FACILITATING FAITH, wk 6

Reviewing this weekend’s Saturday devotion from the UPPER ROOM, Janet Kerns of Virginia shared one of her favorite pastimes:  riding her bicycle on an old, abandoned, two-lane highway.  Most of her trail is smooth yet she related there have been times when she hit potholes and had to try harder to focus on the road.

For anyone who is facilitating a Bible study, hitting potholes on a trail could also be correlated to hitting roadblocks in Scriptures; those moments when understanding escapes us and we are left wondering if there is a meaning. 

One’s first thought might be to look at the bottom of the Bible’s page for other book/chapter references.  In addition, we should remind ourselves to look/read other Bible versions, such as:  21st Century King James, American Standard, Amplified, Common English, The Message, New International(NIV), Today's New International Version.

Study paths that have become too winding, too old-world wordy, etc., can be further understood by reading in one of the other versions. 
In fact, THE MESSAGE version of the Bible came about:

• to capture tone of the text and original conversational feel (of the Greek) in contemporary English.
• to hear the Scripture in different words/updated expressions to increase understanding.
• to relay the spirit of original manuscripts/expressions

Did you know:  THE MESSAGE is NOT a study Bible, but rather "a reading Bible" ?

• verse numbers, which were not in the original documents, are left out of the print version, facilitating easy and enjoyable reading.
• original books of the Bible were not written in formal language...The Message tries to recapture the Word in the words used today.

Praying focus for each week’s curriculum and His Spirit guiding us through any roadblocks we encounter during our study time.

Skoots1Mom