books, like, just solidly

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through books of the bible since 2008. I got one of those

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original white iPods, you know, that had, like,

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the big circles that you still have it? No. I don't. That's what I'm on

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your mind. And I still listen to the podcast. No. I don't. But 2,008

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and, figured out that I could connect to a podcast of a a

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church in Denton, Texas with a guy that teaches there that

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Tommy Nelson. Tommy Nelson. Yes. One of my personal life heroes, and,

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I did whatever I did to connect to that and

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downloaded the first one, and it was he started the book of

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Romans. And I just listened to it, and it took him,

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like, a year. He went all the way through it. And I've listened

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through 1st and second Samuel, Jonah,

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Hosea, Matthew, Revelation,

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Corinthians. I don't remember if it was 1 or 2. Okay.

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But I just would listen like, I'd be exercising. I'd listen to

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that. I'd be painting furniture, and I'd be listening to that. I'd be cleaning the

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house, and I'd be there is so much that we can listen to. And that's

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not just the Bible being read, but it was

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someone kind of working through a book.

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And, you know, some people think that sounds unbelievably

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boring, and that's okay. But So what would

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you say? Like, that I learned a lot. That's kinda like some people would call

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that, like, a secondary source. Like, I'm not I'm not reading the Bible. I'm listening

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to somebody else talk about the Bible. Right. Do you do you recommend one

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over the other? Do you recommend a blend of both? I think you need both.

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Okay. I think you need both. Because,

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even though I have, you know, I find him to be

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a very trusted source, he's still a human. Right.

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Right? And so I need to be able to

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go and look myself also and not

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just take secondhand what's being told to me, but make

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sure that I'm reading it for myself too and that my spirit

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is really confirming. God's confirming in me. I'm coming to the same conclusions

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as, you know, what's been taught, because that's part of the problem

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is that we just listen to what people tell

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us. Right? Right. So but, again, I don't wanna

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say that I mean, there's a 1,000,000 books in the bookstore

401
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and a million. I don't wanna say that stuff isn't is wrong or unhelpful

402
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because it can be a really confusing book. For sure. Right? For

403
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sure. So if you can find some some resources,

404
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secondary things that you really trust that seem

405
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orthodox, that seem to be, hitting, you

406
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know, the big points that we're agreeing on, that the

407
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Bible is true and authoritative and Jesus is the one and only son of God

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and, you know, the big things, the hills we need to die on Mhmm. That

409
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I don't I don't see any problems with with having that to

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help you learn, you know, more about,

411
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again, the culture of these places and the history and the background.

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And then you can go and and then you can look at that passage for

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yourself and read through it yourself as well. To me to me, I a 100%

414
00:25:42,980 --> 00:25:46,715
agree with what you're saying because there are some things about like

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you said, we've talked about the way that that culture work, the places, the

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people. There's some things that are out there that you're just not gonna

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be able to find out any other way. Right. And so it is good to

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have somebody who has kind of done all the scholarly work to help you understand

419
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it, to listen to them. But I never want that to be at the

420
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expense of somebody believing that they can't sit down with the Bible

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themselves Absolutely. And hear from God in a real way. Absolutely.

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And this is as somebody who is wanting people to come to church

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every Sunday and hear him talk about the Bible. Right. I want you

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to Given the choice, I mean, if I had to

425
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choose, learn how to read and study the Bible yourself.

426
00:26:27,415 --> 00:26:30,375
Absolutely. I mean, I think I think it is both. I think we wanna do

427
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it together. We wanna do it with people. We want to hear people who

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are experts explain things to us that maybe we can't

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understand. But don't ever get it in your head

430
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that you can't get to a place where you can read and

431
00:26:45,305 --> 00:26:49,130
understand the Bible. I think that is that's so important. Like, I I

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this is one of my big deals. I just hate

433
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it when when Bible teachers such as me

434
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or you teach or talk about the bible in

435
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such a way that makes it feel inaccessible. Right. Well, I

436
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mean, that was really if you look back at the

437
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worst points of church history, that's what

438
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was going on. Is the Bible itself

439
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was not being made accessible. It was only to the

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professional professional Christians. Right? That's good. It

441
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wasn't translated even into the common language. Right.

442
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And that that gave us the middle ages and some pretty terrible stuff.

443
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We we we talked about that in we talked about that very recently in a

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staff meeting, how the the invention of the printing press Mhmm. And

445
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the translation of bible into local languages kinda turned the world upside down.

446
00:27:42,210 --> 00:27:45,835
It did. It did. And, yeah, we we you have

447
00:27:45,835 --> 00:27:49,355
to, like, and that goes back to the that

448
00:27:49,355 --> 00:27:53,180
metaphor of, you know, studying for to find the counterfeit

449
00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:57,080
money. Right? Like, we've gotta Right. Be in it,

450
00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,725
recognize it. And because it is also, like, they're

451
00:28:02,885 --> 00:28:06,245
I I I'm hesitant to use this word because I don't want people to take

452
00:28:06,245 --> 00:28:09,789
it wrong way. But Do it. I have said, like, to me, the

453
00:28:09,789 --> 00:28:13,010
Bible is magical. Right?

454
00:28:13,870 --> 00:28:17,010
And I don't Harry Potter. Believe I don't believe in magic.

455
00:28:17,985 --> 00:28:21,685
But, like, seriously, like, I Mystical.

456
00:28:22,145 --> 00:28:25,789
It changes me. Like,

457
00:28:25,789 --> 00:28:29,549
it changes who I am. I can read something in

458
00:28:29,549 --> 00:28:33,195
here, and I'm a different person. I don't know

459
00:28:33,195 --> 00:28:36,955
what else does that. It is in Hebrews, it says it's living

460
00:28:36,955 --> 00:28:40,255
and active. It divides. Like, God uses

461
00:28:40,395 --> 00:28:43,040
it in conjunction with the Holy Spirit

462
00:28:43,820 --> 00:28:47,520
to to continually make us new.

463
00:28:47,660 --> 00:28:51,305
Right. That's about as close to magic as we're

464
00:28:51,305 --> 00:28:55,145
gonna get, I think. Right? For sure, for sure. That's about as close as we're

465
00:28:55,145 --> 00:28:58,560
gonna get. Is there a difference

466
00:28:58,700 --> 00:29:02,000
between I'm just reading the Bible and I'm studying the Bible?

467
00:29:03,180 --> 00:29:05,920
Sure. Yeah. I think there can be.

468
00:29:07,615 --> 00:29:11,155
I do really love the inductive bible study method.

469
00:29:11,295 --> 00:29:15,100
That sounds really nerdy and fancy. Right. And it doesn't it's

470
00:29:15,100 --> 00:29:18,220
not really that nerdy and I mean, you can make it as nerdy and fancy

471
00:29:18,220 --> 00:29:21,520
as you want it to be. But it is a way of

472
00:29:22,635 --> 00:29:25,995
you know, I mean, it's it's it's a difference. Anybody who's been, you know, through

473
00:29:25,995 --> 00:29:29,675
a college class, like, you study. Right?

474
00:29:29,675 --> 00:29:33,450
And then sometimes you're just reading. For sure. Right?

475
00:29:33,470 --> 00:29:37,030
So studying is looking more, like,

476
00:29:37,030 --> 00:29:40,390
breaking down some of the words, making sure you understand what the words mean, making

477
00:29:40,390 --> 00:29:44,155
sure you understand the metaphors that are being used, making sure

478
00:29:44,775 --> 00:29:48,455
you have, gotten the tone of voice right, like, that you're

479
00:29:48,455 --> 00:29:51,830
seeing things that are being repeated over and over again

480
00:29:52,290 --> 00:29:55,970
because those things are there for emphasis. So learning some simple

481
00:29:55,970 --> 00:29:59,795
bible study tools like that. And then, you know, and

482
00:29:59,795 --> 00:30:03,395
then reading is I do love reading, you know, again,

483
00:30:03,395 --> 00:30:07,210
just reading in a big chunk, reading a whole book. I think both of

484
00:30:07,210 --> 00:30:10,830
those approaches are helpful when you're trying to

485
00:30:11,050 --> 00:30:13,995
learn and grow. And if you're a part of the Grove, there are quite a

486
00:30:13,995 --> 00:30:17,775
few people around here who could teach you the inductive bible study method. But it's,

487
00:30:17,915 --> 00:30:21,520
at its simplest, it's kind of a 3 part process where I'm

488
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:25,060
really kinda slowing down. What is this really saying? Yeah.

489
00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,800
What does it mean? Mhmm. And what do I need to do about it?

490
00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:32,434
Yes. Observe it. I'm observing what it says. I'm interpreting what it

491
00:30:32,434 --> 00:30:36,274
means, and I'm applying what it's applying the meaning. Right? Yes. So

492
00:30:36,274 --> 00:30:40,110
if you have interested in that, there again, there ask ask ask somebody everybody

493
00:30:40,110 --> 00:30:42,590
in the church knows somebody who knows somebody who can teach you how to do

494
00:30:42,590 --> 00:30:45,230
that. So That's right. There's enough of us scattered around. Alright. So I got I

495
00:30:45,230 --> 00:30:48,674
got I got one more for you. So somebody somebody's

496
00:30:48,735 --> 00:30:52,034
starting to read the Bible. They're trying to sit trying to understand or whatever.

497
00:30:53,534 --> 00:30:56,335
And they say, you know, I was reading this passage today. Let me tell you

498
00:30:56,335 --> 00:31:00,150
what it meant to me. You just

499
00:31:00,150 --> 00:31:03,669
said, so maybe I don't even have to ask the question. What I

500
00:31:04,390 --> 00:31:08,115
what what what do you what do you what what came to your mind as

501
00:31:08,115 --> 00:31:11,635
I used that phrase? Hey, I read this passage, and here's what it means to

502
00:31:11,635 --> 00:31:15,475
me. I think that that can

503
00:31:15,475 --> 00:31:19,289
be a fine thing to say. Right. Like,

504
00:31:19,289 --> 00:31:22,190
that can be meant in a way like, I've

505
00:31:23,210 --> 00:31:26,815
I can say that. Like, I've there are certain passages

506
00:31:26,875 --> 00:31:30,715
in scripture that mean

507
00:31:30,715 --> 00:31:34,230
to me in a very significant

508
00:31:34,370 --> 00:31:37,570
way. It hit me in a very personal way. Hit me in a very personal

509
00:31:37,570 --> 00:31:40,865
and significant way. So

510
00:31:41,245 --> 00:31:45,025
that phrase, you know, here's what it means to me, I that doesn't

511
00:31:45,725 --> 00:31:49,425
doesn't necessarily mean bad or wrong. It's just

512
00:31:49,779 --> 00:31:53,140
something in my heart. God used that to

513
00:31:53,140 --> 00:31:56,475
connect straight into something in my heart.

514
00:31:57,914 --> 00:32:01,755
And then another way that it's can be used is, well,

515
00:32:01,755 --> 00:32:04,550
here's what I think it's saying

516
00:32:05,170 --> 00:32:08,550
or, you know, I'm gonna take my

517
00:32:08,690 --> 00:32:12,530
framework Right. And I'm gonna fit, excuse me,

518
00:32:12,530 --> 00:32:16,195
the scripture into my framework. And, again, that's kind of going back to

519
00:32:16,195 --> 00:32:19,955
what we talked about before of where

520
00:32:19,955 --> 00:32:22,054
are we starting with? Are we starting with

521
00:32:23,580 --> 00:32:27,179
this is true and this is of God, and if there's

522
00:32:27,179 --> 00:32:31,020
something I don't understand, like, it it's because I need to learn

523
00:32:31,020 --> 00:32:34,515
and grow. Or is it I'm gonna make this

524
00:32:34,515 --> 00:32:37,895
fit into what I already think about the architecture.

525
00:32:38,595 --> 00:32:42,320
Right? Excuse me. So I do think we need to

526
00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:46,160
be careful. Like, we need to to come to scripture

527
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:49,895
with an attitude of humility and with, you

528
00:32:49,895 --> 00:32:51,674
know, the the mindset of

529
00:32:53,575 --> 00:32:57,335
it it is the source. I am the one who needs to

530
00:32:57,335 --> 00:33:00,480
be changed by it, And

531
00:33:01,820 --> 00:33:05,440
it can be deeply personal and personally

532
00:33:05,820 --> 00:33:09,294
significant. And there are

533
00:33:09,755 --> 00:33:13,275
plenty of things in scripture that you could have different

534
00:33:13,275 --> 00:33:17,010
interpretations of. Mhmm. There are some things that we all don't agree

535
00:33:17,010 --> 00:33:20,690
on, and that's okay. Right. Right? Brad

536
00:33:20,690 --> 00:33:24,415
calls those in seminary thick ice and thin ice. Right?

537
00:33:24,415 --> 00:33:27,315
There's places in the scripture where the ice is kinda thin

538
00:33:28,015 --> 00:33:31,760
and you don't wanna it's not worth splitting a church over. You

539
00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,120
know? Like, you may get in danger if you dance around on it too much.

540
00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,715
I mean, it's it's there, but it's not you're not gonna build a

541
00:33:38,715 --> 00:33:42,155
house on it. Right. Right? And so there there are places you can go, well,

542
00:33:42,155 --> 00:33:45,909
I think it means this. Well, well, okay. We can, you know, some stuff in

543
00:33:45,909 --> 00:33:49,210
Revelation. We're not all exactly sure, you know, what all that means.

544
00:33:49,830 --> 00:33:53,130
There's other places where the ice is really thick, and

545
00:33:53,645 --> 00:33:57,405
it's solid and it's referenced over and over and over and over

546
00:33:57,405 --> 00:34:01,060
again in scripture and that ice is not gonna break. And those are

547
00:34:01,060 --> 00:34:04,580
places where I don't think we need to give ourselves as much leeway

548
00:34:05,060 --> 00:34:08,679
Mhmm. It's good. You know, to to adapt what it says,

549
00:34:09,075 --> 00:34:11,655
to try and fit it into our more modern interpretation

550
00:34:12,675 --> 00:34:16,275
because I it's really thick and strong. Right. Yeah. So to

551
00:34:16,275 --> 00:34:19,750
stay grounded in what the Bible actually

552
00:34:19,750 --> 00:34:23,270
means. Right? There's what I felt when I read it.

553
00:34:23,270 --> 00:34:27,030
Mhmm. And then there's what it means as it

554
00:34:27,030 --> 00:34:30,855
is written. Yes. And I think it I think it's an important distinction as we

555
00:34:30,855 --> 00:34:34,695
are studying the Bible, reading the Bible, maybe for the first time or getting into

556
00:34:34,695 --> 00:34:38,040
it, to kind of understand the difference between those things. There's some things that God

557
00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:41,560
may bring to your mind as you're reading it. There may be some things that

558
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:45,260
you are feeling as you read it, and those things can very well be legitimate.

559
00:34:45,645 --> 00:34:49,165
Right. But then what that passage says is something and what that

560
00:34:49,165 --> 00:34:52,845
passage means is something different. I think we need to again,

561
00:34:52,845 --> 00:34:56,609
like you said, it's not that one of them is bad. But we just

562
00:34:56,609 --> 00:35:00,309
kinda need to make sure we got them in their proper proper place.

563
00:35:00,450 --> 00:35:03,970
Right. Because we don't want to accidentally become the next person who

564
00:35:03,970 --> 00:35:07,605
is taking verses out of context and having them mean something. That's

565
00:35:07,605 --> 00:35:10,885
right. Right. I don't I don't wanna do to myself what other people have been

566
00:35:10,885 --> 00:35:14,720
doing. Right. Right. Alright. So I wanna make sure. If

567
00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:18,560
you've got any other great tips, I wanna make we've we've exhausted your

568
00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:22,175
expertise here. Is there anything else that you kinda wanted to share with us

569
00:35:22,175 --> 00:35:25,795
about helping us get motivated to study the word?

570
00:35:26,495 --> 00:35:30,020
I I just really hope that, you know, those of you that have stuck around,

571
00:35:30,020 --> 00:35:33,460
listened to all 3 of these or or even just this one, like,

572
00:35:33,460 --> 00:35:36,680
I'm I I do think that the Bible

573
00:35:37,934 --> 00:35:41,535
can change your life in only good

574
00:35:41,535 --> 00:35:45,300
ways. You know? That's what it's intended for. Right? It

575
00:35:45,300 --> 00:35:49,060
is intended to change your life in only good ways. Now

576
00:35:49,060 --> 00:35:52,420
that doesn't mean that there may not be some hurt involved in that because sometimes

577
00:35:52,420 --> 00:35:56,065
it's it's weeding stuff out. Right. That doesn't need to be there. Right?

578
00:35:56,685 --> 00:36:00,525
Sometimes it's showing us things. I've read some things before that I'm like,

579
00:36:00,525 --> 00:36:03,860
oh, that is a major problem that I have. Surgeons

580
00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:07,840
are kind, but they also hurt you sometimes. That's

581
00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:11,675
right. So, I mean, but just it it has it has

582
00:36:11,675 --> 00:36:15,355
changed my family. It's changed the direction of my family

583
00:36:15,355 --> 00:36:19,100
tree. It's changed the way I look at the world, the way I

584
00:36:19,100 --> 00:36:22,860
look at myself, and I just I want

585
00:36:22,860 --> 00:36:26,400
to pass along the hope of that to as many people as possible

586
00:36:27,215 --> 00:36:30,975
and to to give it the benefit of the doubt. Right? To not

587
00:36:30,975 --> 00:36:34,495
look at it as this scary, confusing, out of

588
00:36:34,495 --> 00:36:38,110
date thing, but to maybe give it the

589
00:36:38,110 --> 00:36:41,950
benefit of the doubt. And and that this thing, maybe it can change my

590
00:36:41,950 --> 00:36:45,385
life too. That's awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that and

591
00:36:45,385 --> 00:36:49,145
for this episode, all your tips, and just being with us

592
00:36:49,145 --> 00:36:52,365
for the last few episodes. Thank you so much, Melanie. You're welcome.

593
00:36:52,870 --> 00:36:56,230
So and thank you for being a part of it. And if you are part

594
00:36:56,230 --> 00:36:58,870
of The Grove, I encourage you to come up to Melanie and tell her thanks

595
00:36:58,870 --> 00:37:02,055
for being here because it's been a privilege to be able to just kind of

596
00:37:02,535 --> 00:37:06,214
glean from her wisdom and hear how God has used, his

597
00:37:06,214 --> 00:37:09,250
word in her life and how she wants it to be

598
00:37:09,730 --> 00:37:13,110
powerful on ours as well. And so I I hope that you are motivated,

599
00:37:13,730 --> 00:37:17,545
to take a journey in God's word yourself. And if you need

600
00:37:17,545 --> 00:37:20,585
more help on that, feel free to come talk to Melanie or me or just

601
00:37:20,585 --> 00:37:24,184
about anybody you know at the church. We would love to help you

602
00:37:24,184 --> 00:37:27,809
get oriented in a way to help you study and and learn and

603
00:37:27,809 --> 00:37:31,650
appreciate God's word at a deeper level. And if you are newish or

604
00:37:31,650 --> 00:37:34,825
new to The Grove and haven't gotten well connected, encourage you to go to the

605
00:37:34,905 --> 00:37:38,744
grovechurch.org/connect. Learn more about our Sunday services, all the things

606
00:37:38,744 --> 00:37:42,160
we've got going on. Either way, we'd love to know who you are, how we

607
00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:45,940
can help you. Again, I'm Charlie, this is Melanie, and thanks for joining us.