Author: Susan

Simple strategies for navigating scripture

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Christmas might be all packed away, but the search for ornaments on the tree may offer some strategies for navigating scripture.

Have you ever wondered how the Bible all fits together or how to find anything in it? Like locating each ornament on the tree, I’m all about understanding where to find content in the Bible. I think one of the biggest obstacles I faced when first trying to read it was how much time it took to find anything. Then when I did open it, many times the information felt a bit random. I didn’t know how it connected to the rest of the Bible.

As I was putting away Christmas ornaments, I saw similarities to scripture navigation which could prove useful.

All you have to do is find it

Most of the ornaments on our tree don’t have specific boxes they go in. Much of packing up Christmas is about making a space to store all of the holiday decorations. But some do have a specific box they go in, and a handful of those boxes have a picture of the ornament on the front so you know what’s supposed to go inside. Truth be told, those are the easiest ornaments to put away, because a particular ornament goes into a specific box – all you have to do is find the ornament on the tree.

Search becomes a treasure hunt

With the picture on the front of the box, you know what you’re looking for. Now the fun begins as the search becomes a treasure hunt.

I’ve seen that before

Next comes, “I know I’ve seen that somewhere before,” and you try to remember where on the tree you recall having seen the ornament nestled in among the fir branches, lights, and garland.

Sometimes I’ll remember I saw it when I was sitting on the couch looking at the tree, which helps narrow the search area.

How I find it

During the search one of several things generally happens:

I find the ornament right away.

I realize when and approximately where on the tree I remembered catching a glimpse of it.

I do a grand sweep of the whole tree (which rarely unearths the sought-after object).

My husband finds it, but that’s only if I let him know what I’m searching for.

I momentarily stop looking and find a box for another ornament. Eventually the one I was looking for appears.

The process

This year while engrossed in this process, which in some ways is like a game, I noted the similarities to navigating scripture, whether looking for Jesus or another connecting point in the Bible.

Sometimes Jesus’ presence in scripture is obvious, like in the Gospels when He’s with His disciples, and all those red letters highlighting what Jesus said if your Bible references Jesus’ words in red.

Other times His appearance or what I’m looking for isn’t obvious, but I’ll remember that it’s somewhere in the vicinity of or related to another story or passage I’m familiar with.

In other instances, I think about where and when I saw a particular scripture reference last.

What else was I reading at the time?

What other aspect of a passage of scripture do I remember?

Storyline

For example, the book of 1 Samuel begins with Samuel’s mother Hannah, hoping desperately for a child. Her fervent prayers are answered in her son Samuel who grows up to be a servant of God. He anoints the people’s king, Saul and eventually God’s choice for king, David. If we remember Samuel’s role in God appointing a ruler, we have clues to place people like Saul and David in the line up to help us find their stories in the Bible.

Other times I’ll release the search, keeping the concept I’m looking for in the back of my mind, knowing the Holy Spirit will catch my attention at the right time.

Name recognition

Genesis is another great place to establish some name recognition. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are a multigenerational trio that shows up throughout the Bible. Their storylines start in Genesis, but they continue to be mentioned from Exodus into the New Testament. Remembering these three goes a long way to keep us in the know as we read and see them reappear in various places in scripture.

Also, when we see something like “city of David” we can remember that’s connected to the David mentioned in the book of Samuel.

Connecting concepts

Leviticus holds some of the biggest treasure in the Bible, but for now, we’ll just focus on the offerings. In this third book of the Bible, we read about several different types of offerings. Just remembering the reference to these offerings in Leviticus goes a long way toward connecting other concepts in scripture.

Grand sweep

The grand sweep. This works well if you have a Bible with subheadings. It’s also helpful if you’re getting your bearings. You can skim the contents of a few books of the Bible, like all four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, located at the front of the New Testament. A skim of the beginning of these four books of the Bible helped me find the missing manger. I also began to notice the similarities and differences between the Gospels, noting which stories and aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry are covered in each.

A quick view of the Bible

Another way to get your bearings is with a quick overview of the entire Bible. If you’re not sure how to go about approaching the Bible, I have a handy quick view of the Bible. It’s a tri-fold brochure that doubles as a bookmark, offering a quick overview of the whole Bible.

Bible quick view

What’s important is to simply start the process of looking. You’d be amazed at what you’ll find.

So next time you open your Bible, begin your search.

The trouble of reading the Bible and one possible reason we don’t

Piano books and Bible books – an easy way to learn

Two things that kept me from reading the Bible – and what changed my tune

The search for the Christmas story and the missing manger

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Join me as we search for the Christmas story and the missing manger in the Bible and learn a simple way to remember what you find.

This podcast episode was inspired by a two-part blog series, “The Christmas story and the missing manger.” You can read the original posts here:

The Christmas story and the missing manger part 1

The Christmas story and the missing manger part 2

Another podcast episode with a Christmas connection:

Christmas carols in the Scriptures – Angels We Have Heard on High

Christmas carols in the Scriptures – Angels We Have Heard on High

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If we listen to the angels’ song in the sweet carol “Angels We Have Heard on High,” we just might hear echoes of the Christmas story throughout its verses and refrain.

Did you know this Christmas carol takes its cues directly from the nativity story found in the Gospel of Luke? Let’s take a closer look at the source of this song’s inspiration.

Angels We Have Heard on High

In a previous series of Christmas carols in the scriptures, I mentioned how sometimes my Bible study group would read a passage of scripture and try to remember which song had included those verses. With “Angels We Have Heard on High,” I went about it the other way around. I had been looking at the verses and refrain of the song when it dawned on me that this was a summary of part of the Christmas story.

Let’s connect the verses of the song to key verses in scripture.

You may find the angels’ song has more praises to sing than just the glorious refrain.

Christmas story in the carol

“Angels We Have Heard on High” is one of my new favorite carols. I’ve always loved this traditional Christmas carol, but this year I’ve grown even more fond of it.

While reading the story of the birth of Jesus found in the Gospel of Luke and practicing this carol for worship, I discovered something I hadn’t seen before. This traditional hymn is the account of a key aspect of the Christmas story – but maybe not what you thought.

I’ve always thought of it as the angels’ song with the “Gloria” chorus. When I looked at the words of the song in light of the scripture passage, I realized how truly connected they are. I also discovered this song is really the shepherds’ song, or at least covers the experience of the shepherds.

Want to see?

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Verse one introduces the “Angels We Have Heard on High,” sweetly singing, “Gloria in excelsis Deo.”

First of all, who heard the angels? Is that a general “we?” Could mean us, right? That we heard the angels singing “Gloria.” That’s how I understood the song whenever I sang it. More on that in a minute.

What about that Latin phrase in the refrain, “Gloria in excelsis Deo?”

We sang this song recently in church and somebody remarked, “I don’t even know what that means.”

First, how to pronounce it. Did anyone else learn to say the first part of “excelsis” as “eggshells”?

Glory to God in the highest

This phrase means “Glory to God in the highest” and leads us to our first scripture connection.

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’” Luke 2:13-14 NIV

Shepherds praising God

Verse two inquires of the shepherds, why so joyous? What’s this “gladsome tidings” or good news?

Luke 2:20 echoes back this verse.

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:20 NIV

The “Gloria” refrain of the song, “Glory to God in the highest,” also returns as the shepherds add their praises to the celebration of heaven.

These verses, from the Bible, and the song, capture the shepherds’ joy of all they experienced on that holy night. Let’s gather a few more details of their divine encounter.

Good news of a Savior

Prior to a whole host of heaven’s worshipers praising “Glory to God in the highest,” one angel of the Lord startled the shepherds out of their routine reverie of watching their flocks by night to tell them the good news of the Savior’s birth in Bethlehem.

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.’” Luke 2:10-11 NIV

Shepherds go to Bethlehem

The shepherds decided to go to Bethlehem to see for themselves what the angel proclaimed. There they found Mary and Joseph, and the baby Jesus, the Messiah, who was lying in a manger.

After witnessing for themselves what the angel had told them, the shepherds told everyone along the way what they had seen first-hand.

Following their encounter with Jesus, the shepherds sang heaven’s song. The next two verses of the carol clarify what the shepherds experienced.

Come to Bethlehem and see

Verse three of the Christmas carol brings with it the invitation to “Come to Bethlehem and see” the birth of Jesus, who is Christ the Lord.

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” Luke 2:15-16 NIV

The scripture passage reflects their decision to go to Bethlehem and see what the angels sang about, what the first angel told them.

Our invitation

Since the shepherds’ joy is already expressed in verse two of the Christmas carol, “Angels We Have Heard on High,” perhaps the next verse of the song, “Come to Bethlehem and see Him,” is our invitation to meet Jesus at the manger. Have you been? Have you met Jesus in this season and joined in the heavenly praise,

“Glory to God in the highest.”

The song, the shepherds, and our Savior, invite us into the story of Christmas, of Christ’s birth which brings the good news of Jesus to us as well. Come, see what the shepherds saw and add your praise to the celebration.

Glory to God in the highest.

Looking for other Christmas carols in the scriptures?

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – O Holy Night

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – The First Noel

Christmas Carols in the Scriptures – O Come O Come Emmanuel

Two simple strategies to lighten your load

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Need to lighten your load? Consider these two simple strategies.

Too much on your plate

Have you started a week with too much on your plate, worry filling your head with all you needed to accomplish, and no idea how to get it all done?

Ever consider offloading some or all of it to Jesus?

Yeah, me neither. At least not very often, but this week I had another opportunity to do so with encouraging results.

Today I’ll share a few strategies you can implement immediately. That’s what I did.

Two strategies to lighten your load

I came into this week with a lot on my plate. On another occasion, I might have become a bit anxious or worried. This week I took a different approach. I focused on Jesus instead of my full plate.

I want to give you a couple of strategies to help bring your own days into perspective if needed.

Seek His face always and pray continually

Seek Jesus’ face always and pray continually.

Seek His face always.

Pray continually.

The first part comes from the book of 1 Chronicles chapter 16 verse 11 (NIV) in the Old Testament of the Bible. The second passage is from 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17 (NIV) in the New Testament.

Want an even simpler way to remember this?

Focus on Jesus and pray.

Prayer is connection with God

Now if perpetual prayer isn’t your thing, I want to share something else to consider. I like to think of prayer as an active connection with God. When I’m praying or even just about to pray, I am postured toward God. I’m thinking about Jesus, and am either about to speak – or about to listen.

Speaking to God

For today’s example, I’ll focus on the speaking part. Some of the previous episodes give some insight into the listening side. In this case, I have a problem, or a potential problem, and I’m looking for some assistance. I’m sharing my struggle with Jesus in hopes of receiving a solution.

Simply share your thoughts

New to prayer? Just think of it as communicating with God, sharing your thoughts out loud, on paper, or in the quiet of your heart.

Continuously

So here’s the key to this kind of prayer. It’s continuous. This isn’t the one and done prayer, like running an errand, or checking an item off your list. This is an “at any moment you are sharing your thoughts with God” kind of prayer, letting Him know what’s on your mind whenever you want.

Isn’t that comforting? I don’t know about you, but often if I have something weighing me down it’s a constant barrage of unsettled noise and worry. What I’m worried about stays on my mind most of the day.

Tell God how we’re feeling

Praying constantly means we can keep God up to date with how we are feeling about something. Isn’t it nice to have someone to talk to?

Comforting presence

Like a child on the playground whose parent sits nearby. An occasional glance up and the child makes eye contact, remembers the parent who loves this child deeply and is nearby at all times. A comforting presence.

Call out to Jesus

So if something crops up, we can call out to Jesus. Which leads us right into the first phrase, to seek His face.

When we seek His face, we focus on Jesus.

Focus on Jesus

When we focus on Jesus, we aren’t focused on our problem or struggle.

Recently I found myself momentarily dwelling on an extensive to do list.

I consciously shifted my thoughts to something like, “Hey Jesus, this is too much. Can you hold these for me?”

Share what you feel

Admittedly, I didn’t say those words out loud. What I want you to see is that I said it how I was feeling it. When you’re bearing your heart to Jesus, just share it as you feel it. That’s what the Psalmists did in the Bible, raw emotions and all.

Psalm 25

Take this example from Psalm 25, a Psalm of David addressed to the Lord. From verses 16 and 17 of the New International Version:

“Turn to me and be gracious to me,
  for I am lonely and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart
  and free me from my anguish.” Psalm 25:16-17 NIV

So in that moment when I was overwhelmed, I shared how I felt.

Peace

And there it was. A pause. A moment of silence from the onslaught of tasks, responsibilities, and self-imposed expectations.

Instead of stress, I had a moment of peace.

There’s a verse in the Bible about that too, Psalm 46 verse 10.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

Be still.

Pause.

Feel the peace that comes with releasing the burden of whatever was weighing you down.

May you always remember Jesus is ready and able to lighten your load.

Recent episode of the Encouraging Voice Podcast:

A simple way to listen for and recognize God speaking

A simple way to listen for and recognize God speaking

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:28 — 5.1MB)

Have you ever paused to take in a view of a beautiful sunset, felt a refreshing breeze, or received a word of encouragement from someone at just the right moment?

These are a few of the ways God speaks to us.

Hearing God speak into our lives

I’ve had conversations with friends about hearing God speak into our lives. Usually someone wants to hear Him more but isn’t sure how to go about it.

God is speaking

Did you know God is always speaking to us? So it’s not whether or not God is speaking, but whether we hear Him when He does.

A simple way to listen and recognize God speaking

So today I wanted to share a simple way to listen for and recognize when God is speaking to us that will hopefully help you hear Him more in your own life as well.

Let me share with you one way I seek to hear God speak. Maybe you’ll find something that works for you too.

Listening to God

I spoke on a panel about listening to God and was asked what that looks like for me. I shared the example of a gift bag.

A gift bag

When we receive a gift bag, often two factors come into play:

Who it’s from

What’s in it

Maybe you, like me, at one time have been surprised to receive a gift bag and didn’t initially know who it was from. A quick glance at the tag tells us who it’s from. A look inside shows us what’s in it. Isn’t it true that sometimes there’s more than one gift inside?

Good gifts

How about when we recognize the name on the tag as someone who gives really good gifts? We’re excited to receive the gift before we even know what’s inside. And as we open it, we might even anticipate there to be more than one gift.

This is how I like to think of listening to God.

He gives good gifts and there’s always more if we keep looking.

God gives good gifts. There’s always more if we keep looking.

How to recognize God sent it

So back to the tag on the gift bag. It tells us who it’s from. So in order to know we’ve received a gift from God, we have to recognize that He’s the one who sent it.

How do we do that?

Practice and remembrance

Through practice and remembrance. We make a habit of listening for God and take note of the moments when He does say something to us. This provides us with a foundation of what that looks and sounds like. Then we’re more apt to look for or notice when it occurs.

Repetition brings familiarity

Repetition brings familiarity. The more we listen the more we’ll hear and discover various ways God speaks to us whether through circumstances, people, or our Bible, just to name a few.

Expectation invites opportunity

Expectation invites opportunity. If we approach our day expecting to hear from God, we have a greater chance of observing when He does.

A recent gift

Here’s one example:

Recently God showed me the gift of timing. One day my schedule unexpectedly changed which beautifully orchestrated running into a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. It also provided an opportunity to encourage someone. Rather than be disappointed with the change in my day, I saw the gift of this unforeseen schedule shift as a divine appointment.

Recognize the gift

Here’s a side benefit. Once I recognized this gift of timing, I was open to the possibility of other perfect timing moments in my day.

God did not disappoint.

Some were little, like reading a page in a book that connected to an experience in real life. Others were more significant, like an opportunity to speak encouragement into another person’s life. I also heard back from people I had reached out to – which was encouraging to me.

What gifts have you received?

How about you? Have you ever noticed the gift of God’s timing in your life? Did you recognize it to be a gift from God?

What other gifts have you received from Him?

Gospel of John

The Gospel writer John shares the words of Jesus in chapter 10.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” John 10:14 NIV

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27 NIV

And John should know. He spent a lot of time with Jesus as one of His disciples.

Know God’s voice

In order to know God’s voice, we simply familiarize ourselves with it. One way is through the Bible which is God’s Word. What better way to know it’s His voice than to receive it straight from the source?

A quick view of the Bible

If you’re not sure how to go about approaching the Bible, I have a handy quick view of the Bible. It’s a tri-fold brochure that doubles as a bookmark, offering a quick overview of the whole Bible.

Bible quick view

Expect God to speak

If we approach our day expecting God to speak to us, we are more likely to recognize when He does.

The more we listen for Him to speak, the more aware we are of His voice, and the more likely we are to hear Him. We discover He’s been speaking to us all along. Then we can open our hearts to hear what else He has to share with us.

How has God spoken to you?

I think we can help each other through example. What are some of the ways God has spoken to you?

When we express gratitude to Him for the gifts we’ve been given, we begin a conversation with God.

May you notice additional ways God is already speaking to you.

More thoughts on how God speaks:

How to hear from God – where to look

Are we listening for ways God is speaking?

Recent episode of the Encouraging Voice Podcast:

Unexpected way Holy Spirit speaks