Treasure the Wonder -- Beth Moore 1

Let's talk about the first of Beth Moore's seven guidelines for maximum impact in Bible study... Truthfully, I am having a terrible time trying to wrap my mind around what she was trying to teach us, so laying out these seven points post by post is as much for me as it is for you!

1. Treasure the Wonder

God has a marvelous plan of revelation. This is the perfect beginning to this series, because it teaches us that the fact that we don't understand everything about God is all part of his plan. God reveals truth to us piece by piece, bit by bit, and in a specific order. He reveals this truth to us in many ways (life experiences, prayer, fellowship, trials), one of which is the study of scripture.

Think about it... the Bible is God's word in book form. It's right there, ready to help us, instruct us, lead us, challenge us. But most of us (including and especially me) don't use it much, if at all. I'm a person who's always wanting to know God's will so I know what to do in/with my life, I want to know what my calling is, and am left clueless... but it's my own fault! God reveals truth through this word, which is always available to me. All I have to do is pick it up and read it (well, study it really. A surfacy reading may not do me as much good).

But I cannot do God's calling for me outside the study of His word. And when I study He won't just make me able to do His will, but "thoroughly equipped," competently competent! So a benefit of studying scripture isn't just having a clear direction/goal, but having the tools to accomplish that goal in a spectacular way!

...all that is to say, WOW, God has given us this marvelous gift, this incredible tool called the Bible, and we need to use it. We should never forget the remarkableness (if that is a word) of what God has already done for us, even specifically through scripture. We have a whole road map in handy leather bound format. Let's try using it.

So our first lesson: Realize this... "Holy cow. We have God's word."