Study the Bible Like Bereans Searching for Truth
Daily Scripture
Acts 17:1-12, Romans 15:2-7
Acts 17
1 Paul and Silas journeyed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, then came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was Paul’s custom, he entered the synagogue and for three Sabbaths interacted with them on the basis of the scriptures. 3 Through his interpretation of the scriptures, he demonstrated that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. He declared, “This Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.” 4 Some were convinced and joined Paul and Silas, including a larger number of Greek God-worshippers and quite a few prominent women.
5 But the Jews became jealous and brought along some thugs who were hanging out in the marketplace. They formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason’s house, intending to bring Paul and Silas before the people. 6 When they didn’t find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city officials. They were shouting, “These people who have been disturbing the peace throughout the empire have also come here. 7 What is more, Jason has welcomed them into his home. Every one of them does what is contrary to Caesar’s decrees by naming someone else as king: Jesus.” 8 This provoked the crowd and the city officials even more. 9 After Jason and the others posted bail, they released them.
10 As soon as it was dark, the brothers and sisters sent Paul and Silas on to Beroea. When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 The Beroean Jews were more honorable than those in Thessalonica. This was evident in the great eagerness with which they accepted the word and examined the scriptures each day to see whether Paul and Silas’ teaching was true. 12 Many came to believe, including a number of reputable Greek women and many Greek men.
Romans 15
2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good in order to build them up. 3 Christ didn’t please himself, but, as it is written, The insults of those who insulted you fell on me [Psalm 69:9]. 4 Whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction so that we could have hope through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude toward each other, similar to Christ Jesus’ attitude. 6 That way you can glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ together with one voice.
7 So welcome each other, in the same way that Christ also welcomed you, for God’s glory.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
From the very start (cf. Luke 24:25-27, Acts 2:22-36) Christians believed deeply that, read carefully and accurately (cf. 2 Timothy 2:14-15), the Bible (for them at first, only the Hebrew Scriptures we call the Old Testament) bears witness to Jesus. Paul believed that, and so did the people he preached to in Berea. John and Charles Wesley also saw careful Bible study as a key “method” for spiritual growth. (They were Oxford students, so they often studied the New Testament in Greek!)
- John Wesley urged readers to “To set apart a little time, if you can, every morning and evening for [reading the Bible]…. To read this with a single eye, to know the whole will of God, and a fixt resolution to do it in order to know his will…. Serious, earnest prayer should be constantly used.” * Resurrection offers the GPS to help you make Bible reading a habit. For deeper study of the Bible’s sweeping story, Disciple Bible study groups start in person and online the next two weeks.
- Do hard-to-understand parts of the Bible make you avoid personal Bible reading? Pastor Hamilton often advises (and this fits John Wesley’s historic counsel) that, if you read four things you don’t understand and one that speaks clearly to you, focus on the one thing you understand and set the rest aside for later. Try it. Read part or all of Matthew 5, the first part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, asking God to speak to you through all the parts that are clear to you.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you worked with many human hands and voices to bring me the Bible. You speak to my heart and millions more through this amazing book. Renew my hunger to accurately read and understand your one-of-a-kind story. Amen.
GPS Insights
Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory, who serves as a volunteer for the worship and missions teams at Church of the Resurrection, wrote today's Insights. He helps lead worship at Leawood's modern worship services, as well as at the West and Downtown services, and is involved with the Malawi missions team at home.
I’ve written for the GPS Insights for over a decade, but I am probably the least qualified writer for this blog. I’ve never had any theological training. My degree is in English, and I’ve only spent a few months working in missions and ministry (and even then, without pay). Although I’m a very active volunteer, most of my professional life since college has been spent working in the advertising industry.
I don’t say this to garner approval or sympathy (and hopefully it won’t damage anyone’s GPS-reading experience). I’m trying to drive home the value of reading Scripture and listening to sermons. I’m no Adam Hamilton, and I’m certainly no John Wesley, but I have gained some wisdom through studying Scripture as an untrained amateur. There’s great wisdom to be learned from pastors and religious scholars, but spiritual wisdom isn’t locked behind a degree or seminar—we can all find wisdom, and we can all, to some extent, be students and teachers.
Spiritual discipline is like exercise: it works best when you practice it regularly. Between my struggles with depression and general carefree attitude, consistency is a struggle for me. But I can tell the difference between a week when I exercise and a week when I don’t. Consistent exercise has tangible benefits for all areas of my life. I also struggle with consistent spiritual discipline, but the same is true: I can see a tangible benefit of spiritual discipline in my life.
Wesley encouraged believers to read the Bible every day, not because every day will have some mind-blowing revelation, but because reading every day will get us used to looking for wisdom and guidance in even seemingly mundane moments of our lives. It will prepare us for the times when there are mind-blowing revelations, which may be more common than we realize if our spirits are out of shape.
Exercise for me has, historically, been tough to keep up. In addition to my depression, I have asthma and have had a stressful job. There are days I can spend 90 minutes on a treadmill, but there are also days I can only spend five. Similarly, there are days I can read a large amount of Scripture and pull something amazing out of it, but there are days I struggle with a few verses. Just like five minutes on a treadmill, a few verses or moments of fleeting reflection don’t seem like much, but keeping the practice, even in small amounts, makes it easier for the days I’m prepared to do much more. Discipline is hard, but it becomes easier with time. Wesley’s focus on discipline and consistency speaks to me today and reminds me to seek out God’s wisdom from the Bible every day.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* John Wesley, Preface to Explanatory Notes Upon the Old Testament. Found at The Wesley Center Online: Preface To The Old Testament Notes.
