Category Archives: Bible_Reading

>How Do You Spend Time with God?

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 Angelus, Jean.François Millet 1859

Part of the BIG changes that came to my life when God opened my eyes to the Doctrines of Grace, is a disciplined spiritual life. Before that  I was always in a roller coaster of prayer and Bible reading, never constant, always feeling guilty about it; The truth is that I tried to maintain a life of prayer based on my emotions and not on the Word which is impossible to do. The Lord had dealt graciously with me; He has opened my eyes to see and my ears to hear and my prayer life as well as my Bible reading time have grown, little by little but steady… “not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” (Phil. 3:12)
I would like to share here what has been helpful to me  (please, note that I am  not saying this the way YOU should do it, but this is the way it has worked for ME) to battle against my flesh which sometimes seems so weary and tired, and distracted.
First I started to wake up earlier every morning. Every. Day. Every. Day. Yes, it is not always easy but the Lord has helped me with that. I found that if I didn’t set a time at the beginning of my day to start right with God, I would not be able to do it later during the day.
Second, I learned that in order to be awake and not be distracted by all the thoughts  and to-do lists that seem to attack my mind whenever I start my devotions, I needed to be FULLY engaged in my time with God; so I started to bring a pen and journal, along with my Bible and some prayer books, to my devotional time.
My devotions look a little bit like this; I read the bible, take notes, pray over that Scripture, I jot down my thoughts again. I take time to review my memory Bible verses, (I have a system with post-it tags to know which ones I should review and which one I am learning right now); again I pray over those verses. Many times I use prayers guides such as Valerie’s prayer guide, or prayer books like The Valley of Vision or A Diary of Private Prayer. How do I use these books? Well, I read a paragraph, or even a line, and then I stop to make it mine, adding my own words to that prayer, which I also like to write down, on the margins or on my journal.
My favorite prayer book is A Method for Prayer. Freedom in the Face of God, by Matthew Henry. O how I love this prayer guide! It has different sections to it, and again I have little post-its to help me find each section and I move them as I walk through the guide. Again, I stop, ponder about it, add my own words, and then I write down a prayer.
All these have been a great help to me, I am not distracted, I pray longer, and I really meditate on God’s Word. I find it refreshing to come daily to the Lord’s table and eat His Words which are sweeter than honey and keep them in my heart.
For this, I am grateful today. 
Lord, I thank you, for helping me build a disciplined prayer life; thank you for bringing me to your Word, for opening my eyes to see and my ears to hear you. Thank you, because you have called me to sit at your feet and drink from the Living Water that satisfies my soul.

How do you spend time with God? 
Would you share with us, so that we may be encouraged to persevere? 

Related Posts:

Daniel’s Prayer
God’s Sovereignty in the Gospel of Luke
On Prayer and C. H Spurgeon
The Secret of the Believer’s Boldness  (A guest post by Christina Langela)
Lord, Teach us to Pray (A guest post by Diane @ Theology for Girls)
A House of Prayer

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>Time to Study Philippians -Week Four-

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Greetings to the ladies of our Philippians study!

Welcome to Week Four~ This study and the following lessons, for the next four weeks, will be a condensed version of Mining God’s Word – How To Study the Bible; Foundation Series by Bethlehem College and Seminary Press. I highly recommend that you purchase your own workbook at www(dot)bethlehemcollegeandseminary(dot)org – it would be a great tool for you to have!

Let us look at Proverbs 31 to begin our study. 

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than Jewels…She opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” (Pr. 31:1, 26-28)

May we be wives who are more precious than jewels, and with whom our husbands’ hearts can rest.

Homework from last week’s study:

Did everyone find five questions to write down concerning Philippians 1:12-26? I will list some of mine. You may have different ones, but you also may have the same. Did your questions encourage you to look further to find the answers?

Thinking about verse 1:12, did the Philippians think that Paul’s imprisonment would keep the gospel from spreading because of what happened to him? That they would be fearful? It sounds like Paul may be answering this concern by telling the Philippians that his imprisonment has actually been beneficial for the spread of the gospel. (1:12-14)

Are you curious as to whom “all the rest” are in verse 13?

Why would someone want to preach Christ (vs.15) if they do not love Christ? It looks like they want to get Paul into even more trouble than he already is! (vs.17)

Why was Paul concerned about not being ashamed, “…that it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage, now as always Christ would be honored in my body whether by life or by death.” (20-21)? Have others been ashamed? Have they brought shame unto the Lord Jesus by their actions?

Why is Paul revealing to the Philippians the tug-of-war that is raging in his heart about wanting to die and be with Christ and yet live for the sake of the Philippians (vs. 21-24)? I think it shows us how close the saints at Philippi and Paul were to each other, that he should share with them such a deep, personal, battle he was experiencing.

A summary for Philippians 1:12-26:

I believe Paul is encouraging the Philippians that his imprisonment has actually been a good thing – the gospel has spread, and it has made other brothers more confident, or bold, in speaking of Jesus Christ. Also, Paul lets the Philippians know that he is sure he will return to them.

We have already spoken a little bit about context. Context is what is happening around the verse, or verses, we are looking at, that will help us determine the meaning of our text. But, how many verses surrounding our text should we look to find the context? The verse before or after our text? Two verses before or after? The chapter before or after? The entire book? It can be a bit confusing and overwhelming, but it is something we should pay attention to.

There is a term ‘canonical interpretation’ which means that we view a specific text in relation to how it fits into the Bible as a whole. Scripture cannot and does not contradict itself. (We may not understand what is being said if we think parts do not fit together.) This means that the New Testament was written in light of the words, promises, and actions of the Old Testament. Remember, in Paul’s day, there was no New Testament. The Old Testament is what the Jews memorized and quoted from. Jesus and his disciples knew the OT and it guided their lives, thoughts and actions. So, as we read our New Testaments, and we notice that a part of Scripture is referencing an Old Testament passage, it is good for us to go back into the OT, check the reference and see what was occurring at the time it was written.

So, let’s look at two passages: Matthew 4:1-4 and Deuteronomy 8:1-10.  As you read these two passages, I want you to be looking for words that are repeated in both. On a piece of paper, write down the words written in both passages. (Be sure to know your contexts!) Do that and then come back to class and I’ll walk us through this.

Words that are the same (or very similar):Led, wilderness, tempted (tested), forty, hungry, Son, command, bread.(Our translations might have this list slightly different, but they should be close.)

Why do you think Jesus quoted this passage from Deuteronomy when Satan was tempting him? The Deuteronomy passage is talking about how God has cared for His chosen people, the Israelites. He is making a covenant with them; He is telling them what they need to do, (vs. 1, 2, 6) and reminding them what He will do – how He loves them and how He will bless them. However, did the Israelites obey their side of the covenant? Were they faithful to their God? No.

In Matthew, Jesus is using this OT scripture, to show that He is the faithful Israelite. Jesus does in the wilderness what the Israelites were supposed to do, but failed. And what is that? To humble himself and rely on God’s promises to care for Him – to keep the commands of God! And Jesus obeyed even greater than they. He does not use his own ability as the second person of the Triune God, to care for himself. Rather, He completely humbles himself to the will of God. His obedience, here and on the cross, redeems God’s people from sin, and is leading them into the Promised Land. (Amen!)

Seeing Matthew in light of the OT passage gives the scene between Satan and Jesus a broader, and clearer meaning.

Our homework for this week will follow along this idea. Most of our Bibles have notes that cross-reference Scripture with other Scripture. Sometimes it is only words that are repeated, and sometimes the cross-reference is to an idea, or theme. We will use Philippians 1:27 –2:11 for this week’s homework and practice using our cross-referencing.

Day 1) Read Phil. chapters 1 & 2, then go back and read Phil. 1:27 – 2:11. Re-read these verses a few times. Begin to look up the cross-references listed in your Bibles regarding these passages. Can you find any Old Testament references? Record on paper what you are finding.

2) Continue to look up the cross-references, and record what you find.

3) Continue to study your cross-references. There is at least one OT cross-reference. Be sure to get the context for the cross-reference by reading the entire chapter in the OT. What is happening in the OT?

Day 4) As you examine your OT cross-reference, write down what relevance you think it has to our NT passage. Does it answer any questions? Does it clarify any statements? Does it broaden our understanding of our verses in Philippians?

Day 5) Write down a summary of what you think this passage in Philippians is saying.
And we’re finished!

Thank you ladies, for studying and making God’s Word an important part of your day. May God honor your desire to know Him by blessing you with wisdom, grace and great joy!

Thank you, Becky, for once again giving me your time and your blog space to write this down.

Until next week,

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Eileen

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 Are you just joining us; no worries, you are never late!  You can start this study at any time.

Time to Study Philippians -Introduction (meet Eileen)
Time To Study Philippians – Week One- 
Time to Study Philippians – Week Two-
Time to Study Philippians -Week Three-

Time to Study Philippians -Week Three-

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Good morning ladies of our Philippians study!
Welcome to Week Three!
This study and the following lessons, for the next five weeks, will be a condensed version of Mining God’s Word – How To Study the Bible; Foundation Series by Bethlehem College and Seminary Press. I highly recommend that you purchase your own workbook at www(dot)bethlehemcollegeandseminary(dot)org – it would be a great tool for you to have!
To begin this third week, let us ask our Father in heaven for wisdom, for James tell us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”(Jas. 1:5) 
Let us look at our homework from last week. You may have more or less sections in your Philippians outline, or more information within in each section than I do. Be careful not to pick it apart so much that you miss the overall message in each of Paul’s divisions. Just like any letter we write today, or papers your children may be writing for school, Paul’s letter has an introduction (or an opening), a body, and a conclusion (or a closing).
Here is the brief outline:
In the left-hand margin, I have written 
Introduction. Vs. 1:1-11
1)    Who is sending the letter, who is the letter is written to, blessings and encouragement
2)    Speaks of his affections for the Philippians
3)    Tells them how he prays for them
Body (This is when Paul begins to talk about why he is writing the letter.)
       A) Paul’s experience in prison (this is in my margin) (1:12-26)
            1)  He tells them of the good that has come about and his joy
            2)  Speaks of his release and wanting to return to Philippi for their sake.
        B) He exhorts them to be in unity with one another (in my margin) (1:27-2:11)
1)    Not to be afraid when in conflict but be united
2)    To continue to be united, have humility, and care for one another
3)    Shows how Jesus is the perfect example of all of these things.
         C) Their sanctification and joy (in my margin) (2: 12-18)
1)    Paul commands them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling
2)    Exhorts them to stop grumbling and be lights in this world
3)    That their Godly lives would make Paul’s trials worthwhile.
4)    He rejoices with them even while he is suffering.
          D) News of Timothy and Epaphroditus (in my margin) (2:19-30)
1)    Hoping to send Timothy back, commend Timothy for being focused on their well-being.
2)    News of Epaphroditus, and mentions he will also send him to them.
           E) Paul’s Godly example and his teaching to oppose false teachers (in my margin)(3:1-16)
1)    Warning Philippians about finding their worth in something other than Christ
2)     Paul uses himself as an example of Jewishness (value of his heritage)
3)     Paul shows it is all has no value compared to knowing Christ Jesus
4)     Even still, Paul is not perfect, but he continues forward living for Christ.
            F) Final exhortations and instructions (in my margin) (3:17-4:9)
1)     Have wisdom in whom they imitate, standing firm in their knowledge
2)     Paul points out Euodia and Syntyche to agree with one another
3)     How to pray, what to think about, what to do

Conclusion – Thanksgiving for their gifts and Paul’s benediction to them (in my margin)

(4:10-23)
1)    Acknowledges their efforts, past and present, to send him aid, he also thanks them.
2)    Lets the Philippians know that he has learned contentment during his trials and persecution, with whatever the Lord has provided.
3)    Final greetings from himself and other saints (notice where some of the other saints live!), and blesses them.
There is something I would like to point to us as women, and that is this: Euodia and Syntyche will be remembered for all of history as women who couldn’t get along. They were even Paul’s fellow workers, busy with the church and the gospel. Do we want to be remembered as women who bicker and quarrel with one another?
How did you like reading in Acts 16:6-17:1, Thessalonians2:1-2, and then again Acts 28:16-31? Isn’t exciting to learn about Paul and Timothy’s relationship? How it began? Learning about Timothy’s relations? He describes in Acts how he (Paul) was previously beaten and thrown into prison when he was traveling in Macedonia, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Even though at the time Paul was writing Philippians he was in prison in Rome, it opens our eyes a bit more to understand what he might have been experiencing while writing this letter to the Philippians. Also, the Philippians understood what happened when someone was sent to prison. In Phil. 1:27-30, it would seem that Paul is reminding them of his time in prison in Macedonia, and now also in Rome as an encouragement to them-“let their manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…not to be frightened by their opponents… but that it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear I still have.” What a view into the past!
As we continue on in our study of Philippians, I would like to point out the importance of understanding what a verse says within the context it was written. If you were interviewed, and then misquoted, you would know that what was written down was not what you said or possibly even meant. The same is true when it comes to our Bibles. The Holy Spirit was (is) active and moving in the men who wrote these sixty-six books. To misquote them or misrepresent any text, would show that we do not love God and His Word as we ought to. So, stay within the context when you are quoting scripture!
Here is an example: I have a friend who once told me that, “The Bible says that ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8, 16).” “But,” she went on, “if God is love then, then how comes he sends people to hell?” In her view, either the Bible is wrong, or God is not love. What she didn’t understand is that there is a third and a fourth option. The third option is that she doesn’t understand what her Bible is telling her. The fourth option is she doesn’t understand what love is. So, let’s look at the passage she was using. Please read 1 John 4:8, 16. Now read 1 John 4:7-20 (You’re welcome to read more, but this will give us the correct context of the passage.)
Does this passage define love as ‘not sending people to hell?’ No. This passage shows us what love is, as defined by the one who made love – God.  It is talking about the love that should exist between believers because of God’s love for them. (4:11-12) It is describing how God manifested his love to us or showed his love to us. “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (4:9-10) God’s love shows us that, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we don’t have to go to hell for our sins. Context is important.
Here’s another example: “Why are you pointing my sin out to me?” You’re a Christian. The Bible says you’re not supposed to judge people, (Matt. 7:1), so don’t judge me.”
Read Matthew 7:1 and then read Matthew 7:1-5. Yes, the Gospel of Matthew does say, “Do not judge”, but that is not all it says. Jesus teaches us that judging someone else (removing the speck from their eye) while we have sin (plank in our eye) is hypocritical. (vs. 5) Jesus tells us that how we judge someone else (thereby assuming we will) is how we in turn will be judged (vs.2). The point here is the way we judge someone else – do it without hypocrisy. Context is important.
To prepare us for our homework, let us look again briefly at Philemon. Read it through once more and while you read, notice if any questions come to mind. Do you wonder who Apphia and Archippus are? Do you wonder how Paul and Onesimus met? Did they meet before prison? Just how old is Paul? Are there questions that the text answers for you?
Use this same idea for this week’s homework.  
Day 1 – read Philippians 1:12-26. Think of five questions that come to mind while reading these verses. Write them down. Can you answer any of them from the text?
Day 2 – re-read Philippians 1:12-26. Think of five more (different) questions. Write them down. Can you answer any of them from the text? Can you think of more than five more?
Day 3 – re-read Philippians 1:12-26. Are there any questions that you can think of? Look at all the questions you have written down so far. Choose any five for class next week, and I’ll tell you what five I found.
Day 4 – Write down what you think the main point of Philippians 1:12-26 is, and we’ll go over it this next week.
That’s it ladies!
Thank you for another week together. Thank you, Becky!
Let us live this coming week in light of what James tells us. “My dear brothers [sisters], take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” (Jas. 1:19-21)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Your sister, Eileen
Related Posts:
 
Time to Study Philippians – Introduction-
Time to Study Philippians -Week One-
Time to Study Philippians – Week two-
 
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Time to Study Philippians -Week Two

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Dear Ladies of the Philippians study,
Greetings to Week Two of our study! (week one is found here)
This study and the following lessons, for the next seven weeks, will be a condensed version of Mining God’s Word – How To Study the Bible; Foundation Series by Bethlehem College and Seminary Press. I highly recommend that you purchase your own workbook at www(dot)bethlehemcollegeandseminary(dot)org – it would be a great tool for you to have!
Please pray for our study habits, for God’s wisdom to be upon us, and that we would be known as women who love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
To begin our time today, we will start with going over our ‘homework’. I realize that some of you will have different answers from me and from each other. What I want you to notice, or to observe, are clearly in the text. At this point, record what has been written and use that. Don’t go too deep, and assume things that aren’t written.
Here are a few examples of mine taken from each chapter:

Observations of author 

Paul and Timothy are servants of Christ Jesus (1:1)
Paul thanks God for them (the Philippians) (1:3)
Remembers them in his prayers (1:4)
Paul holds the Philippians in his heart (1:7)
He is imprisoned for Christ (1:13)
He rejoices that Christ is proclaimed regardless of motive (1:18)
He has joy (2:2)
He hopes in the Lord (2:19,23)
He trusts in the Lord (2:24)
He thinks it is necessary to send Epaphroditus back to the Philippians (2:25,28)
He has already written to them about similar things (3:1)
They (Paul and the Philippians) are of the real circumcision (3:3)
Paul says he of all people should have confidence in his Jewishness, if that is all that is needed to belong to God (3:4-6)
He considers his Jewish lineage “a loss” in light of who Christ is. (3:7-11)
He loves, and longs for the Philippians (4:1)
He entreats the women Euodia and Syntyche to stop arguing with each other (4:2)
He rejoices in the Lord greatly now that the Philippians are able to help him again (4:10)
Through the hardship and persecutions he has endured, he has learned to be content in all his circumstances (4:11-14)
He is well supplied from all of the things they sent to him with Epaphroditus (4:18)
He sends greetings from the other saints to the Philippians (4:22)

Observations of those receiving the letter

 

They are considered saints (believers in Christ Jesus) (1:1)
They are partners with Paul in the gospel from the first day they were converted (1:5)
They are partakers with Paul of grace, whether or not he is in prison (1:7)
They pray for Paul (1:19)
They have always obeyed Paul whether he is with them or away from them (2:12)
They know of Timothy’s devotion to Paul and the gospel (2:22)
They are part of the real circumcision with Paul and put no confidence in the flesh (3:3)
They, like Paul have a citizenship in heaven (3:20)
Euodia and Syntyche, women who previously had worked with Paul, now bicker and quarrel (4:2)
They have observed/witnessed first hand the life of Paul (4:9)
They share in Paul’s troubles (4:14)
The Philippians were the only ones who sent supplies/aid to Paul (4:15)
They repeated sent help to Paul when he was in Thessalonica (4:16)

Relationship between Paul and the Philippians

This letter sounds like the saints in Philippi are very dear to Paul’s heart (1:7,8), and uses terms of endearment often: brothers (1:12, 3:10, 4:1), beloved (2:12), whom Paul loves and longs for (4:1), his joy and crown (4:1).
Paul is torn between wanting to die and be with Christ and wanting to live so that he may continue to encourage, teach and pray for them (1:21 – 25).
They both encourage one another by sending news through the saints to reach Paul. (Timothy and Epaphroditus)

What is the Occasion(s) for writing this letter to the Philippians?

He is in prison which they have heard of; they sent Epaproditus to Paul and then heard Epaphroditus was very sick, they sent gifts to help supply Paul’s needs.

Summary of the Purpose of Paul’s letter

 

One of the first issues Paul discusses is their concern for him since he is in prison. He tells them that being in prison is a good thing because it has further enhanced the gospel (1:12, 1:18), and that his imprisonment has made the other saints more bold (1:15). There are even believers within Caesar’s household! (4:22)     (Emphasis is mine J)
He exhorts them that their manner of life should be worthy of the gospel, standing firm in one spirit, and to not be frightened by those who oppose them. They should expect to suffer since Christ suffered (1:27-30).
He also conveys the idea of joy because of Christ, to be humble, to have unity with one another, to model their lives after his, to care for one another.
He does warn them about ‘those dogs, the evildoers, the mutilators of the flesh’ who want to lead the saints at Philippi back into the works of circumcision. He reminds them that the Sprit has circumcised their hearts, and that they worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus.
He also warns them against false teachers who ‘walk as the enemies of the cross of Christ’ and then exhorts them to stand firm in the Lord.
He asks his ‘true companion’ to work with Euodia and Syntyche and restore their fellowship.
He does let them know that he is hoping to send Timothy to them, so Timothy can return to Paul with the news of the Philippians (2:19-24). Paul does want to thank the Philippians for the gifts they sent along with Epaphroditus (4:17-18) and let them know how much their partnership with him is a joy (1:3-9).
It is a letter filled with hope, love, the joy of Christ, and encouragement.
Again, you may have some, or parts of all of these. These are just to guide your answers.

This Week’s Lesson:

When we study any book within our Bibles, we must always remember that the author was writing in a certain period of time in history, and that that history flavors their words and actions. Just as you would write a letter now, what is happening in your town, your city, your nation would influence what you wrote about. Therefore, it is always helpful to remember the historical context while we read our Bibles.
To help us with this, here is a quick historical timeline to think about the world in which Paul was living, and to remember what had happened in the recent past, and what would occur in the near future of this letter to the Philippians.
63 BC – Roman general Pompey invades Jerusalem
44 BC – Julius Caesar is assassinated
40 BC – Herod is crowned King of the Jews
27 BC – Augustus becomes Emperor of Rome
20 BC – Herod begins to rebuild the Temple
6-4 BC – the Birth of Jesus
4 BC – King Herod dies
14 AD – Emperor Augustus dies and Tiberius assumes power
26 AD – Pontius Pilate is appointed procurator of Judea
30/33 AD – Jesus dies and is resurrected (Amen!)
37 AD – Emperor Tiberius dies
47 AD – the start of Paul’s first missionary journey
50 AD – approximate time the New Testament books are written
64 AD – approximate time of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul
70 AD – the destruction of the Temple and the Fall of Jerusalem
Some of these dates may not agree with all historians – see H. Wayne House, Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981)
To give us an idea of what I would like you to do this week in Philippians, let us go back to our copy of Philemon. As you read through Philemon, I want you to notice areas within the letter that Paul switches  from one subject to another. The easiest way to find these divisions is to repeatedly ask your self, “What is Paul saying now?” If he has changed course or changed the direction of what he is speaking about, then mark that area of division with a diagonal line (/).  I’ll help you with one of them.
The first three verses in Philemon are one division. When you arrive at the 4th verse, Paul changes what he was previously saying and now begins with, “I thank my God….”
So put a forward slash between the end of verse 3 and the beginning of verse 4. Out in the left-hand margin of verses 1-3, write down a brief summary of those verses.  We call that part of his letter The Greeting, so in my margin I would make a note that says ‘Greeting’. You should be able to find 3-5 divisions within Philemon depending on where you think Paul has changed what he is saying. Do that now, and include your notes in the margin and then come back to class.
Great! I’ll tell you what I have, and you tell me what you have (just kidding J).
I found a division between vs. 7/8, a division between vs. 17/18 and a division between vs. 22/23. My margins say ‘Greeting’, the next one indicates ‘Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving’, the next says ‘appealing to Philemon to receive Onesimus as a brother’. The following margin note says ‘further instructions’ and lastly ‘closing’. This is a quick summary of the parts of the letter.

Homework:

Day 1 – To gain an historical perspective on Paul’s letter to the Philippians please read Acts 16:6- 17:1 and 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2. Keep Philippi in mind while you read. Next read Acts 28:16-31. What is this describing? Also, it might be interesting to you to find these geographic regions/cities on your maps in the back of your Bibles.
Day 2 – Use the “What is the author saying now?” as you read through the book of Philippians and find the divisions within this book. Put your forward slash where you think a division ends and begins.
Day 3 – Review your divisions and see if you still agree with what you first thought. Change them if you need to. Then make your notes in the margins for each division.
Day 4 – Write on a separate piece of paper each division by labeling them with your margin notes. Under each division, write a few items addressed within that division.
ie: Phil.1:1-11 is The Opening
1)    Senders, blessing, encouragement
2)    Paul speaks of his affections
3)    Prays that their love would abound.
That is all for your homework.
This was a bit of a long post, but I thank you, ladies, for keeping up and working through it! May your hearts be encouraged as you continually read of Paul’s love of the brethren, and remember that you will get to meet these people when you see Jesus face to face!
Becky, my dear sister, as always THANK YOU!
Blessings upon your homes,
Eileen
Becky’s note: I found this website with neat on line maps, in case you would like to study more about the geography  on Day 1

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Time to Study Philippians -Week One-

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Greetings Ladies,

This study and the following lessons, for the next eight weeks, will be a condensed version of Mining God’s Word – How To Study the Bible; Foundation Series by Bethlehem College and Seminary Press. I highly recommend that you purchase your own workbook at www(dot)bethlehemcollegeandseminary(dot)org – it would be a great tool for you to have!
I taught this lesson this past Wednesday evening and it was a delightful time. May God bless all of you with the same joy that the Wednesday Women experienced.
During this time together we will use the book of Philippians to teach us how to study our Bibles in such a manner that we can apply the methods learned here to all other books in the Bible. Of course, the longer the book, the more time required. Philippians won’t take us the same amount of time, as say, Matthew or 1 Corinthians. But the methods you learn here, will enable you to study there.
I would also like to point out that reading our Bibles and studying our Bibles are not the same thing. Reading is a more casual a pick-it-up, put-it-down kind of a thing. Studying asks us to pray, to labor, to be diligent, to be serious. And so, let us study God’s Word together. Amen!
Week one: Who is Writing to Whom?
A good practice for any inductive Bible study is to read through the book in one sitting, (if possible). Notice what you can about the author, and those he is writing to. Some books might contain more information about the author than others do, but that is OK. To help us understand what to look for in Philippians, we are going to look at Philemon first. It is short, clear and concise. So, please turn to Philemon in your Bibles and read it through. Once you have finished reading Philemon, continue with our study.
Now that you have read through Philemon, take a piece of paper, fold it in half length-wise, and then open it back up. You should have two columns lengthwise. At the head of column one, label it Observations on Author. At the head of column two, label it Observations on Recipient. Go back through Philemon, and underline all the things that talk about the author, Paul, and then write those same things you just underlined in your column Observations on Author, including the verse where you found it. (It will help you keep track of what you’re underlining if you use one colored pencil to underline for Author and a different colored pencil to underline Recipients.) When you have completed that, do the same thing for what  you observe about those he is writing to, the Recipients. Then come back to the study and we’ll give some examples of each.
Now that you have written your observations down, I will give some examples of my observations.

Observations on Author

His name is Paul (vs.1)
Prisoner for Christ Jesus (vs.1)
He has the authority to command (vs.8)
He is an old man (vs.9)
He has recently become a “father” to Onesimus (vs.10)
Paul loves Onesimus – refers to him as his ‘very heart’ (vs. 12)
He is not alone in prison (vs.23)

Observations on Recipient

Addressed to Philemon, others and the house church (vs.1, 2)
Philemon’s house is large enough for the saints to meet for church (vs.2)
Philemon used to own a useless slave named Onesimus (vs.11, 15)
Philemon was a former convert of Paul (vs.19)
Philemon might be wealthy because he has a guest room (vs.22)
Ladies,
You might have more or less than the ones I have listed and that’s OK. This is to help train you what to look for.
Next, we should notice the relationship between the author and the recipients. Are they friends? Are they in disagreement over something? Is their relationship strained or taxed due to sin? What is the occasion of the book? In other words, what has happened to make Paul feel he should write to Philemon? What is the purpose of the letter?
We should note that there is a distinction between occasion and purpose. This letter is like listening to one side of a phone conversation. You cannot hear what the other person is saying, but you can make a guess as to what they are saying by how the person on your end is responding. We can deduce from the statement, “Yes, my mother is fine, thank you.” that the person on the other end of the phone had asked “How is your mother?”. So, the occasion is what happened previously, that Paul alludes to in his letter. The purpose is what does he want to accomplish with his letter?
Now, flip your paper over to the back and make two new headings for these back columns. Label column one Observations on Relationships and label the second column Observations on Occasion. Again, go back through Philemon, and using different colored pencils, underline words or ideas that talk to you about their relationship. Look for words like, ‘beloved fellow worker’. When you have finished that, move to the next column and underline your text words that show what might have happened in the past. Record your findings.
At the bottom of your paper write Interpretation of Purpose. After you have written your observations on relationships and occasion, now you can write down what you think the purpose of this letter is. Just a few sentences will suffice. (Sometimes purpose and occasion will sometimes overlap so don’t be concerned if something fits into both categories.) Then, come back to the study and we’ll go over this last part together.
Observations on Relationships
Paul and Philemon have a very close relationship “beloved fellow worker’ (vs.1)
Paul derives joy and comfort from the love of Philemon, ‘his brother’ (vs.7)
Makes his appeal based on their partnership (vs.17)
Paul is confident in how Philemon will respond to his letter (vs.21)

Observations on Occasion

Paul is writing this letter on behalf of Onesimus who was recently converted by Paul (vs.10, 16)
Onesimus appeared to have been a slave (vs. 16) who ran away from Philemon (vs.15)
Did Onesimus steel something from Philemon? (vs.18)

Interpretation of Purpose

Paul is writing this letter on behalf of Onesimus his ‘true heart’, urging Philemon to treat him as a brother, just as he would Paul, now that Onesimus has been converted, which Paul can attest to. Paul is sending Onesimus back because he is still the rightful slave of Philemon, and Paul wants Philemon to respond with love. Also, to let Philemon know that Paul is hoping to come to his house, and therefore, prepare a room for him.
Again, you might have more or less than what I have written here. But the point is the training of what you’re looking for.

For this coming week, at your homes, I would like you to do this same thing with the book of Philippians. (I would recommend that you make a copy of the Philippians text for this study. Your thin Bible pages might not stand up to the next eight weeks of study.)

Homework
Day 1) Read Philippians, underlining, and then recording, your observations on the author and the recipients, in your new Philippians columns.
Day 2) Re-read what you wrote on Day 1, and write a brief summary of what you notice.
Day 3) Read Philippians observing the details about the relationships between the author and the recipients, and the occasion, underlining as you go. Then write in your Relationships column and your Occasion column what you have observed.
Day 4) Re-read what you wrote on Day 3, and write a brief summary of what you notice.
Day 5) Read the complete book of Philippians for a third time, playing close attention to the purpose of the book. What was the author attempting to accomplish? Is there more than one purpose? Write a summary of your view on the purpose of the book.
And that is the end of our first lesson!
We will go over all these homework answers briefly next week when we meet. 
Thank you, Becky, for allowing me the space on your blog. You are a sweet sister!
Thank you, ladies, for coming to ‘class’ and for working through your Bible with me.
May our Lord grant us wisdom as we read and study. May we bring honor to our God and to our husbands through our actions. May our words be filled with sweetness and grace as we raise up our children.

Blessings to you all, Eileen

 

 

>A Mom and a Wife in the Making

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It was us promising to love each other forever,

until death due us apart. 

Two sinners entering into a God honoring covenant. 
Two forgiven sinners ready to live a life of sanctification together.
And God blessed us with children,

one by one they came into our lives and we are all now walking in

the Covenant, loving our Maker.
It’s been almost 18 years, and I still wonder at the miracle:
I did become a Wife and a Mom.
I longed for this since my childhood,

and the Lord heard me and answered me.

Today I am still a Mom and Wife in the making,

and I am amazed; 

God calls sinner women like me,

washes us and uses us to teach His Word to little souls,

to nurture lives that will live eternally.
Isn’t God’s Grace incomprehensible?

Because I am still a Mom and a Wife in the making is that I must study  God’s Word,
that is the only way for me to grow in grace.

Do you want to join me?

This Saturday we will start here an eight-week study on Philippians. 
You can find more information here and here.
We will also start a conversation over coffee and cookies
around the book, The Fruit of Her Hands,  by Nancy Wilson. 
You can find our reading schedule here.

A great article I found today at Credenda Agenda written by Douglas Wison, The Wife as a Ruler. Very good one.

(This is a repost  from the archives, ,with some little changes)

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