Bible Reading Tips with Melanie Alexander

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.