Secret Church

For the first time in over a month Colin and I were able to stay in San Angelo long enough to go to church. Over the past year and a half, my relationship with God has grown into something that I only heard people talk about. I never thought that I would get to a place in my own life where I would be able to feel what I witnessed in other Christian's lives. So going to the great church that we go to gets me excited! It is not about going to go, but about going and learning. Wanting to grow in God's word and gaining more and more knowledge about what it means to live like Christ. Something that I am trying daily to be better at.

William and Gwyn have taught a small groups class for the last year and we have been through two of their classes. "Uprising" and "iChurch", both were amazing! But we have missed out on this current study. It is through the Secret Church and it is on "How to Study the Bible". Might sound kind of lame to some, but oh my gosh! We were only in just one class and it has already changed the way that I am reading my Bible. I think that it has been easy for me to get into the habit of just reading the daily portion of the yearly Bible, praying and then marking it off. Some days things jump out at me, certain verses or things I never knew, but now I want to make the effort to change the way I read through each section. I need to get over reading all for that certain day and calling it good, and really read it. Find out who it was written for, why, when, ect. If I only read two or three verses that needs to be good enough. I just want to fully understand what God is trying to say.

One topic that was hit in Sunday's class was how people will change the true meaning of a passage or a verse to justify what they are doing or their actions, or say that what they are reading was written so long ago how could it mean the same thing today. Well, I would like to believe that my God is a great a everlasting God, and he is all knowing. So when He lead whoever to write whatever he knew that I would be reading it some day. Therefore, what was written way back when was in fact written for me here in the now and it pertains to our current lifestyle. Twisting and turning verses and passages into what you think they should mean is a risky tactic.

Just one last thing. If you are finding that reading the Bible is like taking an old English class in college, you are not alone! I have and NIV Bible that was given to me as a graduation gift, and that is pretty easy to read. But then I picked up the New Living Translation and once I did, I couldn't put it down. There is also the Message Bible and that just could be the easiest version I have ever ever ever read! I find it neat to compare the differences of each one and see how one verse is translated from one to the other.

Colin and I get to go back to San Angelo again this weekend and I really can't wait to sit down with my Bible, study guide and pen and see what the Lord shows me!