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    SPRING 2012

    DIGITAL

    MAGAZINE

    Trusting and

    Understanding

    the Bible

    God Revealed

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    Christian Bible Studies Digital ispublished twice a year by ChristianityToday. 2012 Christianity Today.

    Managing Editor

    JoHannah Reardon

    Publisher

    Carol Thompson

    Art Director

    Mary Bellus

    Editorial Coordinator

    Ashley Moore

    Marketing

    Cory WhiteheadBeatrice Rusu

    Advertising

    Peggy GomezWalter HegelToks Olawoye

    Production

    Cindy CronkTheresa Phillips

    Unless otherwise specified, Scripturereferences are from the Holy BibleNew International Version. NIV.Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 byInternational Bible Society. Used bypermission of Zondervan PublishingHouse. All rights reserved.

    Contact us:

    [email protected]

    www.ChristianBibleStudies.com

    23

    24

    28

    31

    [Video]

    The Skinny on theBible

    [Article]

    Put Your Bible Downfor a DayBy Dennis Stout

    [Article]

    Is That in the Bible?From Kyria.com

    [Resources]

    RecommendedWebsites

    4

    10

    11

    16

    18

    [Article]

    Why You Can Set YourLife by the BibleBy Elesha Coffman

    [Video]

    The Book

    [Article]

    How to Get the MostOut of the BibleBy Donald E. Hartley

    [Quotations]

    Wise Thoughts

    [Article]

    4 Things to Keep inMind When Readingthe BibleBy Stan Guthrie

    CONTENTS

    WelcometoChristianBibleS

    tudies.comsfirstdigital

    magazine.Aspartofourten-y

    earanniversary,this

    isourgifttoyou.Pleaseperus

    ethearticles,videos,and

    resourcesandpassitontoon

    eandall.Wehopethatitwill

    encourageyourfaithintheBi

    bleandtheGodwhoinspired

    it.ChristianBibleStudies.comi

    sasitewithover1,000Bible

    studiesthatyoucandownload

    instantlytoyourcomputer.

    AsapartofChristianity

    Today,ourcommitmenttoand

    scholarshipoftheBibleisourhallmark.Comevi

    situstoday!

    www.christianitytoday.com/

    biblestudies

    JoHannahReardon,Man

    agingEditor

    Trusting and Understanding the Bible

    God Revealed

    SPRING 2012

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I T A L M A G A Z I N E4

    How can we be sure that

    the words in the Bible

    are really the words of

    God? Common doubts about the

    biblical text include:

    Its so oldit must have

    changed over time.

    Original copies of themanuscripts dont even exist

    anymore. Anyone could have

    made it up.

    If we knew what the original

    texts really said, we wouldnt

    need so many different

    translations.

    The Bible invites these kinds

    of arguments because it makes

    such outrageous claimsthat it

    contains the words of Almighty

    God, that it is absolutely true and

    trustworthy, and that it is the

    foundation for all Christian be-

    liefs. Fortunately for us, the Bible

    also has some incredibly power-

    ful defenders: generations of

    faithful scribes, an army of tex-

    tual scholars, and God himself.

    BIBLE TEXTS HAVE ALWAYS

    BEEN IN GOOD HANDS.

    Bible manuscripts were hand

    copied from ancient times

    Set YouLife

    why you can

    by the Biblby Elesha Coffman

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E 5

    through the Middle Ages. This

    might sound like the textual

    equivalent of the party game

    Telephone, but these copyists,

    called scribes, were

    professionals, and they tooktheir job extremely seriously.

    Jewish scribes, who kept up

    the Old Testament scrolls for

    centuries, had a nearly foolproof

    system for making perfect

    copies. First, a scribe would

    count the number of letters on

    the page to be copied. When hehad finished his copy, he would

    count the number of letters on

    the new page and make sure it

    matched the original. Two or

    three other scribes would then

    check the copied page.

    Christian scribes also took

    great pains in creating andproofing their pages. The

    gorgeous lettering and elaborate

    artwork in many medieval Bibles

    attest to hours of intense effort.

    Most scholars are amazed at

    how well the scribes system

    worked. With the momentous

    discovery of the Dead SeaScrolls in the 1940s and 50s,

    some people looked forward to

    exposing discrepancies between

    the ancient Dead Sea manu-

    scripts and the more familiar

    later texts. In fact, while the

    Dead Sea Scrolls have prompted

    a few shifts in biblical scholar-

    ship, they mainly served to

    affirm that Christians already

    had excellent texts.

    Why did the scribes take such

    good care of these texts?Because God told them to.

    Deuteronomy 6:4, the founda-

    tional statement of Jewish belief

    (called the Shema), is followed

    by instructions for the treatment

    of Gods Word (through verse 9).

    Religious Jews still wear leather

    pouches with scrolls inside ontheir arms and foreheads when

    they pray (see verse 8).

    You dont make mistakes with

    something that valuable.

    THE BIBLES GOOD HANDSNETWORK HAS ALWAYS

    INCLUDED SOME PRETTYDISCERNING MINDS, TOO.At its best, textual scholarship

    refines written works by

    comparing different versions to

    determine the most reliable

    manuscripts, giving special

    weight to older versions and

    versions of which more copiesexist. At its worst, textual

    scholarship undermines written

    works by attacking them with

    radical skepticism and biased

    agendas. Sadly, some people

    have used such bad scholarship

    to suggest that the Bible is u

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E6

    totally unreliable or that obscure

    texts, particularly those that

    support unorthodox beliefs, are

    better than standard texts.

    The average Christian will

    never know enough about

    textual scholarship to sort all of

    this out. Thats okay, though,

    because specialists have been

    on the job for centuriesand it

    hasnt been easy. But we havepassages such as 2 Timothy

    3:1417 to reassure us.

    Within decades of Pauls

    letter to Timothy, dozens if not

    hundreds of Christian and

    pseudo-Christian manuscripts

    were circulating throughout the

    Near East. Disagreements overwhich manuscripts were the

    best prompted church leaders to

    begin ranking them, prizing

    those written closest to the time

    of Jesus, those written by

    people with direct connections

    to Jesus, and those that stayed

    truest to the teachings of Jesus. In

    A.D. 367, Bishop Athanasius of

    Alexandria wrote an official letter

    listing the 27 books that he and

    other church authorities believed

    should become the ChristianScriptures. Those 27 books

    became the New Testament we

    still use today.

    The next big moment in Bible

    text history came a few years later,

    with the efforts of a grumpy but

    brilliant scholar named Jerome.

    Lots of Latin translations of Scrip-ture were floating around in his

    day, not all of them good. Jerome

    was asked to create a standard

    version so all Christian churches

    could, literally, get on the same

    page. He nailed down the New

    Testament, working from well-

    known Greek manuscripts, thentook the extra step of learning

    Hebrew to do the Old Testament.

    (Latin scholars before him usually

    worked from Greek translations of

    the Hebrew, meaning they got all

    of their texts secondhand.)

    Jeromes translation, the

    Vulgate (meaning common),remained the standard for more

    than 1,000 years. Great as it was,

    though, it wasnt perfect. During

    the Renaissance, when many

    ancient manuscripts were re-

    discovered in the West, scholars

    like Erasmus (c. 14691536) went

    The churchrecognized the

    books that the Holy

    Spirit was using to

    change lives.

    u

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E8

    back to the originals and

    improved on Jeromes work.

    A flurry of Bibles in common

    European languages followed.

    Some, like the King James

    Version, were based mostly on

    Jeromes work. Others, like

    William Tyndales Bible, were

    based on a fresh reading of the

    original texts. Debates over the

    different versions grew bitter,

    but there is no question that all

    of this work brought Christians

    closer to understanding what the

    biblical writers actually wrote,

    and what they meant by it.

    GODS HAND REMAINS ON

    THE BIBLE.

    If the Bible were any other text,

    the testimony of the faithful

    scribes and textual scholars

    would be enough to prove its

    authenticity. But the stakes are

    immeasurably high for the Bible

    because Christians set their life

    by it. People may still wonder,

    Athanasius sounds like a great

    guy, but how can we be sure he

    picked the right books for the

    New Testament? What if there

    are other books, or older

    manuscripts, or passages

    that translators are totally

    wrong about?

    Lets remember that

    Athanasius didnt make an

    arbitrary

    decision. The

    books he listed

    were already

    commonly used

    throughout the church, not in the

    order he listed them, and not con-

    sistently, but there already was

    broad consensus on which books

    were inspired by God for the

    churchs use. Athanasius merely

    solidified a movement that had

    been developing for 300 years. The

    church recognized the books and

    letters that the Holy Spirit was

    using to change lives for Christ.

    Read Romans 1:16 and Galatians

    1:111 to help you see the validity

    of Pauls letters.

    Ultimately, of course, the re-

    sponsibility for the Bible lies with

    God. Only he knows his message

    perfectly and can make perfectly

    sure that his people receive it.

    Christians take this on faith. The

    Bible is amazing because it con-

    tains Gods communication with

    his people. Questions about the

    text are important only because

    the texts message is so absolutely

    vital. We need to know how to de-

    fend the Bible from critics and

    deepen our own understanding of

    Christianitys sacred text.

    Elesha Coffman is an assistant professorof history at Waynesburg University inWaynesburg, PA.

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    0 C H RI S T I AN BI BL E S T UD I ES D I G I T A L M AG AZI N E

    The Book

    The Book from Visual Reality is

    available at PreachingToday.com.

    Now Icommit you to God and tothe word of his grace, which can build

    you up and give you an inheritance

    among all those who are sanctified.

    Acts 20:32

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I T A L M A G A Z I N E 11

    uby Donald E. Hartley

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E2

    How can you get

    maximum information

    out of the Bible

    applicable to your life? Here

    are five tips:

    1.LEARN HOW TO READBETTER. Purchase Howto Read a Bookby Mortimer

    Adler. It tells you how to read

    various genres of literature and

    introduces you to essential skills

    for conducting in-depth

    research. Essentially, bookstudy methods are the same

    whether one applies them to

    Descartes Discourses or to

    Pauls epistle to the Ephesians.

    Acquiring this skill is

    important because the Bible has

    many books and genres. There

    is historical, poetic, prophetic,gospel, epistle, and even

    apocalyptic literature in the

    Bible. Each has its own

    language, expectations, and

    assumptions. Sometimes these

    genres are mixed in one book.

    You might have poetry in an

    epistle or prophecy in a gospelor apocalyptic passages in a

    prophetic book.

    Helpful companions to

    Adlers book include Fee and

    Stewarts How to Read the Bible

    for All Its Worth and How to

    Read the Bible Book by Book.

    2.READ MULTIPLEVERSIONS. Whichparticular translation you use

    is not as important as having

    several at your disposal.

    Different translations uti-

    lize various translational

    philosophies, but its not

    necessary for you to know the

    technicalities of these various

    approaches in order to learn

    from the differences. For any

    passage or book of the Bible, it

    is critical, especially if you dont

    know the original languages, to

    get a broad spectrum of

    translational options. Without

    knowing Greek, for example,

    you can see various differences

    in John 3:16 by comparing the

    KJV with the NET Bible.

    TheKJV reads, For God so

    loved the world, that he gave

    his only begotten Son, that

    whosoever believeth in him

    should not perish, but have

    everlasting life.

    The NET reads, For this is the

    way God loved the world: He

    gave his one and only Son, so

    that everyone who believes in

    him will not perish but have

    eternal life.

    One difference you may notice

    is that the KJV advances a

    quantitative aspect to Gods love

    (God so loved the world), but

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I T A L M A G A Z I N E 13

    theNET emphasizes manner

    (this is the way God loved the

    world). Again, you might not

    grasp the Greek rationale

    behind these differences, but

    you can clearly see a differ-ence emerging and ask why,

    helping you to think through

    what the verse actually means.

    Another difference is the

    translation whosoever

    believeth in the KJV versus

    everyone who believes in the

    NET Bible. The emphasis goesfrom the universal whoever to

    the particular everyone. Is this

    passage referring generally to

    whoever, or more specifically to

    everyone who believes?

    So, have a half dozen or so

    Bible translations at hand. Two

    books that may help youdetermine which English

    translations you might prefer

    are Bruce Metzgers The Bible

    in Translation: Ancient and

    English Versions and Paul

    Wegners The Journey from

    Text to Translation.

    3.THINKTHEOLOGICALLY.Reading different versions may

    help you think theologically or

    alert you to significant

    theological ideas, giving you

    opportunities to ask questions

    of the text. Dont be afraid to ask

    questions. Write them down.

    Keep a journal. Get a good Bible

    dictionary or use an online tool

    such as Biblos.com.

    If we go back to John 3:16, forexample, we might ask what the

    KJV signifies by the translation

    only begotten. On the other

    hand, what does one and only

    Son suggest and how does this

    differ from only begotten? And

    in what sense are we sons of

    God in a way that differs fromhow Jesus is the Son of God?

    4.BE CURIOUS.Notranslation of any

    language (including English) isinspired. Only the originalautographs are inspired, and we

    possess approximately 5,700Greek copies of the originalsdating as early as A.D. 125. Thesecan be deciphered (through thescience of textual criticism) toapproximately 99.9 percentaccuracy in terms of recoveringthe wording of the original

    autographs. This is to saynothing of early versions andquotations of church fathers.

    By looking at several ver-

    sions, you can take advantage of

    the wisdom that went into

    translating each one. You may

    initially be fearful of conflicts u

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E4

    arising from differing versions.

    But this ought not to be a source

    of confusion, fear, or withdrawal

    into a world of one English

    translation. Learn from many

    of them.

    5.BE PRACTICAL. When

    reading or studying a

    biblical text, it is easy to get

    caught up in particulars and

    lose the big picture or the

    practical application. But life

    change is the ultimate reason tostudy the Scriptures.

    Back to John 3:16. How do we

    know God loves us? We can

    point to a concrete fact in

    history. Love is an action based

    not on how much we say we love

    someone or how much we feel

    or how much passion we exude.

    The bottom line is what we do.

    The phrase that says Jesus is

    the one and only or unique

    Son of God will inevitably lead

    you to his particular relationshipwith the Father and his intrinsic

    deity. The Son is unique because

    he is God. As someone has said,

    it took the unique Son of God to

    become the Son of Man so that

    sons of men might become the

    sons of God. Jesus was not

    simply a great creature or eventhe greatest of creatures. He

    was God the Son in a way that

    no one else could be a son. But

    nevertheless, I am a son in a

    way that makes me part of the

    family of God.

    Also, God demonstrated his

    love for us by sending his uniqueSon, the eternal SonGod the

    Sonto die on our behalf so

    that either whoever or

    anyone might be enabled to

    trust him and have eternal life.

    By following these five

    suggestions, you may go from

    just reading the Bible totransforming your life. There

    may be some bumps in the road,

    but that is what makes any trip

    memorable and meaningful.

    Donald E. Hartley is assistant professorof Bible & theology at SoutheasternBible College in Birmingham, AL.

    Whenstudyinga biblical text, it

    is easy to lose the

    big picture. Life

    change is the

    ultimate reason

    to study the

    Scriptures.

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E6

    wisethoughts

    Read the Bible, read the

    Bible! Let no religious book

    take its place. Through all

    my perplexities and dis-

    tresses, I seldom read anyother book, and I as rarely felt

    the want of any other.

    William Wilberforce

    The Bible without the Holy Spirit is a

    sundial by moonlight.

    Dwight L. Moody

    Man shall not live on bread

    alone, but on every word that

    comes from the mouth of God.

    Matthew 4:4

    The grass withers and the flowers fall,

    but the word of our God endures forever.Isaiah 40:8

    For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than

    any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing

    soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and

    attitudes of the heart.

    Hebrews 4:12

    An honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is

    sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly.

    A. W. Tozer

    Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who

    take refuge in him.

    Proverbs 30:5

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E8

    Many of us revere the

    Bible, but there is a

    disconnect between

    what we say about Scripture

    and howor ifwe actually use

    it. The Bible might be theworlds least-read bestseller.

    Yet even if we manage to ac-

    tually crack open this book, we

    have not yet overcome the dis-

    connect. Thats because we read

    it not as Gods Word, allowing it

    to transform us on its terms, but

    for what we can get out of it. Or

    we allow our academic bent to

    crowd out what God is saying to

    us. We need to read Scripture as

    God intendsin a believing

    community, looking to Chris-tians who have grappled with

    these issues before, and with

    Christ at the center.

    So how do we allow Scripture

    to judge us, rather than the

    other way around? Keep in

    mind these principles.

    Thin

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I T A L M A G A Z I N E 19

    1.THE BIBLE TAKES

    WORK. Far too often

    we either look at the Bible as

    an answer book for our pet

    issues or study it academically

    but forget to apply it to our

    lives as Gods authoritative

    Word. We need to combat

    both tendencies.

    Either way, we have to

    intentionally work hard at

    interpreting and applying the

    Bible. Paul instructed Timothy

    in this two millennia ago, in 2

    Timothy 2:15. And verses 1113

    keep the focus on Christ and

    should affect how we live.

    2.THE BIBLE JUDGES

    US. Author J. Todd

    Billings notes two approaches

    many Christians have to the

    Bible: the blueprint and the

    smorgasbord. In the first, were

    just looking for confirmation of

    our prejudices. With the u

    by Stan Guthrie

    to Keep in Mind

    When Readingsthe

    Bible

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E20

    second, the Bible becomes

    the answer book for our

    felt needs and personal

    perspectives. With both the

    blueprint and smorgasbord

    approaches, we end up usingScripture for our own

    purposes.1 We need to put

    Scripture in the drivers seat.

    Hebrews 4:1213 makes

    clear that Scripture should not

    be used for selfish ends. Verse

    12 helps us overcome a selfish

    hermeneutic and verse 13forces us to recognize our

    spiritual nakedness before

    God. We must let Gods

    sword slash us without

    becoming mortally wounded.

    Billings also says we need

    to regain a sense of the place

    of Scripture in Gods drama ofredemption, and to enter into

    the task of reading Scripture

    with openness to being

    reformed and reshaped by God

    on our path of dying to the old

    self and living into our identity

    in Christ. Second Timothy

    3:1517 lists the benefitsavailable to those who study

    the Word. It reveals that the

    Word provides what we need to

    be reformed and reshaped.

    3.THE BIBLE IS FORGODS PEOPLE. Oftenwe think that the best way to

    read the Bible is individually

    and certainly there is nothingwrong with learning and

    reading the Word this way. But

    an individual cannot interpret

    Scripture alone. Billings says,

    While sometimes the slogan

    sola scriptura is used to

    justify such an approach, it is a

    serious distortion of thatProtestant principle.

    In 1 Timothy 4:613, Paul

    emphasizes the communal

    aspects of Scripture. He tells

    Timothy that if he has been

    nourished on the truths of the

    faith and of the good teaching

    that you have followed, he willbe a good teacher of others in

    the church (v. 6). There is a

    relationship between what

    goes in and what goes out.

    What Timothy was taught, he

    is to teach others.1 How to Read the Bible, by J. Todd Billings,

    Christianity Today, October 2011

    How do we alus, rather than the

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E 21

    4.THE BIBLE IS ABOUTJESUS. Finally, we needto read Scripture Christologi-

    cally. The risen Jesus showed

    the way to two downcast dis-ciples who failed to see their

    Lord in the Hebrew Scriptures

    (Luke 24:2527). Jesus repri-

    manded those who read the Old

    Testament but do not see him

    there (v. 25). The Old Testament

    is filled with foreshadows and

    direct prophecies of Jesus. He iswritten of throughout the whole

    Bible and we must read it that

    way to understand it.

    So to sum it up, we need to

    read the Bible in a way that en-

    sures our head knowledge finds

    its way down into our hearts. We

    often approach the Word for whatit can do for us. But the Word is

    meant not just to comfort and

    help us (though often it does) but

    to transform us. It will not be

    easy, but it will be worth it.

    Stan Guthrie is a Christianity Todayeditor at large and blogs at

    stanguthrie.com.

    TRY IT

    w Scripture to judge

    ther way around?

    Set aside 3060 minutes

    this week to inductivelystudy John 1:118,

    applying the above points.

    Use a study Bible or some

    other study tool, such as

    Biblos.com. If you are stuck

    on what a passage means,

    contact your pastor or a

    Bible study leader yourespect. Consider the

    following questions:

    What does this passagetell us about the Wordmade flesh?

    Who is the Word?

    Why is he called the

    What are the two basicresponses to the Word?

    What are some ofthe blessings of the

    Word, and how do wereceive them?

    Word?

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    >>

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E

    The Skinny

    on the Bible

    The Skinny on the Bible from Skit Guys is

    available at PreachingToday.com.

    Rather,we have renounced secret and shamefulways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word

    of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly

    we commend ourselves to everyones conscience in thesight of God. 2 Corinthians 4:2

    Do yourbest to present yourself to God as oneapproved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and

    who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

    23

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    by Dennis St

    Dont forget to l

    what you lea

    which is the pointall Bible stud

    Bibleput your

    for a day

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I T A L M A G A Z I N E 25

    At Duke Energy Center in

    Cincinnati, the entire

    west facade is a sign

    comprising 77 lights that spell

    out the word Cincinnati. The

    sign can be seen for miles as it

    adorns the skyline and has

    become somewhat of an icon ofthe city. Upon further inspection,

    I noticed that the lights were not

    lights at all. In fact they are just

    flat panels angled to reflect the

    light below. The result is a huge

    sign that impacts the surround-

    ing community.

    Isnt this our call asChristians as well? Arent we

    supposed to be shining? Jesus

    tells us that we are the light of

    the world. However, we are

    merely reflections, because

    Jesus is the true light of the

    world. Were just mirrors. But

    here is the catch. In order to be

    mirrors for Christ, we must be

    clean, focused on him, and in

    the world. Obviously, a mirror is

    much more effective if it

    doesnt have dirt and grime

    impeding its ability to reflect

    light. I know at my house or onmy car, cleaning the mirrors is

    a regular activity. The spiritual

    parallel is also true in that we

    must continually work to keep

    our mirrors clean. Second, we

    must focus on Jesus if we want

    to reflect him. We can have the

    cleanest mirror in the county,but if it is not trained on Jesus,

    the reflection will be in vain. In

    fact, it will be reflecting

    something else, because you

    cant turn off a mirror. It always

    reflects, so take care in

    focusing yours.u

    own

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E26

    Finally, get in the world.

    If you want to shine light on

    something, you must get reason-

    ably close to it. Distance makes

    light less effective, so if you want

    to give light to a lost world, get in

    there and do it. You cant cook

    dinner by staying in the living

    room. You must go into the kitch-

    en where the stove, pots and

    pans, pantry and such are. You

    cant take light to a place into

    which you dont go. It is impor-

    tant to note that Jesus left his

    safe, comfortable, and holy place

    to go into a dark world with the

    gospel of love. If God considered

    it necessary to respond in this

    manner, shouldnt we?

    Let me encourage you to try

    something. For a day, lay down

    your Bible, pick up a tool, and go

    live the Bible. Im not saying

    dont study the Bible. But you

    may be the only Bible that

    someone readsgo live it for

    them, and live it well. The Bible

    does mention Jesus reading

    Scripture and even expounding

    on it. However, the Gospels are

    not about how well Jesus read,

    studied, prayed, or even spoke.

    The Gospels are about the new

    covenant. God knew that this

    new covenant would be mis-

    understood so he brought in the

    big gunJesus. Well, today

    Jesus is back on his throne and

    God chooses to use us as his

    hands, feet, and light. The religious

    leaders of Jesus day did not

    impress God with their knowledge,

    smooth talk, or strict adherence to

    the laws. He was impressed by a

    boy with fish and bread, a

    centurion with simple faith, and a

    lepers genuine appreciation.

    Today, we have the Good News,

    but what do we do with it? Hide it

    under a bushel? No, Im gonna let

    it shine, let it shine, let . . . hmm,

    sorry, I digressed there. But wait,

    arent those our instructions? If we

    are the light of the world, shouldnt

    we be shining? And if we are not

    the true light but simply sharing

    the light of Christ with others,

    doesnt that make us like mirrors

    and our light merely a reflection of

    his light? Like that sign on the

    Duke Energy Center, shouldnt our

    impact on the community be great,

    visible, and even iconic? If we put

    the great commission into todays

    vernacular, it might go something

    like this, Go light your worldwith

    my light. Be a mirror of me to your

    community. Go make a difference.

    Dennis Stout is a 15-year youth

    ministry veteran.

    Jesus lefthis safe,comfortable, and holy place

    to go into a dark world.

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    Answers (the Scriptures quoted are all from the KingJames Version, from whence these phrases originally came)

    CHRISTIAN BIBLE STUDIES DIGITAL MAGAZINE28

    1. OUT OF THE

    MOUTH OF BABES

    True

    False

    2. GOD SAVETHE KING

    True

    False

    3. FEET OF CLAY

    True

    False

    4. THEMILLENNIUM

    True

    False

    5. AT THEIR

    WITS END

    True

    False

    6. FALL BYTHE WAYSIDE

    True

    False

    1. True. Out of the mouth ofbabes . . . hast thou ordainedstrength . . . (Psalm 8:12).Jesus also makes reference inMatthew 21:16 to this passage.

    2. True. You may think theBritish coined this one, but its

    actually the shout of theIsraelites in 1 Samuel 10:24when Samuel introduces Saul,their first king.

    3. True. In Daniel 2:3133, Godgives a detailed description tothe Jewish captive of thebigger-than-life figure in

    Nebuchadnezzars dream whohad, among other things,feet . . . part of clay.

    4. False. Although Revelation20:15 mentions a period of athousand years, the word millen-nium never appears in the Bible.

    5. True. Psalm 107:27 depicts sail-ors caught in a storm as at theirwits end; true of anyone facing aseemingly hopeless situation.

    6. True. The words introduce thesower in Jesus parable (Matthew13:39), who when he sowed,

    Is ThatinMany modern-day phrases are direct or slightly modified quotations fro

    are assumed to be biblical when they actually are not. Can you detect th

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I T A L M A G A Z I N E 29

    A HOUSE DIVIDEDGAINST ITSELF

    True

    False

    PUT WORDS INNES MOUTH

    True

    False

    9. HASTEMAKES WASTE

    True

    False

    10. A DROP INTHE BUCKET

    True

    False

    ome seeds fell by the way side.nlike the modern meaning of the

    hrase, which indicates somethingorgotten, the sowers seeds wereoticed and eaten by birds.

    . True. Abraham Lincoln, runningor the U.S. Senate in 1858,eiterated the wisdom of Jesus

    words to the Pharisees in Matthew2:25, effectively using them to

    oint out the impossibility ofniting slave states and free.

    . True. When King Davids sonbsalom disappeared after

    murdering his brother Amnon,oab (Israels commander-in-hief) hatched a scheme with the

    woman from Tekoah to bring

    father and son back together.As 2 Samuel 14:3 explains, Joab

    put the words in her mouth.

    9. False. It may sound like one ofSolomons proverbs, but BenFranklin penned, Take time forall things: great haste makesgreat waste.

    10. True. How powerful is the

    Lord? According to Isaiah 40:15,hostile nations are as a drop of abucket to him, i.e., inconsequen-tial in the grand scheme of things.Though the meaning remained thesame, the phrase was laterchanged to a drop in the bucket.

    Adapted from Kyria.com.

    theBible?e Bible. But some familiar sayings

    e biblical phrases below?

    KEEPINGSCORE?

    13 correct:Read yourBible more.

    46 correct:Not bad.

    710 correct:Outstanding.

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    C H R I S T I A N B I B L E S T U D I E S D I G I TA L M A G A Z I N E

    Resources

    recommendedwebsites

    Over a thousand downloadable, ready-to-use Bible

    studies for small groups, Sunday school classes,

    or personal devotions from the editors of Christianity Today.

    Everything a small group leader needs to inspire

    life-changing community.

    u

    31

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    Everyday discipleship for Christian women.

    To unite all Christian men from every

    denomination to stand with one another and

    to lift up the name of Jesus Christ.

    Resources