Welcome, crumbles. This is our first effort here on Substack at seeking the Lord together, wherever we are in the world, through prayerful Bible reading. I’m officially calling it Bible Reading Fellowship, but you are free to keep calling it Pretend Bible Study, as I did on Instagram earlier in the pandemic.😊
At the end of this post, for those who are able, I share guidance on a first beginning step (generally called observation) of studying the Bible for yourself or with your family. My hope is to lead, as gently as possible, newcomers to inductive Bible study through a process they can use and build on for the rest of their lives. Perhaps those already familiar can discover one or two new ideas and contribute to the community’s learning in the comments. It will take several BRF sessions to complete a basic overview, so please be patient with yourselves and me as we learn.
For more than 38 years, I have spent time daily with God in His Word. It is not an empty or idle word; it is my life (Deuteronomy 32:47). Through God’s Word, I entered into the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It has given comfort in trials, direction in perplexity, and hope in grief. It is living and active and penetrating (Hebrews 4:12-13). It is truth and an instrument in our sanctification (John 17:17). I long for you also to know the joy of knowing God as you abide in His Word, for to know the Triune, infinite-personal God is eternal life (John 17:3).
Call to Worship:
“Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NET
Let us confess our sins to Almighty God:
“Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You this day, in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole hearts; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may delight in Your will, and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Name. Grant to Your people pardon and peace, that in Your great mercy, we may be forgiven all our sins, and serve You with a quiet and contrite heart. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.”
(Book of Common Prayer)
This is what the Word of God says:
“If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:8-9 NET
Now let us ask the Lord to help us in the reading of a chapter His Word:
Ever-speaking God,
Who spoke the world into being,
Who sustains it by Your all-powerful word,
Who breathed out the Scripture we approach today:
In coming to Your Word,
We come to You Yourself.
Open our eyes to behold You,
Our ears to hear the Good Shepherd ‘s voice,
Our hearts to love You,
And our wills to follow You
All the days of our lives,
In the name of Jesus the living Word.
Amen.
Let us draw near to God together through this portion from His Word:
Psalm 90 (English Standard Version)
This is a lament psalm in three sections:
· Our eternal home in God (verses 1-2)
· The fragile toil of human days (verses 3-11)
· A prayer that the eternal God would stamp our few days with eternity (verses 12–17)
Book Four
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
[1] Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
[2] Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
[3] You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!”
[4] For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.
[5] You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning:
[6] in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
[7] For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
[8] You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
[9] For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
[10] The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
[11] Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
[12] So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
[13] Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
[14] Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
[15] Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
[16] Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
[17] Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Continuing in our prayers for the day:
“Lord, I am willing (to be made willing)
To receive what you send,
To do without what you withhold,
To relinquish what you take,
To suffer anything you inflict,
To do what you command,
And to be what you ask me to be,
At any cost,
Now and forever, amen.”
(Anonymous)
Intercession
My Lord and my God,
This morning I offer you my thoughts, feelings, words, and actions;
My trials and my joys;
My desires and my disappointments;
My anxieties and my gratitude;
My loved ones,
My enemies,
And myself,
For Your glory and every good, loving design You have for us.
Please take anything the enemy intends for our harm,
Anything meant for evil toward us,
And transform it by weaving it together for glorious good not only to us but to many.
We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Let us also pray specifically for government leaders:
O Most High God,
King of kings and Lord of lords,
Who rules the kingdom of humanity and gives it to whom You will:
All Your works are right and Your ways just;
The hearts of the greatest in power and wealth are like streams of water You turn where You wish;
In Your great mercy and steadfast love,
Guide and direct our governing authorities
So that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives,
Godly and dignified in every way;
Draw our leaders always nearer to Yourself,
That they might do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before You,
Until Your kingdom comes in fullness, on earth as it is in heaven,
In the mighty name of Jesus.
Amen.
Please join me in praying together after the pattern the Lord Jesus taught His disciples, saying:
“Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.”
Matthew 6:9-13 RSV
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen.
(Final phrase present in some manuscripts but not all; in the marginal note for RSV.)
In conclusion:
“‘The Lord bless you and protect you; The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’”
Numbers 6:24-26 NET
Now, friends, if that has used up your capacity for the present, hit pause or stop with no guilt, and rest in the love of God. I hope to see you again next time. Courage, dear hearts.
If, on the other hand, you have a bit more capacity and are able to read without triggering symptom exacerbation or a crash, my suggested next step is to read (or listen to) Psalm 90 again for yourself at least three times more. Read in your heart language if that is not English. Read in various translations if you wish. Read in a continuing attitude of prayer and listening to God.
Prayer is the preparation for time with God in His Word; it is also the heartbeat pulsing through it. Our goal is not to learn more facts but to commune with God and to know and love Him better. Praying throughout our reading and study furthers that aim.
Then respond in prayer, song, journaling, repentance, obedience—as the Spirit leads— to what you notice, what He shows you, as you linger in the chapter.
If you have capacity to go a step further, the next step of studying the Bible for yourself is observation. In observation, we ask and answer the question, “What does it say?” For the time being, we are not drawing inferences or conclusions. We are not theorizing about complex possibilities not clearly stated. We are carefully inspecting what the text actually says.
If you are still with me, you will want something to write with and something to write on (or a recording device to capture what you see). I tend to write in a notebook and also in my Bible. Some people prefer to print or copy out the text with generous margins and write on that copy. It is up to you. My aim is to equip you with tools and also freedom to find your own style of recording and processing what you see. The main point is to spend time with the Lord in His Word and to digest thoroughly what He has actually said so that you can respond in faithful obedience and worship.
One good starting point in observing a passage of Scripture is what we in English call the “5 W’s and an H.” This refers to categories of questions any piece of writing is likely to answer. The 5 W’s are who, what, when, where, and why. The H stands for how. This is not set in stone, but it is a useful, simple guide to awaken our attention.
Since this is the first time we are mentioning this, I’ll walk you through some example questions you may work through as you consider the text at hand and other Bible reading you do this week.
Who
· Who are the author and audience of this text, if stated?
· Who else does it mention? Does the author talk about any third party?
What
· What does the passage say about God? By what names is He called in it?
· What does the passage say about people?
· Since this passage is a prayer, what does the writer ask for?
· What words or ideas are repeated? You might list the instances of any repeated words and notice what each repetition says about the term.
· What commands are given, if any? How about warnings?
· What examples, if any, are called out as good or bad?
· What promises are made? To whom?
· What prayers are included?
· What type or genre of writing is this? Some examples are poetry, narrative, letter, prophecy, and proverb.
When
· When historically was this written, if stated?
· When is it in the overarching story of Scripture? (If you don’t know, that’s ok! Lord willing, we can cover that in a future post.)
· Are there any “time stamps” in the text, whether time of day or time on a calendar?
· Are there periods of time mentioned?
· Is there any sequence of events or ideas mentioned (first, second, third, finally, after, before)? If so, listing those out may be helpful.
Where
· Are there any places mentioned? Where are they on a map?
· Where does this fall in the Bible? What book is it in? Which section and testament is it in?
Why
· Are there any reasons or results specifically mentioned in the text? Again, we are not making inferences here. We are noticing what is said. Words like “because” and “therefore” are context clues. “In order to” and “so that” would also point towards a why.
How
· Are there any words in the passage that indicate means and methods? “By,” for example, or perhaps “with”? Are there any specifically stated ways something was done?
· How much? How much time, money, weight,…? How much effort?
· How many? Are there any numbers mentioned?
· How long?
What other questions come to your mind as you study? This is just a starting point. You are welcome to add your own questions in the comments on Substack or by hitting reply if you are reading in your email inbox. The comments are also a place you crumbles can meet and interact with each other, if you are hungry for community.
If you undertake real personal study of the text we’ve prayerfully read today, take all the time you need, and break it up into as many pieces as you need to pace yourself. There is no grade or test. This is a tool for you to use or not. If you find it helpful, please let me know. I will likely copy the Bible study methods notes above into an additional separate post so that we can refer to them in the future, apart from the entire prayer context.
Please let me know if this proves helpful to you and if there are adjustments I can make to serve you better. Keep what helps and discard and forgive what doesn’t.
In closing, I offer you the words of English preacher Charles Spurgeon, commenting on Psalm 90:
We come and go, but the Lord’s work abides. We are content to die, so long as Jesus lives and his kingdom grows. Since the Lord abides forever the same, we trust our work in his hands, and feel that since it is far more his work than ours he will secure it [in] immortality. When we have withered like grass, our holy service, like gold, silver, or precious stones, will survive the fire (Treasury of David, 2:266).
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