Everyone, welcome to the cultivate podcast through the group Church. I'm Charlie Lofton, the
lead pastor there. Thank you so much for joining us
as we are still in the middle of a series kinda talking about
the Bible. Spent a few weeks kinda talking about more of the academic side of
it, really understanding where truth comes from, how we
got the Bible, those kinds of things. Did a q and a with
some questions. And for the last couple of episodes, been here
with Melanie Alexander, local expert. What's up?
Hello. So what's your bigger pet peeve, Melanie
Alexander? That someone accidentally calls you Melody?
Or they just, like, give you some other nickname like
Mel or Melon? Like, what are, like, what what's what's the
bigger pet peeve? It's probably Melodi. I do get called
Melodi Mhmm. From time to time. Or really
misspelling it, like, m e l o n I e,
Melonie. Melonie. Okay. Okay. Which, you know,
I get it. It's it's not a super common name. But you've got an easily
spelled last name, so that makes up for it. I do. But it winds up
being really long. When I have to actually, like, sign a check or write it
all out, there there's a lot that goes in there. But I moved up. I
was a p, and now I'm an a. Like, you're fur you're first.
Yeah. Yeah. I've always been an l, so I'm just right in the middle. Right.
My kids are always, like, why are we always the first ones to go?
Like, you can thank your dad.
So we have been talking over the last couple of episodes about the Bible.
We spent some time first just kinda talking about why people don't
wanna read the Bible. We kinda summarize it into 2
things. It is can feel confusing, intimidating,
overwhelming, and maybe some people have done damage to
us with the Bible. And then we spent some time talking about
why they should read the bible. And it seemed like we ended up spending just
a lot of our time just about around the idea of being
grounded in a world that does how do we make sense of a world that
doesn't make sense? And how do I know who I'm supposed to be and
who God is in all of this, and it just can really kind of
ground us in truth when can feel completely
overwhelmed. Yes. And there towards the end,
you know, it it felt like it got really big. Like, if
you, you know, use your the counterfeit money
illustration. If you really wanna see what's counterfeit, you need to really
know and study, and you know the truth and the
true dollar bill so well that you recognize
counterfeit everywhere. And and in my mind, I was
thinking if I were a noob,
Mhmm. Familiar with gamer lingo? Yeah. If you were if I
was new to all of this, or just
a novice in some way and really kind of knowing and studying
the bible myself, to get to the point to where I was a counterfeit
bill expert, that's that's that's not something I solve
next week. Yeah. So it can feel a little bit overwhelming. So let's
pretend that we're all at square 1 or close to it.
K. What are some tips that you would get give us in our
journey to become counterfeit bill experts? Yeah.
Well, the first thing that just immediately came to my mind as you were saying
that would be, like, feel okay
with asking someone that you trust,
someone at the Grove, someone who is,
you know, a small group leader or a bible study leader. I
read this, and I didn't understand what it meant. Or does it
mean this? I just recalled a
situation back when I was working with this college
ministry, and there was a a young lady that I was discipling. And I
remember her coming to me and saying, is the Holy Spirit
real? Like, growing up, that was a big is the holy
like, is that real? Like, is that in the Bible? And I was like, yeah.
Let's go look at it. And so that can be
maybe feel a little humbling. Right. You know? But there's a lot of people
that's part of what we do in the body is we help each
other, learn what we need to learn and
we bounce things off of each other. And so asking questions if you
come across something that you don't understand. Or, you know, what does the
bible say about x y z? Pick your topic. Right.
And, and ask someone that that you trust, you know, for
some help in that. I think that's a a great place to start. So somebody
not I mean, level might be the the wrong word,
but we'll just use it anyway. Not someone who's on my level, but maybe someone
who's just a little bit further down the road in understanding. Hey. Help
me understand. So I'm not asking, hey, just teach. Not necessarily saying teach me, but
hey, but I'm reading this. And as you're reading it, if you've got questions.
Right. Ask just ask somebody. Right. I mean, that can also go
into getting into a Bible study with some people. Right?
Whether that's a formal thing that you sign up for or that's you and a
couple of friends. You know? But, again,
people that are really looking for truth and not just looking
to confirm their own preconceived notions. Oh, that's good. Right? Mhmm.
Because, I mean, we can just go on the Internet and do that. Right? Right.
I met people that are like, hey. Let's really kind of figure this out and
look for some truth together. It can be a community activity. So one
one thing that you said in a previous episode that I was kinda
mentally bookmark in the back of my head, which I think could be helpful, and
maybe it ties into this a little bit, Which is every now and then,
I'm gonna come across something not that I don't understand.
Because if I don't understand it, I can ask. Hey. Hey, Melanie. I don't understand
this. Can you explain to me what this means and you can help me understand?
Mhmm. What do I do if I read something I don't like it? Because
you you talked about that. Like, sometimes I read this and I it's not that
I'm confused about what it means, but
I don't it's very clear what it means, and and I and I don't like
it. What what do you recommend in that situation?
So this is gonna be, the answer that may
sound a little harsh Oh. To Come on now. To
some people, but I'm gonna apply the same harshness to
myself Okay. Just to make it fair. Right.
I think we we can't go wrong
or we will go less wrong if we give God the
benefit of the doubt over ourselves. That wasn't harsh. Are are we
working our way towards harsh? Well, you know, that maybe that was a soft lead
into it. Like, I
am broken. Right. I'm fallen.
I have a sin nature. I don't think
right. My heart doesn't interpret things right.
It's getting better, and it's in the process of being redeemed.
But there's a lot that doesn't
doesn't work right. Is that right? For sure. Right? And,
you know, what I don't know what, like, the scientific percentages of, like, actually how
much of our brain we use, but it's some, like, little tiny percent, right, of,
like, how much of our brain that we use. And here
here's something that I say all the time, like because, again, we're
living in a current culture where we have information in our
fingertips. We can know whatever we want. And so, therefore, there is
an illusion that we do know everything. Right. But you know
what happens, like, when it rains outside?
There's water falling on your head from the sky, and the only thing you
can do about it is hold a plastic umbrella over your head.
Like, to me, that says, like, we're still not really that big of a deal,
and we're still not really that smart. I can't keep water from falling on my
head. If I wanna go to a picnic and it rains,
there's nothing I can do. I haven't figured out. We have not figured out
how to control weather. We're not that smart. Right?
We're not that smart. And but we think we are.
So I just, I defer to, I am
probably misunderstanding something. That's good. Right?
God is truth. He is the
creator. He is the one who put together this whole
thing. Why would I go, well, I
think I've I think I know better. I don't know better.
Right. I don't. Like, I just don't. So that
maybe that's where it gets a little bit more harsh. I think we our
opinion of God can diminish in our opinion of selves. You know, we
can inflate our opinion of our own selves, and I
try to to push against that because I'm just I'm not really that
smart. Yeah. I mentioned this
a few weeks ago, on a Sunday morning that I've
that I've started doing puzzles. And, like, I think
about like, the analogy that I use is I've got all these
pieces, and I'm putting them together based on what I
think the picture is supposed to be. Mhmm. And then I get this piece, and
it doesn't fit it doesn't fit with what I'm doing.
Am I going to throw that piece out or am I gonna recognize that
perhaps I'm not working with the right picture? Right. Like, I
like, what I'm what I'm doing is the problem. I need to probably disassemble
a little bit what I'm doing and make room for this new piece of information.
Yes. Or am I just gonna toss it? I mean, the the only
other thing I would suggest is that, like, I've got this thing that I'm building.
This is who God is. This is how life works, and I've got this thing.
I don't know what to do. Sometimes, like, if if you need to just kinda
set it right there for a hot minute Sure. But don't
don't throw it out. Right. You've got we've gotta let
we've gotta let what God says shape who we think he
is, not let who we think he is shape who he is.
Yes. I've heard I appreciate the phrase,
like, domesticating God, that
we make him look just like us. Right.
What a coincidence. Because that makes so much sense. I learned everything there is
about God, and he agrees with me about everything. That was great. And so
we, but he is not us. No. He is
other and above and all and
the source. And, yeah, and, you know,
I'm 43 now. I thought I
knew a lot when I was 26. Right?
And I did know some things. Right. But there's some things that I've realized now,
like, oh, I didn't really know that, or I was wrong, or that
didn't make much sense then. It makes a lot more sense
now. Like, God is not done with us.
Right? Until we're in glory, he's not done with us. And there may be some
things that that we don't that just don't make sense until
we're in his presence. Okay. Right? Like, in Corinthians talks about that. Like,
we look dimly through a mirror, but
then we will see face to face. Okay. Right? So,
yeah, being okay with the puzzle piece that maybe we don't quite get, I think
it is okay to kind of table it. Like, I don't know what
my kid is constantly asking me about the dinosaurs. Like, I don't know what
the answer to that is. I really don't. I don't
know. And there was a season where that really
bothered me, and it felt like because I didn't know that, I needed to throw
everything out. And now I'm kind of like, well, I just don't know.
I don't know. But I know enough of everything else that
I need to know. That's good. So that's okay. Alright.
So let's get let's dial it back a little bit and just start to
very like, so I wanna read the bible
where does does it matter what version I get?
Does it matter where I start? I mean, seem like most people are like, well,
I'm just gonna yeah. I'm gonna start with the beginning, I guess. I'm gonna start
with Genesis. Or some people like, I'm gonna start with Jesus. Or
some people say, I'm just I don't know. I don't know what I'm gonna do.
Yeah. Where like, this version, where to start where where do I where do I
start? There's a lot of versions
out there. I I would encourage someone to pick,
one that is a more modern translation, maybe not an original King
James with the v's and the vow's and because that can just feel confusing.
I I don't have a problem with, like, the message
Bibles and those, like, there's nothing wrong with them. Just kinda more
paraphrased. Right. There's nothing wrong with them, but that's not
those are not kind of direct translations. Right. That is
another person who read the Bible and then put it in their own words. And
so I wouldn't have that necessarily as a place to start. Okay.
I would try to have, you know, a version that is
that has been carefully translated from the
original languages because that does matter, I think. So The 2 of the
biggest ones I hear the most, I feel like, are NIV Yeah. And
ESV right now. It was different when when I was, you know,
20 years ago, it was NAS. NAS. Right? That's that's that's how you and I
grew up. Yeah. But it seems like ESV, and that's a little I would say
it's a little more academic. Yeah. And NIV is a little more user friendly. I
mean, this is I'm an NIV gal. This is the one that I have as
an NIV, but Can put can't you just put that in front of the camera?
It is, like, legit falling apart. Is that the original cover?
It is. Cover is not the right word because it's not really It is the
orig no. It's no long it's no longer attached. I need
to get it sent. Surely, somebody somewhere could put it back together for me. You
already said you're not an app person, so I guess you're just not you're not
a bible app. No. I'm not. You're not. Because I I circle and I
write and I, you know, exclamation point things and I write
down everything and I can't do that on my own. If you get a new
bible, I want you to take the new cover off and put that cover on
it. Okay. This makes me look like I'm really spiritual too.
Very spiritual. I'm very it's very impressive. Very impressive. Okay. So
translation, I don't really the word did I start at Genesis 1? Start
reading? I I probably would not. I mean, Genesis Genesis is
great. You get start getting past Genesis, and we talked about getting into the weeds
of Leviticus and early on. I mean, I, have
often recommended, you know, to pick a gospel.
John, you know, I think is a great place to start. Those are the first
books in the New Testament. Testament. Right. The first books in the New Testament, Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John. Pick one of those, like, starting with Jesus is a good
place to start or to pick a New Testament letter. I
think it it's it can be really helpful to pick something to read in a
sitting. So a book that is short enough
that, you can read it because, again, then, like,
Timothy and Colossians and Galatians and all those, those were letters written to the
church. So they were intended to be read just like we don't get many
letters anymore. But if you got a letter in the mail, you'd read the whole
letter. Right? You wouldn't read Just at a time. Right. You just read the whole
letter. So those are pretty short, and you can read 1 in 15
minutes. And so picking probably something in
the New Testament. The gospels are a little longer, and they, you know, you can
read them in a sitting, but they're typically a little longer. But I love,
like, especially for someone who all you've ever heard of the Bible are little
snippets to try to find a book that you can read as a whole. That's
good. Because I I think you'll you'll have a very different experience with
it. I really like the idea too of starting with
the gospels too because it's a little bit like and we've been using a lot
of pop culture metaphors here. It's a little bit like, in what order do you
watch the Star Wars movies? Right. Right? The first one that came out was
episode 4, and then they made the prequels. Yeah. But,
like, starting with Jesus, even though he's technically kind of in the middle of
the story, is really kinda who the story centers on. He is the main
event. Yeah. And so, I understand that first.
And then going into Paul's letters helps me understand
it was written to Christians after
Jesus died and rose from the dead on how to process that
and how to live it out. So, I understand who Jesus is, and then I
read a couple of these letters, and it helps me
process who I'm supposed to be based on that. Right.
I get grounded there, then I can go to the prequel. Yeah. How did we
how did we get here? Right. And
so I I I really I really like that. Yeah. Looks like
you've, you you're holding on to some props there. What do what do what have
we got here? I do. I have a couple, just resources to share that have
really helped to me. This is a book and this it
doesn't look like this is an early 2000's cover. You could tell by the
the graphic. You know? The the graphics on it. But it's by
Max Anders. It's called 30 days to understanding the Bible in 15 minutes
a day. Okay. So, man, if you are a, you know, short practical
person, you know, here here's a great place to start. Right. But it
it kind of goes through, I don't know if we can see this on
the camera, but there's like an arch. You know, it kinda puts the bible in
these kind of movements, and and
kind of in order. And and all the books aren't necessarily and especially the old
testament, they're not necessarily in chronological order. But it kind of helps you
understand, like, here's here's the arc of the story.
Right. God starts with this, and then these people come along, and
he uses them to do this. He gives them this. It doesn't
work. He brings this, And this is just a great resource.
I've kind of gone through it with group with groups of people before.
It's very accessible and it just helps give,
again, understanding that little bit more of the framework. Especially, like
like, if we can understand more about who the Jews were,
why they mattered, because Jesus was a Jew. Most of
us aren't. Right? Like, there may be a couple people listening,
but most of us are not Jewish. I mean, most of
the Bible is about Jewish people or written to Jewish people. There's some in the
New Testament written to none, but majority of it is. And
understanding a little bit more about who those people are, that
history Right. Really can help us figure
out better, you know, what what the story is
telling. I I love that. I start with Jesus,
read a little bit of Paul. I can read it in a in a sitting.
Help me help me get grounded there. Then find a resource of
some kind to kind of help me understand the big picture
of the story. Right. Then I can maybe
get on one of these devotional plans or whatever that works my way Sure.
Through the whole bible. But I've got I've got this
I've got a road map of some kind. A road that's a great word for
it. A road map. Right. Yeah. Because like I said, they're they're
the the books of the old testament are arranged not chronologically
No. By genre. Right. And so you'll find
yourself a few different times reading
something in one book and then coming to the next book or a later
book, and you're reading the exact same thing like Chronicles and
Right. The 2 Chronicles books and the 2 Kings books, Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
It's like you you read like, I don't I don't I'll get and then you
get to the prophets and, like, how does that
connect? Where are we? Where are we right now? It doesn't it doesn't
necessarily help you. Right. So that's really good.
I love that. Yeah. So, do you are you a Bible
plan person? Were you kind of, like, working through some sort of
Bible reading plan? Are you a Dude, I will be more of a randomizer?
I will be honest. Like, I have read through it
before with a plan, I think, 2 or 3 times. I mean,
here's the one that I started and you can see what am I? Did I
get I get to week 4 and I have no more x's on here?
So I am just as much as a give up on the Bible reading
plan as I am a and I wanna be
honest about that. Like, I mean, I'm in a little bit of a slump myself
right now. I've found other things that are kind of
interesting, and I I haven't been reading my Bible much lately.
And, you know, like, even just sitting here preparing for this time
together as I sat down and made myself read some things,
Like, it changed me. And I'm like, why am I not doing this?
That's good. Like, why why do I not? And it it's
just I'm just a human that's busy and there's lots of other stuff.
And it's a discipline that I have to put into my life. So
I I, you know, I the Bible project is a good app, you know, that
I would recommend that has been helpful for people.
And there are, you know, read through the Bible apps that you can
download that I have done before. Some it's a structure like that that's gonna be
helpful to you, then I think that those are great resources.
Yeah. I I found when I get into a I get into a slump,
and we all do, and I think it's good to say that and to not
feel like that somehow that that I've lost all the points and God's mad
at me and all those things, That finding one of those
plans, whether it's reading through the whole Bible or just the New Testament or whatever,
can kind of help get the ball rolling. Yeah. And one thing I enjoy, this
is just a my own little practical tip. Like, if you if
you find yourself you're having to commute, you find yourself in the car lot, they
will they will read it to you. Yes. And I and I love that. So
that's what I'm doing right now. I've got a plan that's and I just
when I'm in the car, I make I make him read it to me for
that day. And I can't listen to Spotify Right. Or sports talk or
anything until I have made it all the way till he has read whatever
section of the bible we're reading today. Get through that reading. And it
again, you can, also hot tip, you can adjust the
speed. Yeah. Dude dude because dude reads slow. Right. I'm not
gonna tell you what what speed I read it at because I did tell my
one of my small groups what I did, and then they thought I was a
huge nerd. Yeah. There's no way you can listen that fast, but I I do.
Yeah. Absolutely. You can. And I you know, with
the advent of, the podcast world, I mean,
there's so much out there, and that is another thing
in my journey of learning what I have learned. Like,
I have been listening to the same bible
teacher teach through books, like, just solidly
through books of the bible since 2008. I got one of those
original white iPods, you know, that had, like,
the big circles that you still have it? No. I don't. That's what I'm on
your mind. And I still listen to the podcast. No. I don't. But 2,008
and, figured out that I could connect to a podcast of a a
church in Denton, Texas with a guy that teaches there that
Tommy Nelson. Tommy Nelson. Yes. One of my personal life heroes, and,
I did whatever I did to connect to that and
downloaded the first one, and it was he started the book of
Romans. And I just listened to it, and it took him,
like, a year. He went all the way through it. And I've listened
through 1st and second Samuel, Jonah,
Hosea, Matthew, Revelation,
Corinthians. I don't remember if it was 1 or 2. Okay.
But I just would listen like, I'd be exercising. I'd listen to
that. I'd be painting furniture, and I'd be listening to that. I'd be cleaning the
house, and I'd be there is so much that we can listen to. And that's
not just the Bible being read, but it was
someone kind of working through a book.
And, you know, some people think that sounds unbelievably
boring, and that's okay. But So what would
you say? Like, that I learned a lot. That's kinda like some people would call
that, like, a secondary source. Like, I'm not I'm not reading the Bible. I'm listening
to somebody else talk about the Bible. Right. Do you do you recommend one
over the other? Do you recommend a blend of both? I think you need both.
Okay. I think you need both. Because,
even though I have, you know, I find him to be
a very trusted source, he's still a human. Right.
Right? And so I need to be able to
go and look myself also and not
just take secondhand what's being told to me, but make
sure that I'm reading it for myself too and that my spirit
is really confirming. God's confirming in me. I'm coming to the same conclusions
as, you know, what's been taught, because that's part of the problem
is that we just listen to what people tell
us. Right? Right. So but, again, I don't wanna
say that I mean, there's a 1,000,000 books in the bookstore
and a million. I don't wanna say that stuff isn't is wrong or unhelpful
because it can be a really confusing book. For sure. Right? For
sure. So if you can find some some resources,
secondary things that you really trust that seem
orthodox, that seem to be, hitting, you
know, the big points that we're agreeing on, that the
Bible is true and authoritative and Jesus is the one and only son of God
and, you know, the big things, the hills we need to die on Mhmm. That
I don't I don't see any problems with with having that to
help you learn, you know, more about,
again, the culture of these places and the history and the background.
And then you can go and and then you can look at that passage for
yourself and read through it yourself as well. To me to me, I a 100%
agree with what you're saying because there are some things about like
you said, we've talked about the way that that culture work, the places, the
people. There's some things that are out there that you're just not gonna
be able to find out any other way. Right. And so it is good to
have somebody who has kind of done all the scholarly work to help you understand
it, to listen to them. But I never want that to be at the
expense of somebody believing that they can't sit down with the Bible
themselves Absolutely. And hear from God in a real way. Absolutely.
And this is as somebody who is wanting people to come to church
every Sunday and hear him talk about the Bible. Right. I want you
to Given the choice, I mean, if I had to
choose, learn how to read and study the Bible yourself.
Absolutely. I mean, I think I think it is both. I think we wanna do
it together. We wanna do it with people. We want to hear people who
are experts explain things to us that maybe we can't
understand. But don't ever get it in your head
that you can't get to a place where you can read and
understand the Bible. I think that is that's so important. Like, I I
this is one of my big deals. I just hate
it when when Bible teachers such as me
or you teach or talk about the bible in
such a way that makes it feel inaccessible. Right. Well, I
mean, that was really if you look back at the
worst points of church history, that's what
was going on. Is the Bible itself
was not being made accessible. It was only to the
professional professional Christians. Right? That's good. It
wasn't translated even into the common language. Right.
And that that gave us the middle ages and some pretty terrible stuff.
We we we talked about that in we talked about that very recently in a
staff meeting, how the the invention of the printing press Mhmm. And
the translation of bible into local languages kinda turned the world upside down.
It did. It did. And, yeah, we we you have
to, like, and that goes back to the that
metaphor of, you know, studying for to find the counterfeit
money. Right? Like, we've gotta Right. Be in it,
recognize it. And because it is also, like, they're
I I I'm hesitant to use this word because I don't want people to take
it wrong way. But Do it. I have said, like, to me, the
Bible is magical. Right?
And I don't Harry Potter. Believe I don't believe in magic.
But, like, seriously, like, I Mystical.
It changes me. Like,
it changes who I am. I can read something in
here, and I'm a different person. I don't know
what else does that. It is in Hebrews, it says it's living
and active. It divides. Like, God uses
it in conjunction with the Holy Spirit
to to continually make us new.
Right. That's about as close to magic as we're
gonna get, I think. Right? For sure, for sure. That's about as close as we're
gonna get. Is there a difference
between I'm just reading the Bible and I'm studying the Bible?
Sure. Yeah. I think there can be.
I do really love the inductive bible study method.
That sounds really nerdy and fancy. Right. And it doesn't it's
not really that nerdy and I mean, you can make it as nerdy and fancy
as you want it to be. But it is a way of
you know, I mean, it's it's it's a difference. Anybody who's been, you know, through
a college class, like, you study. Right?
And then sometimes you're just reading. For sure. Right?
So studying is looking more, like,
breaking down some of the words, making sure you understand what the words mean, making
sure you understand the metaphors that are being used, making sure
you have, gotten the tone of voice right, like, that you're
seeing things that are being repeated over and over again
because those things are there for emphasis. So learning some simple
bible study tools like that. And then, you know, and
then reading is I do love reading, you know, again,
just reading in a big chunk, reading a whole book. I think both of
those approaches are helpful when you're trying to
learn and grow. And if you're a part of the Grove, there are quite a
few people around here who could teach you the inductive bible study method. But it's,
at its simplest, it's kind of a 3 part process where I'm
really kinda slowing down. What is this really saying? Yeah.
What does it mean? Mhmm. And what do I need to do about it?
Yes. Observe it. I'm observing what it says. I'm interpreting what it
means, and I'm applying what it's applying the meaning. Right? Yes. So
if you have interested in that, there again, there ask ask ask somebody everybody
in the church knows somebody who knows somebody who can teach you how to do
that. So That's right. There's enough of us scattered around. Alright. So I got I
got I got one more for you. So somebody somebody's
starting to read the Bible. They're trying to sit trying to understand or whatever.
And they say, you know, I was reading this passage today. Let me tell you
what it meant to me. You just
said, so maybe I don't even have to ask the question. What I
what what what do you what do you what what came to your mind as
I used that phrase? Hey, I read this passage, and here's what it means to
me. I think that that can
be a fine thing to say. Right. Like,
that can be meant in a way like, I've
I can say that. Like, I've there are certain passages
in scripture that mean
to me in a very significant
way. It hit me in a very personal way. Hit me in a very personal
and significant way. So
that phrase, you know, here's what it means to me, I that doesn't
doesn't necessarily mean bad or wrong. It's just
something in my heart. God used that to
connect straight into something in my heart.
And then another way that it's can be used is, well,
here's what I think it's saying
or, you know, I'm gonna take my
framework Right. And I'm gonna fit, excuse me,
the scripture into my framework. And, again, that's kind of going back to
what we talked about before of where
are we starting with? Are we starting with
this is true and this is of God, and if there's
something I don't understand, like, it it's because I need to learn
and grow. Or is it I'm gonna make this
fit into what I already think about the architecture.
Right? Excuse me. So I do think we need to
be careful. Like, we need to to come to scripture
with an attitude of humility and with, you
know, the the mindset of
it it is the source. I am the one who needs to
be changed by it, And
it can be deeply personal and personally
significant. And there are
plenty of things in scripture that you could have different
interpretations of. Mhmm. There are some things that we all don't agree
on, and that's okay. Right. Right? Brad
calls those in seminary thick ice and thin ice. Right?
There's places in the scripture where the ice is kinda thin
and you don't wanna it's not worth splitting a church over. You
know? Like, you may get in danger if you dance around on it too much.
I mean, it's it's there, but it's not you're not gonna build a
house on it. Right. Right? And so there there are places you can go, well,
I think it means this. Well, well, okay. We can, you know, some stuff in
Revelation. We're not all exactly sure, you know, what all that means.
There's other places where the ice is really thick, and
it's solid and it's referenced over and over and over and over
again in scripture and that ice is not gonna break. And those are
places where I don't think we need to give ourselves as much leeway
Mhmm. It's good. You know, to to adapt what it says,
to try and fit it into our more modern interpretation
because I it's really thick and strong. Right. Yeah. So to
stay grounded in what the Bible actually
means. Right? There's what I felt when I read it.
Mhmm. And then there's what it means as it
is written. Yes. And I think it I think it's an important distinction as we
are studying the Bible, reading the Bible, maybe for the first time or getting into
it, to kind of understand the difference between those things. There's some things that God
may bring to your mind as you're reading it. There may be some things that
you are feeling as you read it, and those things can very well be legitimate.
Right. But then what that passage says is something and what that
passage means is something different. I think we need to again,
like you said, it's not that one of them is bad. But we just
kinda need to make sure we got them in their proper proper place.
Right. Because we don't want to accidentally become the next person who
is taking verses out of context and having them mean something. That's
right. Right. I don't I don't wanna do to myself what other people have been
doing. Right. Right. Alright. So I wanna make sure. If
you've got any other great tips, I wanna make we've we've exhausted your
expertise here. Is there anything else that you kinda wanted to share with us
about helping us get motivated to study the word?
I I just really hope that, you know, those of you that have stuck around,
listened to all 3 of these or or even just this one, like,
I'm I I do think that the Bible
can change your life in only good
ways. You know? That's what it's intended for. Right? It
is intended to change your life in only good ways. Now
that doesn't mean that there may not be some hurt involved in that because sometimes
it's it's weeding stuff out. Right. That doesn't need to be there. Right?
Sometimes it's showing us things. I've read some things before that I'm like,
oh, that is a major problem that I have. Surgeons
are kind, but they also hurt you sometimes. That's
right. So, I mean, but just it it has it has
changed my family. It's changed the direction of my family
tree. It's changed the way I look at the world, the way I
look at myself, and I just I want
to pass along the hope of that to as many people as possible
and to to give it the benefit of the doubt. Right? To not
look at it as this scary, confusing, out of
date thing, but to maybe give it the
benefit of the doubt. And and that this thing, maybe it can change my
life too. That's awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that and
for this episode, all your tips, and just being with us
for the last few episodes. Thank you so much, Melanie. You're welcome.
So and thank you for being a part of it. And if you are part
of The Grove, I encourage you to come up to Melanie and tell her thanks
for being here because it's been a privilege to be able to just kind of
glean from her wisdom and hear how God has used, his
word in her life and how she wants it to be
powerful on ours as well. And so I I hope that you are motivated,
to take a journey in God's word yourself. And if you need
more help on that, feel free to come talk to Melanie or me or just
about anybody you know at the church. We would love to help you
get oriented in a way to help you study and and learn and
appreciate God's word at a deeper level. And if you are newish or
new to The Grove and haven't gotten well connected, encourage you to go to the
grovechurch.org/connect. Learn more about our Sunday services, all the things
we've got going on. Either way, we'd love to know who you are, how we
can help you. Again, I'm Charlie, this is Melanie, and thanks for joining us.