The Word in its Entirety

I have been learning and growing so much, and the majority of what I've learned, what has really "come home" to my heart, is stuff that would make most believers say, "DUH!" Yet I think I am not alone in having times in my walk where the Lord must teach me his simple yet very profound truths.

Most recently, I've been relearning what it means to really love the Word of God. I had fallen into the trap that is often found in our pews of reading only the parts of Scripture that I like. You know, the Psalms are always good, and you gotta love Romans and Ephesians. Proverb-a-day mentality runs rampant, and I had definitely jumped on the bandwagon. So I've gone back to the beginning--literally. I've started in Genesis not with the intent of reading the Bible in a year, or even in three. I've started at the beginning with the intent of reading a really good book, diving into an awesome story. I'm not reading things delineated by chapter and verse. I'm holding in my hands a beautiful narrative, outlined by Creation, the Fall, and the Redemption of the world.

At Summit, one of the speakers commented thus, and I paraphrase: "If you were to pick up one of 'the Greats', say Pride and Prejudice, would you read chapters 1, 8, bits of 14, and the second half of 20? Of course not! The parts cannot make sense outside of the whole narrative! If we read, in this way, certain parts of the Bible without the greater story, how can we ever understand how God is working in us and through us? Instead, we read the Bible as we would Aesop's Fables, a tale with a moral. Is it possible that the Bible, ALL of the Bible, is bigger than the simple applications we can glean for our day to day lives? It is epic! Read it as such!"

This really hit home for me. So it's back to the beginning, with the goal of fleshing out my bare-bones understanding of much of the Word. I'm getting to know the characters, learning their humanity, their faults, their triumphs. This is one story I never want to put down!

Summit Sadness

Hey, all. PLEASE be keeping Summit students in your prayers. Satan does not like what goes on here, and nearly ever session something happens that causes students to have to rush home. Here's what's going on.

--Two students here, a brother and sister, got word this morning that their dad had died, very unexpectedly. Their cousin is also a student here. The two are flying home about now, and the cousin has yet to find a way back. One of the friends they came with is in my small group.

--Also, another student heard a few hours ago that her best friend's father had shot his daughter and his wife to death. The friend who was shot was an athiest.

Pray for comfort for all involved in these events. Please pray for continued protection--we know that God is sovereign and still in control! Also, please pray for the staffers, especially the small group leaders of those involved, that we would have wisdom and compassion to handle these students with love.