Jeremiah 23-29

Todays passage: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jeremiah%2023-29&version=NIV

In our passage today, we see Jeremiah go head to head with Hananiah in a battle of the prophets. Hananiah, who claims to be speaking the word of the Lord, preaches peace within 2 years and Jeremiah was preaching a need for repentance & 70 years in exile.

In our society today, we are inundated with false teachings. People from all walks of life are claiming to have “The Truth”, but the Bible tells us that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

A recent example of a Hollywood version of false teaching is the new movie, Eat, Pray, Love. The basic message of the movie/book is that we can all ditch our responsibilities and commitments to seek what we think will fulfill us. The book starts off with Elizabeth walking away from her marriage after she hears a word from god that she can ditch her husband. Through her journey, she finds herself embracing a religion that basically says – you don’t need God…you are a god. You have the power in you to fulfill your purpose and all of your own desires.

The Bible teaches us that God is the source of all that we ARE and all that we HAVE. Our strength comes from the Holy Spirit, not from ourselves. We are sinners who need a Savior. We can’t save ourselves. God sent his son that we may have abundant life and it saddens me to think about how many people read the book or saw the movie and have been seduced by these lies.

With so much false information on the internet, in movies and books, in churches, & in classrooms how can we arm ourselves with the truth? Ignorance is not an excuse – we have full access to the Word of God that is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). The Word of God provides us with a filter for the words of man. We cannot just rely on our pastors and teachers to spoon feed lessons to us (there are some pretty famous preachers out there who do not handle the Word accurately), but we must know how to study the word ourselves. Kay Arthur taught me how to read the Bible in her book Lord, Teach Me to Study the Bible in 28 days where she teaches using inductive Bible study.

Some suggestions using this method include:

• Begin with prayer asking for wisdom as you study His Word
• Observe the text, reading it slowly and out loud, taking time to mark key words and frequently repeated phrases
• Ask questions using the 5 W’s and the H – who, what, where, when, how and why.
• Look for lists, comparisons or contrasts
• Note expressions of time
• Identify chapter themes
• Remember – context is king! Don’t just read a verse and try to analyze it – make sure you read the surrounding verses and keep in mind cultural and historical context.
• Don’t base your conviction on an obscure passage that is not easy to understand
• Use a concordance to do word studies and find the word in the original Hebrew or Greek
• End with prayer asking God to show you how to apply the truths you learned to your own life and then commit to correction where needed.

These are just a few tips on how to study your Bible. Those of you who are persevering through with the Bible in a year challenge – keep it up! Let God show you truth in His Word. JOY comes, not from putting yourself first, but Jesus first, then others, then yourself (yes – KSBJ this morning :) ***). Pray that God will continue to build your enthusiasm for the treasure of His Word!